The piece frames a looming price surge as a critical market signal, urging consumers who need upgrades to buy now to avoid steeper costs later, while noting a bleak near-term outlook for PC pricing and component costs.

Analysts and reports cited alongside Asus’s warning highlight memory supply constraints (notably Micron) and price-driven hardware cancellations, such as the Ayaneo Next 2 potentially becoming unaffordable.

The broader PC industry is expected to follow ASUS’s move, with other major brands like Acer, Dell, and Lenovo anticipated to implement similar price adjustments.

The supply situation is unlikely to improve quickly and could persist into late 2026 or beyond, pushing manufacturers to prioritize premium devices, adjust configurations, or pivot toward AI infrastructure markets.

Price hikes are likely to extend globally, though regional variation is possible; Taiwan is cited as indicative of wider trends.

Rising costs across memory, SSDs, CPUs, and GPUs, along with ongoing DRAM supply constraints, are driving the price hikes.

Budget PCs may become harder to find as manufacturers pass higher costs to consumers and maintain margins, potentially dampening demand for affordable upgrades.

Asus warns of significant price increases in Taiwan ahead of a broader rollout, projecting 25% to 30% hikes in the second quarter affecting laptops and other PCs.

ASUS plans substantial PC price increases of 25% to 30% starting in the second quarter of 2026, with initial impact in Taiwan and possible global effects over time.

Memory shortages are driven in part by AI data-center demand prioritizing high-performance components over consumer electronics.

The warning comes from Liao Yi-hsiang, General Manager of Asus United Technology Systems Business, at a Zenbook-related press conference, reflecting broader industry pressures from RAM/storage costs and GPU prices.

Overall, the PC pricing landscape is shifting toward higher costs and tighter availability, signaling a move away from the era of relatively stable PC prices.