If you were planning to kick off the new year with a shiny new laptop, you might want to check your budget one more time. Just days before the tech world gathers in Las Vegas for CES 2026, Asus confirmed price hikes on several of its products. Starting January 5, shoppers will likely see higher price tags on various “product combinations” and configurations across the company’s catalog.
Asus isn’t acting alone in this shift. Industry giants like Dell and Framework have already signaled similar moves. Plus, analysts expect other major players to follow suit. This industry-wide trend is turning what used to be a season of deals into a season of “strategic price adjustments.”
The AI tax: Asus and industry leaders are raising prices
The reason behind these rising costs isn’t just standard inflation. Instead, it is the global obsession with artificial intelligence . Manufacturers that produce DRAM (memory) and NAND (storage) are currently shifting their focus toward high-paying AI customers . Because AI servers require massive amounts of high-speed memory, suppliers are prioritizing those orders over the chips used in everyday consumer laptops and gaming rigs.
This shift has created a “structural volatility” in the supply chain. Essentially, there isn’t enough memory to go around, and the available parts now cost significantly more. Asus claims it tried to absorb these rising costs for as long as possible. However, the pressure has finally reached a breaking point.
What this means for shoppers
While Asus hasn’t released a specific list of which models will get pricier, the impact will likely hit high-end machines the hardest. Devices that rely on large amounts of RAM and fast SSD storage—such as gaming laptops and creative workstations—are the most vulnerable to these hikes.
The timing is particularly notable because. The “rising prices” situation happens right as the next generation of hardware debuts at CES. This suggests that the “latest and greatest” tech shown off in Las Vegas will launch with these higher costs already baked into the MSRP.
A Long Road Ahead Unfortunately, experts don’t expect a quick fix. Asus Co-CEO Samson Hu has suggested that the memory market might not stabilize until at least the second half of 2026. Some market reports are even more cautious, predicting that the shortage could linger into 2027.
In short, if you find a good deal on a current-gen machine with decent memory, it might be worth grabbing it ASAP. For everyone else, “upgrading” this year will simply require a bit more patience and a larger savings account.
