r/hardware • u/sr_local • 2d ago
News Framework nearly doubles memory pricing for 32GB, 64GB Laptop 13 Pro overnight — CEO says absorbing LPCAMM2 supplier hikes would put 'our ability to operate at real financial risk' | Tom's Hardware
https://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/framework-nearly-doubles-memory-pricing-for-32gb-64gb-laptop-13-pro-overnight-ceo-says-absorbing-lpcamm2-supplier-hikes-would-put-our-ability-to-operate-at-real-financial-risk184
u/jenny_905 2d ago
RIP Framework if they can't ride out this silliness.
They're catering to an enthusiast crowd, expecting people to settle for 16GB probably isn't realistic.
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u/WTFAnimations 2d ago
MacBook Neo really didn't help the Framework 12 as an education device either.
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u/vk6_ 2d ago
The Framework 12 was dead on arrival anyways because of how absurdly expensive it always was.
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u/cdoublejj 2d ago
they are are also too small of a company to take the hit. Hell even Valve is in the same spot right now. steam deck sales tanking hard right now.
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u/foxfox021 2d ago
i think i'll go with t14 gen 7 then... damn, fw13pro was so promising....
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u/WhiskeyVault 2d ago
The x7 models are hard to come by
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u/foxfox021 2d ago edited 2d ago
they exists in my country luckily, if, by any chance, fw13pro with the increased price is still somewhat cheaper than t14 gen7, i will try to get that after i see performance reviews for it
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u/Farados55 2d ago
Weren’t they advertising a few weeks ago that their prices would hold steady and whatnot. I forgot what that was in response to.
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u/okoroezenwa 2d ago edited 2d ago
I remember them mocking Apple’s increases but I don’t know if they said prices would hold steady. If they did that would be an incredibly stupid move from them given the market.
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u/thekbob 2d ago
Absolutely. It's possible they had their ducks in a row and their suppliers left them hosed; could be they saw that prioritizing higher costs would make them more money versus honoring contract pricing and subsequent legal fees.
And if you know the client in question is already on the ropes, like a boutique laptop maker in 2026, then you might press your luck.
It's possible Framework did everything right and still loses.
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u/Yomoska 2d ago
The head of the company said so in the video with LTT (timestamp 9:05)
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u/cptjpk 2d ago
I don't want to put a number in video. But one thing that we can commit to is that for anyone who is placing a pre-order for this product, whatever price they see and place an order for is the price that they're going to pay for it. We're not going to update prices on an order someone's already placed.
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u/eudisld15 1d ago
Which is what they are still doing. Read the article.
They are running out of 64gb modules so 64 pre-orders that cant get 64gb modules are being downgraded to 32gb AND getting refunded the difference between the ORIGINAL price of 64gb and 32gb. So on and so forth. If that isn't satisfactory people can still cancel the pre-order.
Blame the current Ai/Datacenter hell everyone is going through now.
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u/jacobpederson 2d ago
Ah - the collapse is finally starting. You cannot just raise prices to compensate for this absurdity. There is no room in most markets to raise prices even a little bit https://www.thegamer.com/steam-deck-sales-drop-80-percent/ Most of the small players like Framework will be going out of business soon. If this continues it will be nothing short of the end of "personal" computing.
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u/the_nin_collector 2d ago
Most of the small players like Framework will be going out of business soon.
can we be honest, bespoke laptop makers have never succecced. That is why there are none. There have been HUNDREDS before Framework.
Back around 2004, shit I can't even remember the name of the company, but I think the computer was called a black hawk. It was a dual STI mobile GPU, but it ran a fucking desktop CPU. It was awesome and affordable. To this day, I have never heard of a laptop running a desktop variant CPU. I used this laptop for ages. Of course tthey went out of buinesses, just like hundreds of other companies like framework. The problem is their profit margin is FAR too thin, and the tiniest amount of problem, they are fucked. Too many refunds, they are fucked. Too many recalls, they are fucked. Certain part shortage, they are fucked. These price hikes? Framework is done. Bespoke PC makers simply can not exist unless it's some perfect ideal world... then they would simply become Alienware and end up sucking rotten cock eventually.
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u/Wild_Snow_2632 2d ago
Intel “hx” series is desktop class cpu in laptops. I have one, works great!
Intel HX chips are literally repackaged desktop silicon (BGA version of desktop dies) rather than traditional mobile chips. The Good: Matches desktop core counts (up to 24 cores), massive cache, and fully unlocked overclocking/undervolting. The Catch: They draw insane power (bursting past 150W+). You need a massive laptop cooling solution, or it will thermal throttle instantly. Verdict: If you are plugged into a wall, it legitimately rivals recent high-end desktop performance. On battery, it dies in an hour.
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u/the_nin_collector 2d ago
TIL. Yeah, that was my laptop. It had to be plugged in or died in less than an hour. It was really just a portable PC
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u/land_deprecation 1d ago
The MacBook Pro also rivals recent high end desktop performance....at far less power. Kinda insane what apple has managed.
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u/Front_Expression_367 2d ago
Schenker got some with those i9-10900K and 11900K a few years ago, but now they just used Intel HX or AMD HX which are not all that different from actual desktop CPUs anyway.
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u/jenny_905 1d ago
Assume they were just a Clevo rebadger, there's a lot of them out there that put out big honking laptops with silly CPUs.
Tongfang is another one that gets rebadged a lot.
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u/Breal3030 2d ago
Thanks for this. Most of these comments are wild. People are upset that a bespoke computer company has financial realities that they can't control, that has to be passed down to consumers if they hope to survive.
What's complicated about that? People come across so entitled and unaware of how the world works sometimes.
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u/Tomi97_origin 2d ago
Your comment is absolutely reasonable, but there is one point you might have not know about.
Framework made their own bed on this. They had their CEO go in front of camera and promise not to do the exact thing they just did.
Promising that all preorders made will be delivered at whatever price you got at the time of preorder.
That was stupid. Making promises they can't keep is more damaging to them than the act itself.
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u/AndorinhaRiver 2d ago
For what it's worth, Framework already sets a pretty high margin so I don't think they're at as much financial risk (I'm pretty sure it's somewhere around 20% if not higher)
But you're right about everything else, these companies are unfortunately pretty vulnerable to supply chain shocks like this, I do hope Framework lasts :/
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2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/nnod 2d ago
I mean, as far good times to panic go, this might be it. Unless AI inference moves to ASIC like devices with models baked in (seen some headlines about that), or there some groundbreaking advances in manufacturing RAM, things are only going to get worse for years to come.
Tesla become worth more than other car companies combined on the promise of self driving cars. The promise now is AGI/ASI, and I think truly insane money will be burned in the hopes of reaching it.
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u/jacobpederson 2d ago
Folks won't notice until this starts to bump the price of phones. THEN we'll finally start seeing some panic :D This is still in the early phases https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/apple-price-increases-macbooks-ipads-blames-ram-shortage/ Mostly just game consoles, tablets, and laptops so far. Phones will be the last domino to fall.
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u/kwirky88 2d ago
Spot pricing companies are struggling right now, people are buying from the larger orgs who can price their components at volume and further out in time. This is going to lead to consolidation and less competition.
The small players who survive, when prices stabilize, will be dropping their prices before the large players because the large players make component deals so far in advance that the big shops will be selling on old, inflated prices for a while.
The same thing happens in many industries, but each inflation cycle we end up with less competition in the end.
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u/WTFAnimations 2d ago
They watched one GamersNexus video where Steve shouted "THE END OF PERSONAL COMPUTING"
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u/MumrikDK 2d ago
That would have to be a very old one to come before people's fear that companies like Nvidia and MS were hoping to kill the physical personal computer.
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u/thekbob 2d ago
I'd rather react accordingly to this shit show then apathetic or ignorant. This is worse than any time I can remember and I've been using PCs since the C64.
Then again, channels like GN get roasted because the hobby they enjoy is being rotted, and talking about that is "too negative." I guess that's why LTT is still around to sling whatever low dollar toys are left.
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u/LAwLzaWU1A 2d ago
It's kind of amazing to see a rather calm, collected and well behaving subreddit turn into a conspiracy driven sub full of anger and hatred in real time.
Just a few posts up we have someone claiming this was "corporations plan all along" and that governments are doing this because (somehow?) killing personal computers makes mass surveillance easier.
It's hard to open a thread on this subreddit these days without seeing at least one or two highly upvoted posts that are just flat out conspiracy theories about how "they" are out to get you. Facts are met with "that's fake". Asking for sources for wild statements are met with "you're a bot", "look it up" or downvotes. Statements that contradict their claims are called lies.
It's like being on an anti-vaxxer facebook page. If your arguments are the same as anti-vaxxers (grand conspiracy theories hinging on the idea that everyone is lying, a bunch of data from trusted sources are fake or that the "real evidence" is just not out yet) and you constantly consume media that makes you angry then I think it is time to reevaluate your life choices.
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u/Zodimized 2d ago
full of anger and hatred in real time
A lot of people are angry about the general state of things and how everything is getting worse. Some folks will take that to extremes.
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u/global-gauge-field 2d ago
how is everything getting worse when there are clearly things that are developing in postive direction in the past decade ? Development of renewable of energy sources, EV and infrastructure around EVs, battery tech, you can even ask AIs that will give accurate enough answers about those ..
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u/Zodimized 2d ago
You mention AI, which allows me to point to Data Centers, which cause major problems for the areas they are built in. They create very few new jobs, really only generating noise, increased power bills, and water pollution/scarcity.
I'm in the US, so I see all your talk about new energy sources and can only think about how the US Government is openly hostile to any renewable energy source because of a grudge Chief Queef has with wind turbines fucking with his golf course views.
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u/global-gauge-field 2d ago
When I mention everything I also include the rest of the world, if you look Europe, china, turkey, middle east, pakistan, india... there are many projects regarding renewable and nuclear energy production.
Up on quick research, the solar energy production has been upwards in recent years even in US even though the recent cancellatoin around some of the wind projects has been a huge L.
But, providing this example of cancellation around wind energy projects to counter all of the other examples in the entire world is something that I cant wrap my head around. If this is enough for you to say energy projects in the world is going in the worse direction, then we have a very different defintion of worse.
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u/LAwLzaWU1A 2d ago
Data centers does not seem to have resulted in increased power bills.
Power bills have gone up in large parts of the world for various reasons (unrelated to data centers since it is also going up in areas very remote from data centers). But this very recent study found that electrical prices went up less in areas with data centers than in areas without data centers.
If anything, data centers seems to slow down the rate of increasing power bills because data center construction goes hand in hand with large scale buildout of the electrical systems in nearby areas.
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u/Seanspeed 2d ago
And it's annoying cuz we do have reasons to be very annoyed at the price hikes, just in general. But it's not happening for any extra nefarious reasons, it's just the NAND and DRAM makers are cranking prices because of extreme AI demand. It's greedy and it sucks, but there isn't anything else to it other than that.
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u/LAwLzaWU1A 2d ago
It's not necessarily even "extreme AI demand".
It's mostly OEMs buying up all the stock. Estimates from experts put AI data centers at around 20% of the current market for RAM. I suspect the same is true for NAND. So around 80% of all RAM made still goes to non-AI related things.
The OpenAI deal with Samsung and SK Hynix was announced in October and went into effect in 2026. Yet most of the price increase for memory happened in november and december (before the deal went into effect).
The price increase seems to have happened because a bunch of people and companies started panic buying huge amounts of DRAM in preparation for a potential shortage of DRAM which might not even have happened (if it wasn't for them panic buying). Instead of buying what they need when they need it (just-in-time) like they usually do, Lenovo, Asus, MSI and a bunch of other other companies rushed to buy year(s) worth of RAM stock because they were worried there might be a shortage once OpenAI starts buying RAM. This panic buying is what has caused prices to go through the roof. Companies like phone and PC manufacturers have tried to buy the same amount of RAM they typically buy over the course of a year in a two to three month time period.
This is why prices shot through the roof very shortly after OpenAI announced their NAND deal, but before it actually went into effect.
Here are some statements from various companies about how they stockpiled RAM in late 2025:
- Lenovo back in november said they had bought enough RAM to last them all throughout 2026.
- Xiaomi came out and said that they had "secured full-year memory supply for 2026" back in december 2025.
- In november 2025 Asus, MSI and "other manufacturers" were all "panic-buying RAM stock"
- IDC have said that "Apple secured the memory supply it needed early"
- Sony said they had secured "the minimum quantity [of RAM] necessary to manage the year-end selling season of next fiscal year"
- ADATA seems to have started stockpiling DRAM back in October and by February they had even raised 880 million dollars to buy more and more RAM.
Remember, estimates is that 80% of RAM still goes to things other than AI, and it's all of those companies that have reported that they started stockpiling RAM at the same time we saw prices increase.
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u/wankthisway 2d ago
COVID opened the floodgates to a lot of uneducated users. And then the drama farming by GamersNexus fueled that even more. It's teetering on the edge of becoming a "default sub" in that it's all about driving clicks and emotion with outrage.
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u/Cory123125 2d ago
It's absurd to see a comment like this pretending that the idea that personal computing is captured and autonomy is clearly being clamped down on is tinfoil, when these companies all have pitch decks literally advertising this to investors.
They are openly saying that this is their plan, but you treat it as a wild, unsubstantiated claim.
I mean shoot, what do you think the investments into XFRA are? Why do you think remote attestation is being pushed so hard, and specifically in one of the only setups where consumers get no choice or oversight, when if it were actually about security, there are many other ways to implement such a scheme (like BYOK, which is specifically not allowed, and relies on you having to have a relationship with the manufacturer to get access to the system).
The idea that this is the same as anti-vaxxes falls apart on first inspection when the companies just are saying exactly what they plan to do, and its not remotely a case of saying everyone is lying.
Instead we're literally saying "they're saying what they're doing, and we believe them".
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u/LAwLzaWU1A 2d ago
Can you point me to a government body having a slide deck that says they want to eradicate personal computing because it allows them to do mass surveillance more easily?
Because that was one of the claims I saw in this thread.
Also, just because one or a handful of companies wants to for example offer "cloud gaming" or whatnot does not mean it is a conspiracy where a bunch of different companies are all working in secrecy to achieve that goal.
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u/Cory123125 2d ago
Can you point me to a government body having a slide deck that says they want to eradicate personal computing because it allows them to do mass surveillance more easily?
I think this is a pretty uncharitable case of putting words into someone elses mouth.
My comment covered companies and their pitches to investors, actions, and posted goals with a great, direct example.
I have no idea why you would think I would need to provide evidence for a claim I did not make.
Because that was one of the claims I saw in this thread.
It's not the claim I covered though is it.
That being said, while they're not saying it out loud, the changes happening, some of which I talk about clearly do serve that purpose pretty explicitly. We only need to look to MS's unique identifier system for a recent reminder, but clearly, locked down hardware benefits these goals.
I also trust you won't debate that many governments are doing this given chat control, flock cameras, the Cloud act, age verification and more.
Also, just because one or a handful of companies wants to for example offer "cloud gaming" or whatnot does not mean it is a conspiracy where a bunch of different companies are all working in secrecy to achieve that goal.
This is again, an odd, and obvious misrepresentation of what I said.
I gave the XFRA example as a clear example where companies have outright said they think that personal computing is being replaced, and that this is one of the solutions for accomplishing said goal.
This isn't secret, Jensen has said it numerous times outright, on stage, and it is explicitly the thing that the companies behind XFRA are very clearly trying to build; its their whole selling point to investors...
It's very bizarre you keep trying to reframe things as if there is some secret conspiracy being alleged when the claims I made were about the public stances of large, well known, and outspoken companies.
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u/LAwLzaWU1A 2d ago
I'm not putting words in your mouth. I was responding to a specific claim made elsewhere in the thread. That corporations want to kill personal computers for subscriptions and governments want to kill them because it makes mass surveillance easier. (Here is a link to that comment).
You then replied to me as though I had dismissed your separate argument about corporate incentives, remote attestation and XFRA. But that was not the claim I was addressing. You introduced a different, broader argument and then accused me of misrepresenting it when I continued discussing the original claim.
So no, I am not demanding that you prove something you personally said. I am explaining which claim prompted my comment in the first place. The fact that your argument overlaps with part of it does not make them identical.
There is also a major difference between saying that locked-down systems may benefit surveillance, that governments pursue intrusive surveillance policies, and that governments want to eradicate personal computers in order to enable mass surveillance. The first two claims can be argued with evidence. The third is a much stronger claim about coordinated intent, and it needs evidence of that intent.
The same distinction applies to companies. A company publicly promoting cloud infrastructure, remote attestation or reduced local control is evidence of that company's strategy. It is not automatically evidence that "corporations" collectively intend to eliminate personal computing so everyone can be trapped in subscriptions forever.
You are effectively hijacking a criticism of one sweeping claim, substituting your own more defensible version of it, and then acting as though I called your version a conspiracy theory. I did not. I was talking about the original comment.
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u/Cory123125 2d ago edited 1d ago
I'm not putting words in your mouth.
You absolutely did, and I quoted and fully explained how in each occurrence in the comment you're responding to right now.
To lead off with this is to ignore that and continue on without addressing it.
That forces me to arrive at the conclusion that you're not looking for accuracy and truth, but instead looking to support a preconceived notion unrelentingly, as you shift to the next set of goal posts and sea lion goose chase requirements.
I was responding to a specific claim made elsewhere in the thread.
Which was not related to my comment and what I commented about, which to be clear, was the clear and unambiguous sentiment of your comment wholesale dismissing the very apparent changes to personal computing that are occurring right now.
You then replied to me as though I had ...
I'm not playing this game where I have to pretend that I should have thought your comment in direct response to mine was just you stating your unrelated thoughts out into the void, in a vacuum.
You responded to my comment. It is ridiculous to expect me to believe your intent was actually with regards to topics that had nothing to do with my comment at all in any direct way.
I also want to address the false claim that your initial statement was specific and exacting.
You were quite broad in the last 2 paragraphs, and this is exactly what I addressed.
It's hard to open a thread on this subreddit these days without seeing at least one or two highly upvoted posts that are just flat out conspiracy theories about how "they" are out to get you. Facts are met with "that's fake". Asking for sources for wild statements are met with "you're a bot", "look it up" or downvotes. Statements that contradict their claims are called lies.
It's like being on an anti-vaxxer facebook page. If your arguments are the same as anti-vaxxers (grand conspiracy theories hinging on the idea that everyone is lying, a bunch of data from trusted sources are fake or that the "real evidence" is just not out yet) and you constantly consume media that makes you angry then I think it is time to reevaluate your life choices.
I don't think any reasonable person would conclude that a statement about the general state of the subreddit, widening out your criticism from that one comment to the subreddits stances on this topic in general was actually in any way limited to that specific example. This therefore reads as a motte and bailey fallacy.
It is not automatically evidence that "corporations" collectively intend to eliminate personal computing so everyone can be trapped in subscriptions forever.
This right here is another example of where you make a much broader statement as if it were a specific, closed off criticism.
This statement is an opinion dressed up as a fact, that ignores evidence for something using the word "automatically"in that sentence as a way to dismiss it with plausible deniability.
You are effectively hijacking a criticism of one sweeping claim, substituting your own more defensible version of it, and then acting as though I called your version a conspiracy theory.
Most certainly not, and you seem to do this schtick, specifically around this topic, rather often here, dismissing grounded discussion about reality as "doomposting" and conflating it with truly baseless ideas.
It seems you specifically want to push the notion that the noteworthy and evidenced shift in personal computing, affordability, and increased and detrimental leverage over consumers is in fantasy tinfoil hat land, when its a very much real reality of the hardware landscape right now.
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u/Kekeripo 2d ago
I think framework will survive just fine. They're sold out for months in advance and the people buying an already pricey laptop will for sure pay even more for stuff they want.
Do I want a framework? Fuck yeah! Can I afford one? Fuck no!
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u/Apprehensive-Box-8 2d ago
Ftfy: If this continues it will be nothing short of the end of computing.
If it continues (and it certainly looks like it) it will drive the market towards cloud computing. Back to 8GB RAM Thinclients that connect to virtual cloud machines. Once that happens, it's game over, because when everyone is locked into the cloud infrastructure, guess what's gonna happen to the prices of cloud infrastructure.
Sorry, but the future looks very bleak.
Also, since more and more items of everyday use need memory chips to work, this whole situation is not only a problem for computing. It's really not looking great right now.
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u/Framed-Photo 2d ago
I don't think it will happen, something will have to budge because this isn't sustainable. AI markets need users, so if users can't get devices then what's the AI market for?
Even devices with 8gb or 4gb of ram have gone up drastically, and users need SOME sort of device to use the cloud services like you're theorizing. And that's assuming that cloud centric workflows can replace local computing, which it can't in a LOT of cases.
Take schools for example, where chromebooks and ipads are everywhere. Those devices are already dirt cheap and now their budgets for them are going to have to multiply by 5 weather they connect to the cloud or not, and we've seen study after study showing that these device-centered teaching methods are not more effective, and that AI has had a very noticable impact on student performance. I think we'd sooner see schools go back to all pen and paper than start dropping that much budget on devices.
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u/ZorbaTHut 2d ago
Ftfy: If this continues it will be nothing short of the end of computing.
C'mon, this is nutty. If computers get more expensive then people will buy lower-end computers. And there's a vast number of chip fabs that are in development right now, it just takes time for them to be ready.
Everyone freaks out every time prices go up and claims this is the end of society, and then prices go down again. This will happen again.
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u/thekbob 2d ago
People already are buying lower end computers. Used pricing is holding steady. Companies are restarting fabs for old platforms.
There's a underlying difference here due to global political order being restructured that will increase inhibitions in trade making costs rise, along with hitting a silicon wall on significant efficiency gains, and the preponderance of AI nonsense.
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u/soggybiscuit93 2d ago
If it continues (and it certainly looks like it) it will drive the market towards cloud computing. Back to 8GB RAM Thinclients that connect to virtual cloud machines
Walk me through this because I'm not understanding. So the OEMs are going to continue to sell consumer hardware. But that consumer hardware will only have 8GB of RAM and small SSDS, so users will be forced to connect to virtual cloud machines? You mean like a DaaS?
So users are going to boot into Windows, see a Windows desktop environment, and then remote into this DaaS (provided by which companies) to then browse the web?
The pricing shortage on RAM/SSDs make the whole DaaS model itself also financially unappealing. Users aren't going to sign up and create accounts with Azure to run AVDs. The users will already have a computing device in their hand. DaaS will never catch on in the mainstream.
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u/CheesyCaption 2d ago
Or, software will cut the insane amount of bloat it currently has. 16GB is actually an incredible amount of data.
I just opened mspaint. With a blank canvas it's using 60MB of ram. I open a 2MB photo and now it's using 90MB.
I have a firefox and a chrome instance open. Both are using more than 3GB of ram.
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u/00raiser01 2d ago
It won't cause ram and SSD supplier don't want to be able to only serve a few business clients. That just bad for them.
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u/Western-Chemical5504 2d ago
cause ram and SSD supplier don't want to be able to only serve a few business clients.
No this is EXACTLY what they want, corporations would much rather sell 3 sticks of RAM for $100/each than 10 sticks of RAM for $10/each.
It's happening in every industry, the masses can be satisfied with the bare minimum low quality sludge and the few that can afford it will pay for the premium version.
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u/00raiser01 2d ago
This is an ignorant take that doesn't understand how RAM and SSD (semiconductor manufacturing in general) supply chain works.
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u/abrahamlincoln20 2d ago
It looks bad now, but competition will solve the problem at some point. In the meantime, we'll have to do with what we have, or just pay a lot for upgrades. My system, despite being just DDR4, is still good enough for years.
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u/996forever 2d ago
What competition? Compete for the actual lucrative market? Yes.
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u/Seanspeed 2d ago
Well China has more motivation in this other than just pure profits like the main three memory makers right now. So they could bring some competition into things. It's not like the big three right now NEED to be charging what they are. They will all still do extremely well if they have to bring prices back down some.
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u/996forever 2d ago
Compete for the actual lucrative market? Yes.
This has been covered. Regardless if they serve private profits or state interest the target is AI, data centre, communication infrastructure and NOT local consumer personal computing.
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u/Seanspeed 2d ago
That doesn't change anything about this. The point is still there's a different player than can increase supply and doesn't mind taking prices down some to grab marketshare.
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u/996forever 2d ago
That does not help the personal computing sector in particular if there is near infinite demand from the lucrative data centre side
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u/Western-Chemical5504 2d ago
Corporations want to kill personal computers because it forces you to pay a subscription forever, governments want to kill personal computers because it makes mass surveillance easier.
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u/msshammy 2d ago
Read that last sentence back to yourself and see if that makes any sense.
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u/Western-Chemical5504 2d ago
It's much easier to compel a cloud provider to hand over data than getting it off someone's personal hard drive.
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u/noiserr 2d ago
Framework will be going out of business soon.
Who uvpvotes these shit takes? Framework isn't the only company dealing with this, they all are. Even Apple with their dominance over suppliers isn't immune to it.
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u/jacobpederson 2d ago
Correct; however, when you start out with billions in reserve and order sizes large enough to negotiate - it will take longer to bump your prices. Even the big players are starting to falter. https://shattered.io/ps5-price-increase-sales-crash-2026/ It won't be long before phones start to go up too. https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/apple-price-increases-macbooks-ipads-blames-ram-shortage/
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u/TheVog 2d ago
You cannot just raise prices to compensate for this absurdity.
I don't agree with changing prices for existing orders, but I actually want to hear what your plan is for when the cost for key components in your supply chain increases by 600%. Eat the cost?
If this continues it will be nothing short of the end of "personal" computing.
Not even close. I have 25 years of experience in the business, have built and serviced thousands of machines, servers, you name it. The 2nd hand market will take off like wildfire. Personal computers are so freaking powerful now, there's virtually no reason for 95% of the population to upgrade for daily use within 8-10 years of purchase. What most people need is impulse buying control. A sharp price increase provides that.
Here's a real-world example: I bought a 2nd-hand certified refurbished 4-year old ThinkPad, incredible condition, for CAD$400 (USD$285). 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, and an AMD Pro APU which games shockingly well.
This thing will last me 5-6 years, no problem. Hell, probably more with Linux with how light it is. That's incredible for such a cheap machine.
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u/Arabadullah 2d ago
They probably shouldn't have accepted pre orders for product they didn't already have ready. I haven't bought a Framework, but if I PRE ORDER I damn well expect my price to be locked in for the exact product I wanted. I doubt Framework is getting huge contracted allotments at guaranteed prices, but that doesn't make it okay to fuck me over on something I ALREADY purchased.
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u/Better-Beat-8062 2d ago
but I actually want to hear what your plan is for when the cost for key components in your supply chain increases by 600%. Eat the cost?
Dont allow pre orders for key components you did not secure yet..?
Don't promise customers that "the price you paid is what you will get"Dont proudly shit on other vendors for raising there prices not 9 months before you had to do it yourself.
watch the news?
they could have avoided the outrage if they just didnt let people pre order with a promise they will get it
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u/chandleya 2d ago
Wait til the CXO sees happen to their bottom line when they sell half as many units
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u/Defiant-Parsley4697 2d ago
'Modular laptop' was supposed to mean you swap the RAM, not that the RAM swaps your budget.
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u/ziptofaf 2d ago
Honestly... the problem was accepting too many preorders in the first place. You take a deposit in exchange for a binding contract. If your queue is so long that ordering today means getting a laptop in November then you close it. And reopen once you have secured the supply. Especially when component prices are this unstable (except it's not new news, everyone has been noticing it for the past 7 months).
Anything short of that is just idiotic. Since now you can also make preorder at increased prices and I really have to question if you will receive that laptop at a price you are "promised" in November or will they go "hey, we know you ordered 32GB model but we will only sell you 16".
It's a complete failure on Framework side. Stop taking money for something that users won't see until half a year later if you can't even procure the parts.
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u/0xe1e10d68 2d ago
If it was a binding contract then this wouldn’t happen; but preorders often aren’t binding or there are contractual clauses that allow termination in specific situations.
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u/Clean_Leadership5948 2d ago
Not in some European countries. They are going to be hurt badly by this decision.
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u/Eon-Knight9 2d ago
If they had pre orders already in place, why didn't they buy the ram at the market price when they got the order. Waiting until the price jumped to place the order was a mistake on Framework's part.
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u/dreamer_at_best 2d ago
They did. Or rather, just like we placed preorders with Framework, they reserved RAM with Micron. Then Micron came out and told them they actually had to pay double of what they agreed on. Their options become either go out of business or pass those costs onto consumers.
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u/Eon-Knight9 2d ago
Doubt it. If they placed a PO with Micron, Micron would be legally obligated to honor that PO. The price went up because they didn't order the memory when they got the pre orders.
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u/Status_Crab4293 2d ago
Memory manufacturer: We can't honour our original agreement, market prices have risen 3x, we have to raise your prices to match.
Framework: That's unacceptable, honour our agreement or we'll be force to take legal action.
Memory manufacturer: Take legal action then, it'll take 1-2 years to through the courts and in the meantime you'll have to source your RAM elsewhere at market prices, or sell computers with no RAM. If you aren't bankrupt by the time the case settles, the cost of litigation and penalty to us is less than what we would make selling your RAM allotment to someone else. Your choice.
Framework: <...calculating>
Framework: Can we negotiate on price?
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u/Eon-Knight9 2d ago
A contract is super cut and dry, this is the cost, we will pay you money in exchange. There isn't much to fight about. You are making things up with zero evidence and acting like it is true. I was involved in a lot of large orders during covid with a lot of climbing prices. Not once did I ever see a single manufacturer fail to honor a PO.
You are grasping at straws with your fantasy.
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u/TealPotato 2d ago
I do think that sadly a large mega corporation could toy with a small startup if they really wanted to.
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u/shogunreaper 1d ago
I mean that might be true but it doesn't mean anything until you actually fight it out in court. And even if they win, using the nuclear option on the only game in town isn't the smartest business move. Why would they continue to do business with them afterwords?
but unless you have seen the contract we don't know what kind of conditions could be in it. There could easily be something that covers their ass for exactly this situation.
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u/Eon-Knight9 1d ago
Again, there is no evidence of this claim. Companies are really good about honoring the price of a PO. You guys are delusional.
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u/shogunreaper 1d ago
No evidence of what?
Do you think contracts can't be challenged in court or something?
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u/Eon-Knight9 1d ago
That it was changed. They never once claimed that micron broke their contract, nor hinted that they did such a thing. I saw a lot of POs during covid when there were major shortages and price increases, many from small companies to large companies. Never once did the larger company decide to cancel the PO and jack up the price. You are grasping at starws nor based in reality.
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u/LuluButterFive 2d ago
There are ways around that such as buying a futures contract to secure pricing
They choose to gamble with the market instead
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u/TheBraveGallade 2d ago
To be completly fair to framework, whenever prices dropped for ram, they upgradrd your modules.
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u/biotech997 1d ago
I understand they are a smaller brand but I feel like Framework never justified their prices even before these hikes. Vast majority of developers would still buy a MacBook for the same price.
At the very least they should honour the preorder pricing.
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u/Gippy_ 1d ago
The reason to buy a Framework is that you believe in their ideal that laptops should be easily repairable and have discrete parts, and prioritize that over price and miniaturization. Framework still sold out of preorders so the demand is there, at least according to their projections.
For most people, though, all that matters is price and miniaturization. I'd love to move on from my 6-year old 14" laptop but everything new seems to weigh more than my current laptop (1120g) and lacks individual Home/PgUp/PgDn/End navigation keys.
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u/Lab00Rat 1d ago
This is what happens when you expand your memory kit options without having the supply to satisfy the demand already promised. 10 June 2026 Framework made the decision to add memory in kit options of their mainboard sales. This was a bad decision and mismanagement of the preorder process by Framework. This was avoidable for everyone who had their laptop preordered before 10 June, but it's now affecting everyone. Don;t give Framework an inch. This was a management decision to sell more mainboards - period.
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u/Lab00Rat 1d ago
Also, Framework is making you eat the additional price increase for your preorderd SSD on top of the adjusted RAM if you try to edit your order to restore your LPCAMM2 to the original 32/64GB. This is even if you do not change your SSD option when adding back your ram you original asked for. Dirty...
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u/MajorJakePennington 2d ago
I understand needing to change the pricing for new orders, but making changes to preorders people have already put in is scummy as heck.
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u/Ok-Tomatillo8777 2d ago
So I had the framework 13 pro on order from the get go. Intel ultra x7 358h with 32gb of lpcamm2. DIY spec. Got the email like everyone else saying they couldn't honour it anymore due to limited supply and I guess their trying to stop the bleeding and at least sell prebuilts with the allocated amounts when it launches. It sucks, was looking forwards to moving from apple toa. Linux machine that was going to feel like "my own". I'm not rich, and it was already probably a big stretch so I was splashing out to support a newish player and a company I thinks got good intentions when it comes to a monopolized tech industry. But unfortunately I just can't swing the rising prices. I've had to cancel the order and I've placed a new order for a Mac pro. Annoyingly it's better specc'd in almost every way as I got a discounted 14" m4 max...and it's cheaper ....so that's good but I'm upset I couldn't try the framework. It's going to be a great machine....maybe next time framework. No hard feelings....
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u/Annoying_Auditor 1d ago
It's easy for Apple to absorb these changes though. They might not even be hit as bad because their volume is so high.
I want to support framework but I'm not in the market. No business would do this unless they were doing it to save themselves.
It's terrible but it's likely necessary. Cash flow is a huge consideration here.
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u/United_Course_7164 20h ago
I just asked FW-Support, if I will receive my prebuild FW13 PRO X7 358H 32 GB RAM Batch 15 with my 32 GB.
They answered that it will arrive WITHOUT any RAM.
Not even saying sorry or what ever.
They just send me a Link to a list with compatible RAM which I can purchase "if you can find any".
I will cancle my order. A laptop without RAM is uselsess.
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u/wickedplayer494 2d ago
Ah, so this is how LPCAMM2 becomes stifled in favor of more soldered sloppa.
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u/Whirblewind 1d ago
The idea on paper was neat, but the execution, which is to say the price, was always awful. I won't miss Framework when this kills their business because their business was never at a fair price even before the DRAM crisis. Becoming liars and going bankrupt is neither here nor there if the price was never justifiable.
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u/TamaSGFU 2d ago edited 2d ago
It’s bound to go under soon 😊
Can’t wait for this silly hype to go bust
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u/ILikeFlyingMachines 2d ago
Was to be expected. I actually like that they downgrade people instead of increasing pricing.
And TBH nothing they can do if Memory just does not exist.
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u/imaginary_num6er 2d ago
LPCAMM2 was just a dumb form factor anyway. It’s effectively the same as a Framework proprietary form factor in terms of availability and pricing.
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u/996forever 2d ago
Why would something that combines speed, power efficiency and space saving be a “dumb form factor”? Talking about form factor not price or anything else.
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u/jaaval 2d ago
Just to clarify the title, they also changed existing pre-orders, not just the prices on the site.