Shoppers could face higher prices for phones, laptops and other gadgets next year, manufacturers and analysts warn, as AI data centres hoover up memory chips used in consumer electronics.

The world's biggest tech companies are ploughing head-spinningly huge sums into building the hardware that powers artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT.

Their insatiable demand is snarling up a supply chain kept tight on purpose by chipmakers who are keen to avoid price drops that dent profits, experts say.

In 2026, supply chain pressure for memory chips "will be far greater than this year", Lu Weibing, president of Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi, said this week.

"Everyone will likely observe that retail prices for products will see a significant increase," he told an earnings call.

William Keating, head of semiconductor and tech consulting firm Ingenuity, expects the same.

"All companies that manufacture PCs, smartphones, servers etc will be impacted by the shortage," he said. "End result: consumers will pay more."

In high demand are key chips known as DRAM and storage components called NAND, which are found in everyday gadgets but are also needed to help process the vast amounts of data crunched by generative AI.

That's driving up memory chip prices, which in turn is turbocharging revenue for the firms that produce them such as South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix, and Micron and SanDisk in the United States.

"AI-related server demand keeps growing, and this demand significantly exceeds industry supply," Kim Jae-june of Samsung Electronics said last month.

Samsung said on Sunday that it plans to build a new semiconductor plant in South Korea to meet the soaring demand, while SK Hynix recently reported its best-ever quarterly performance, "driven by the full-scale rise in prices of DRAM and NAND".

Industry analysts TrendForce have lowered their 2026 global production forecasts for smartphones and notebook laptops.

"The memory industry has begun a robust upward pricing cycle," which "forces downstream brands to hike retail prices," TrendForce said.

Cars may also be affected, although Keating noted that a smaller portion of their tech relies on memory chips. (AFP)