The official match ball for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 has officially stepped into the spotlight, and this time, it is bringing significantly more technology than previous generations. Called TRIONDA, the new ball represents a major evolution in both football design and connected technology, becoming one of the most advanced World Cup balls ever created.

A new report highlights how the global memory chip crunch is no longer a short-cycle but a structural shift, with supply expected to lag demand for years as artificial intelligence workloads take priority across the semiconductor industry. Memory manufacturers are projected to meet only about 60% of global demand by 2027, signalling a prolonged shortage with no immediate relief in sight.

Shares of Qualcomm fell sharply this week after the company issued weaker financial guidance for the current quarter, warning that a global memory chip shortage is weighing on the smartphone market and constraining demand for its mobile chips. The outlook disappointed Wall Street following Qualcomm’s fiscal first-quarter earnings release, triggering a sell-off in after-hours trading as investors absorbed the supply chain challenges.

It was only yesterday when we reported that the rising cost of memory chips may put pressure on Apple, since Samsung and SK Hynix are increasing it. However, Apple CEO Tim Cook responded to that matter during the company’s latest earnings call with equity analysts.

We have been talking about this for a while; memory costs have already risen, and the global memory chip market is facing steep price increases that are reverberating across the technology sector. This is prominent in the smartphone industry, where dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) is a critical component.

2026 already seems like all doom and gloom for the tech industry. Xiaomi's President and HONOR have already warned us about this due to the rising cost of memory chips. Today, Nothing co-founder Carl Pei took to X to warn that future smartphones may become more expensive, signalling a shift in industry dynamics that could reshape how devices are priced in the coming years.

The rapid rise in memory chip prices is starting to shake up more than just smartphone and PC markets; it’s now affecting gaming handheld consoles as well. Manufacturers in this niche segment are beginning to feel the strain of “skyrocketing” RAM costs, a situation that has already led to shipment delays and configuration changes for upcoming handheld devices.

Industry research firm Counterpoint Research has revised its outlook for the global smartphone market, now projecting a slight contraction in shipments in 2026. The adjustment is largely due to a sharp rise in memory chip prices, especially for DRAM (RAM) used in smartphones, as supply tightens against booming demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centres and other high-end computing sectors.

HONOR has confirmed that it will increase prices across its tablet lineup in response to surging memory and storage chip costs, marking a shift in pricing strategy for one of the world’s more prominent consumer electronics brands. The announcement follows a similar move by Xiaomi, which earlier this month raised prices on several tablet models amid the same industry-wide pricing pressures.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is poised to usher in the next generation of its creative hardware lineup with the imminent launch of the M5-powered MacBook Pro and iPad Pro, a key milestone in its transition to AI-driven computing. The move comes as part of Apple's broader strategy to integrate artificial intelligence across its devices and respond to shifting market dynamics.