Samsung, which supplies around a third of the world's memory chips, has warned that the global memory shortage will worsen through 2027 and persist until at least 2028, according to comments made during its latest earnings call. The forecast is driven by surging demand from AI companies, which are locking in long-term supply contracts, leaving little manufacturing capacity for consumer-grade memory. This matters because it will keep pushing up prices for everyday electronics, including games consoles, for years to come.

Samsung said its outlook is based on demand forecasts shared by AI firms seeking guaranteed supply, allowing manufacturers to prioritise the most lucrative, long-term contracts, mostly for High Bandwidth Memory used in AI datacentres. With so much capacity committed to HBM, consumer devices such as the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2 and Valve's Steam Machine have all seen price rises. However, Samsung's warning should be read with some scepticism, as it directly benefits from tight supply and higher prices, and it was made during an earnings call aimed at reassuring investors. Samsung, alongside SK Hynix and Micron, is also facing a lawsuit in California accusing the "big three" of price fixing.