Framework, the maker of repairable laptops, is refunding some customers who paid inflated prices for RAM on its Model 13 Pro after securing a cheaper supply of memory chips. The move follows a difficult few months in which soaring LPCAMM2 memory costs forced the company to cut promised RAM allocations and raise prices, highlighting how volatile global memory markets are squeezing hardware makers and, in turn, their customers.

In July, Framework told buyers who had ordered 64GB of RAM that they would receive only 32GB, blaming a supplier cost increase "far beyond anything we had predicted" — the price it paid for LPCAMM2 modules more than doubled between Q2 and Q3 rather than rising by the low-to-mid double digits it had expected. Framework has now obtained a limited quantity of Micron 32GB and 64GB LPCAMM2 modules at a lower, though still elevated, cost, allowing it to cut prices on shipped and pending pre-orders; affected customers will get refunds for the difference, while those still waiting can pay less or upgrade their memory order. Other firms, including Everpure (formerly Pure Storage) and HPE, have similarly pledged to honour earlier quoted prices despite rising component costs, a stance likely linked to long-term supply deals with manufacturers such as Micron and SK Hynix — in contrast to Apple, which raised iPhone prices by $100 despite posting $30 billion in quarterly profit.