Subvolts take AI's progress hits a hardware wall, impacting prices and development for major labs. Jun 30, 2026 - Developers
- Understand how hardware shortages and compute limits affect AI model deployment and access.
- Business
- Learn about market impacts from hardware shortages, price hikes, and competitive AI strategies.
- Everyday users
- Discover why your electronics might be getting more expensive and how AI developments affect product availability.
This episode provides a solid roundup of current AI developments and their significant market impacts, including hardware shortages.
RAMageddon Reshapes Tech (And It's Not Pretty)
Audio streams from Jason Howell and Jeff Jarvis. Your place is remembered on this device.
From Subvolts
Summary and analysis by Subvolts editorial, AI-assisted.
Jason Howell and Jeff Jarvis discuss RAMageddon, a global memory shortage impacting tech giants like Apple, which raised prices by 20%. Jefferies predicts further price surges until 2028. The episode also covers new AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic released under government restrictions, a free model from China's Zhipu AI, and Google capping Meta's Gemini access due to compute limits. OpenAI also unveiled its first custom inference chip.
A worldwide shortage of computer memory, called RAM, is making electronics like iPhones and Macs more expensive. This shortage also affects how fast AI can be developed, as companies like OpenAI and Google need lots of memory for their advanced AI systems.
This episode connects the current AI race with a critical hardware bottleneck. Listeners will understand how the memory shortage affects consumer prices and AI development. It's for anyone tracking AI's progress and its real-world constraints. The discussion highlights how frontier labs like OpenAI and Anthropic navigate both AI advancements and external pressures, including government oversight and hardware limitations, while also touching on competitive moves like Google's compute caps on Meta.
- HostJason Howell
- HostJeff Jarvis
- Episode Title: RAMageddon Reshapes Tech (And It's Not Pretty)
- Show: AI Inside
- Length: 62 minutes
- Apple Price Increase: 20% across Macs, iPads, and Apple TV
- Memory Price Surge Prediction: 50% this quarter, no relief until 2028
- GoPro Survival Warning: May not survive due to memory shortage
This week Jason Howell and Jeff Jarvis dig into RAMageddon, the global memory shortage that just forced Apple to raise prices by 20% across Macs, iPads, and even the Apple TV. Jefferies warns memory prices will surge another 50% this quarter with no relief until 2028, GoPro says it may not survive, and IDC projects the largest smartphone market decline ever.
Then both Anthropic and OpenAI released their most powerful models in the same week, both under government-imposed restrictions, while China's Zhipu AI gave away a model that matches some of those same capabilities for free.
Also in this episode: Google capped Meta's Gemini access over compute limits, Qualcomm made a big data center play with Meta as its anchor customer, Google baked computer use into Gemini 3.5 Flash, a new $500M nonprofit launched to address AI job displacement, and OpenAI unveiled its first custom inference chip. New episodes every Wednesday at aiinside.show.
Note: Time codes subject to change depending on dynamic ad insertion by the distributor.
CHAPTERS:
- 0:00 - Start
- 0:04:38 - Jefferies Warns Memory Prices Will Surge 50% in Q3 2026 and Another 40% in Q4, With No Relief Until 2028
- 0:06:42 - Apple Raises Prices on Macs, iPads by $200 or More on Some Models
- 0:09:03 - The memory shortage shaking Apple and Microsoft is ‘existential crisis’ for smaller players
- 0:13:42 - Apple Shares Sink After Price Hikes Hit iPads and Macs
- 0:18:39 - US releases powerful Anthropic model Mythos to some US companies
- 0:21:10 - OpenAI releases powerful new GPT-5.6 model under restrictions
- 0:22:37 - OpenAI Limits Access to New Models, Citing Government Security Concerns
- 0:26:35 - China Has Matched Anthropic in Cybersecurity, Resetting AI Race
- 0:32:24 - Google caps Meta’s Gemini use as AI demand strains capacity
- 0:34:41 - Meta looks to AI to review harmful content in cost-cutting drive
- 0:42:05 - Introducing Claude Sonnet 5
- 0:45:11 - Qualcomm stock pops 15% after chipmaker almost doubles projection for 2029 non-handset revenue
- 0:46:01 - Jargon decoded
- RAMageddon
- Jason Howell and Jeff Jarvis
- A severe shortage of computer memory (RAM) causing widespread problems.
- inference chip
- OpenAI
- A specialized computer chip designed to run AI models efficiently.
1 h 23Is AI Really Bringing the End of Software?
WithBrandon Thomas
50 minQualcomm Wants Its AI Chips On Every Device
WithJohn Solomon
1 h 01Questions people ask
- What is RAMageddon?
- RAMageddon refers to a global memory shortage that is causing significant price increases for electronic devices and impacting AI development.
- When will the memory shortage end?
- Relief from the memory shortage is not expected until 2028, with further price surges predicted for the remainder of 2026.
Page generated Oct 19, 2026. Summaries are Subvolts' own; the audio, artwork and notes belong to Jason Howell and Jeff Jarvis.
