- Asus executive warns of big price increases for PCs
- Prices could rise 25% to 30% in the second quarter in Taiwan, we are told
- This is likely to be reflected globally, and with other increasingly gloomy predictions for the PC industry, it would seem that now is the time to buy.
Asus has warned that its laptops will become much more expensive in Taiwan, and while this doesn’t necessarily apply globally, you can bet it reflects the situation around the world, and the scale of the increase is seriously worrying.
As reported by UDN in Taiwan (noted by VideoCardz), Asus said that PC prices in the country will increase by 25% to 30% in the second quarter of this year on average (with varying increases depending on the exact model, of course).
This prediction came directly from Liao Yi-hsiang, general manager of Asus United Technology Systems Business, during an interview after a press conference for a new Zenbook laptop.
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The Asus executive made it clear that the double-digit price increases would apply to all PC makers, as they are all obviously suffering from the same headwinds in RAM and storage prices (and the rising costs of other components, such as GPUs).
The report further notes that component price increases “may continue in the second half of the year” and therefore Liao “suggests that consumers who need to upgrade their PCs should purchase them as soon as possible.” (Note that this is a translation of the article from Chinese, but the gist is pretty clear.)
Analysis: don’t dawdle at this point
Of course, the report specifically notes that Asus didn’t say whether this price increase would apply globally, but it didn’t say either. I wouldn’t do it — and I think you can safely draw your own conclusions there. Yes, there will probably be some regional variability, but Taiwan is not in a bubble, and warnings of price increases of almost a third over the course of the next quarter are a hugely worrying sign of what is to come for the entire PC market.
Meanwhile, we hear bleaker forecasts about PC prices and the latest twists in the RAM crisis on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Here’s another nugget of doom this week, for example, with memory chip maker Micron letting us know how bad things are with supply in no uncertain terms. The situation is becoming dire, to the point that hardware is being canceled; look at Kotaku’s report on the launch of the Ayaneo Next 2 because the price of the handheld would be around four thousand dollars at this time.
I totally agree with the Asus executive that if you think you’ll need a new desktop or laptop in the near future, it makes sense to buy it now. These devices will surely only become more expensive as the year 2026 progresses, and memory-related supply difficulties are not expected to improve for a long time. (In fact, some believe the RAM market won’t return to normal until 2030, including another major memory chip maker.)
Frankly, I think you’ll regret waiting, especially if you can get a good deal on a laptop now, and there are still some tempting deals floating around out there. These deals may not be as compelling in a few months, because if Asus is right, major price increases could be coming before we know it.
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