AI’s hunger for DRAM threatens your next PC upgrade as Asia-Pacific shipments slump amid memory shortages in 2026

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), PC shipments in the Asia/Pacific market, which includes China and Japan, are likely to decline by 13.7% YoY (year-over-year) in 2026, which translates to 92.0 million units.

The firm attributed its speculation to component shortages and rising prices, which will likely place pressure on both supply and demand for traditional PCs. While the PC market grew by 11.6% in 2025, translating to 106.6 million units, the trend is now seemingly on a downward spiral as demand wanes following the refresh cycle in 2025.

It was primarily "driven by a strong refresh demand to replace aging devices in conjunction with the Windows 10 end of support and large-scale education deployments."

“Strong demand driven by AI infrastructure is creating significant constraints in the global supply of DRAM and NAND as memory manufacturers shift production capacity away from consumer electronics to meet growing data-center needs,” indicated Maciek Gornicki, senior research manager, Devices Research, IDC Asia/Pacific. “This is disrupting PC supply, with vendors struggling to secure the memory components needed to build new systems."

Related: Omdia speculates PC sales remained strong in 2025, but will struggle in 2026

"We expect these shortages to drive prices higher and soften overall demand. In Asia/Pacific, vendors are anticipated to prioritize mature markets with higher ASPs to protect margins, while emerging economies—particularly Southeast Asia—will face the greatest impact from both product shortages and rising prices, as these markets are more reliant on lowend devices and consumers are especially sensitive to cost increases.”

This report isn't surprising. In January, IDC indicated that the PC market is likely to face challenges in 2026. The ongoing issue with DRAM shortage caused by AI firms buying these components in bulk to facilitate their sophisticated advances in the ever-evolving landscape isn't making the situation any better.

As you may know, AI firms heavily rely on these components for their operations, which are also used in our personal computers. It almost feels like an arms race, but with a more clearly defined winner (and it isn't us).

Memory manufacturers are seemingly more inclined to sell RAM to AI firms as it is more profitable, leaving consumers with the short end of the stick.

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