Products released last year by major notebook PC corporations such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and HP are being sold at prices higher than their launch prices. With memory chip prices soaring this year and major manufacturers sharply raising prices for new models, distributors holding inventory of last year's releases are enjoying a windfall.
According to the industry on Feb. 2, the base model of the Galaxy Book5 Pro that Samsung Electronics released last year is currently being sold through key retail channels at prices 20% to 30% higher than a year ago. The most affordable 256-gigabyte (GB) model launched in the 1.7 million won range, but it is now being sold at a minimum of 1.8 million won and over 2 million won.
Most artificial intelligence (AI) PCs on the market priced under 2 million won are inventory from products released last year. A representative at a large domestic retailer said, "Once the companies that secured some Galaxy Book5 Pro units last year clear out their stock, it will be hard to find laptops with similar specs under 2 million won."
In fact, Samsung Electronics is reportedly close to running out of last year's notebook PC inventory. In particular, for the Galaxy Book5 series, the entry-level models are effectively discontinued, and even mid-range and premium models are said to be selling out quickly. A Samsung Electronics representative said, "We have almost no inventory left of the Galaxy Book5 series, and we are no longer selling the entry-level models."
Since the second half of last year, memory manufacturers of DRAM and NAND flash, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, have expanded chip production for AI customers, reducing shipments of memory products for consumer PCs. As most DRAM and NAND are focused on enterprise use, general-purpose DRAM needed for consumer devices such as laptops and smartphones is in extreme short supply. With DRAM and NAND prices soaring, the PC market is also seeing sharp price increases.
In reality, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics raised this year's new product prices by about 1 million won from a year earlier. Prices for Samsung Electronics' new notebook models this year, depending on model, central processing unit (CPU), graphics card, and memory specifications, are set at 4.62 million won to 4.93 million won for the Galaxy Book6 Ultra, and 2.6 million won to 3.51 million won for the Galaxy Book6 Pro. For the Pro, that is an increase of nearly 1 million won from the previous model in the same tier, the Galaxy Book5 Pro, which was in the 1.7 million won range. This is the first time the launch price of a Galaxy Book Pro model has exceeded 3 million won.
LG Electronics' "LG Gram Pro AI 2026" unveiled this year also saw a steep price increase. The 2026 16-inch model equipped with the Intel Core Ultra series, 16GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD has a launch price of 3.14 million won, up about 500,000 won from last year's model with similar specs. Other global manufacturers, including Lenovo, the world's No. 1 in laptops, and Asus, also sharply raised prices late last year and early this year.
Falcon Northwest, a U.S. custom high-performance PC maker, raised prices of some popular high-performance computers from $5,800 to over $7,000 as memory chip prices tripled since last summer. Domestic custom PC vendors are also selling finished goods with the same specifications at prices 20% higher than a year ago, and nearly 50% higher for some high-end models.
The problem is that major memory corporations such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have suggested that this shortage of consumer memory will persist throughout the year. In last month's earnings conference call for the fourth quarter of last year, Samsung Electronics said DRAM supply growth this year would be limited, and SK hynix also expected the memory supply-demand imbalance to continue.