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A global shortage of memory—DRAM, flash and high-bandwidth memory (HBM)—is forcing Big Tech and phonemakers to fight for supply as prices in some segments have more than doubled since Feb. Microsoft, Google and ByteDance are racing to lock in allocations; retailers in Asia have started rationing drives/HDDs, and Chinese brands warn of phone price hikes. The squeeze stems from fabs prioritising HBM for AI servers, leaving fewer conventional chips for PCs and mobiles—pushing lead times toward 2027–28 and threatening rollout schedules.
