The beginning of 2026 brought bad news for those who were postponing the purchase of a new Microsoft device. Asus has announced a price increase.
The company is warning partners about "strategic price adjustments" taking effect on January 5. The exact devices and amounts of the increase are not specified, but it is logical to assume that this will affect expensive models like the ROG Xbox Ally X, which already costs around $1000.
Asus explains the increase by rising prices for components and shortages of DRAM, NAND, and SSD.
The price pressure is due to the global AI boom — semiconductor manufacturers are reallocating capacity to the needs of artificial intelligence, which affects the availability of components for the consumer market.
It is noted that this is only the beginning: sources report that NVIDIA and AMD are also considering raising prices for video cards in 2026. Serious memory shortages may affect the release schedule of the next generation of consoles, including PS6 and the new Xbox.
Everything indicates that 2026 will be a difficult year for gamers: the first officially more expensive model is just a harbinger of a possible price increase throughout the industry.
