The tech product dilemma: buy now or wait for lower prices?

In 2026, as tech product prices rise, we're having deja vu all over again. A year ago, President Donald Trump's ever-changing tariffs had tech product prices skyrocketing. Consumers found themselves asking the question: Should I buy that laptop or smartphone, or should I wait?

Now, thanks to the AI boom, we're experiencing a shortage of computer memory known as RAMageddon, we're asking that question once again. Our recommendation: If you need it, buy it now. Why? Because there's no telling when prices will drop — or even if they will.

When we posed this question to consumer experts last year, they recommended buying products like laptops, smartphones, and gaming consoles sooner rather than later as price hikes were on the way. Lo and behold, that prediction turned out to be accurate.

And prices are still rising. Apple just announced price hikes across all of its products, except the iPhone, just this week. MacBook Pros will now be $300 to $500 more expensive than they were just days ago. Last month, Nintendo raised the price of its Switch 2 console by $50. And Apple's CEO has warned of steeper prices on the iPhone 18 when it launches in September.

In short, a future "deal" on these products will very likely resemble their present prices.

It is possible that prices go back down if the AI bubble bursts and data center expansions are put on hold. But just the current buildout is going to have knock-on effects for some time to come. Earlier this year, for example, Western Digital said that the AI industry has basically bought out its entire storage supply for 2026, with agreements already being put in place for 2027 and 2028.

Of course, your mileage may vary on the "buy it now" front. If you've decided your near-decade old PC is no longer cutting it for work, that's a must-have purchase. You don't want to end up spending hundreds of dollars more on a laptop that was $500 less just yesterday.

But if you just upgraded your smartphone or laptop last year, it might make more sense to skip a version or two, and wait to see what prices look like at the end of the decade — or on Black Friday, for that matter.

After all, the enormous price hikes could backfire for some tech companies, forcing them to bring prices back down to Earth — even if it eats into their profit margins.