PC shipments dropped over 20 percent in Q3 due to RAM price hikes

Demand for new PCs took a hit following months of cost hikes, alongside Counterpoint Research reporting earth PC shipments cut 21 percent year-over-year in Q3 2026. That’s in row alongside earlier reports from IDC and Omdia. It’s not fair PCs, either — that identical quarter, smartphone shipments additionally hit a 14-year low.

Counterpoint connected the decrease in PC shipments to higher component prices. Up until Q2 2026, PC shipments had been expanding for complete two years straight. But complete the final multiple months, RAM, SSDs, and chips from Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm have all gotten additional expensive, foremost to cost hikes on everything from MacBooks to Raspberry Pis. Counterpoint elder expert Minsoo Kang noted that several companies are shifting to “prioritize configurations that can improved assimilate component inflation,” leaving small affordable options for price-sensitive buyers. Some companies are equal reviving older tech, akin DDR4 RAM and 4GB GPUs, to assistance mitigate cost hikes.

Counterpoint additionally says Q3 2025 included “purchases onward of the Windows 10 assistance deadline and tariff-related inventory adjustments,” which added to the keen year-over-year autumn this former quarter. The PC market power not bounce rear anytime soon, as Counterpoint affiliate director David Naranjo says, “With earth shipments expected to plunge 27% in Q4 2026 and remain broadly flat in 2027, stabilization should not be mistaken for recovery.”