Amazon hikes hardware prices by 60 percent, blaming memory shortage

In Brief

Over the weekend, Amazon significantly raised the prices of its hardware devices, jacking them up by arsenic overmuch arsenic 60 percent successful immoderate cases.

The terms detonation impacted Fire TVs, Echos, Kindles, and Eeros. One egregious illustration that’s been cited is that of the Echo Dot, 1 of Amazon’s cheapest astute speakers, the terms of which jumped 60% overnight, from $49.99 to $79.99. Price tracking sites similar CamelCamelCamel amusement the stark uptick, which has antecedently hovered overmuch lower.

When reached for remark by TechCrunch, Amazon shared the following: “The user electronics manufacture is facing important increases successful representation and retention constituent costs. After absorbing these increases for arsenic agelong arsenic we could, we precocious adjusted pricing crossed our merchandise lines.”

The institution besides said that it would proceed to connection occasional promotions to customers implicit the people of the adjacent year.

Amazon’s terms hikes reenforce the world that it’s a unspeakable clip to bargain hardware. The global representation shortage fueled by the AI roar (also known arsenic “RAMmageddon“) is driving up the outgo of producing devices of each stripes. As a result, companies are progressively passing connected the costs to their customers.

In a motion of the times, Apple precocious hiked its prices, and has sought to offset the steep caller rates by introducing a device leasing program, frankincense allowing users to wage disconnected their devices implicit time.

The RAM shortage is expected to continue passim 2027 earlier prices perchance crest and stabilize successful 2028.

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