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The sky-high cost of RAM has claimed another victim: budget smartphones. The cofounder of Nothing company, Akis Evangelidis, recently took to X to announce that there will be no successor to last year's popular CMF Phone 2 Pro, a credible iPhone competitor that launched for just $279 and won plaudits up and down the tech world for its design and budget-friendly pricing. 

Nor was Evangelidis shy about naming the problem: "We were working on a successor, but with memory prices where they are right now, we can't build a phone that feels like a genuine step forward at a price that makes sense for CMF."

If you're totally oblivious about what he's alluding to, check out this series of charts from PCPartPicker, detailing the rise in RAM costs over just the last 18 months. Two standout examples: a basic 2x8GB configuration of DDR4 RAM went for about $50 in January of 2025 and now sells for over $150 in June of 2026, while a more speedy 2x16GB configuration of DDR5 RAM went for under $100 in January of 2025 and today costs close to $500!

And while RAM is the most talked-about culprit behind the price spikes, solid-state storage (SSDs), the kind used in mobile phones, high-end gaming computers, and consoles, has also shot up dramatically in price, currently priced at 20 times the equivalent hard disk drive (HDD). 

The driver of these price hikes is the AI revolution currently underway across the entire tech space, as deep-pocketed companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet (parent company of Google) are projected to spend some $700-$900 billion per year on AI-related infrastructure, growing to as much as $1.6 trillion in 2031, according to reporting from Goldman Sachs. 

Unfortunately, because chip makers and RAM suppliers are seriously constrained in their production capacity, this newfound demand has created a bidding war, with budget smartphone shoppers and trillion-dollar tech companies all competing for the same finite supply of materials. The result, at least in the near term, will be not only the abolition of budget smartphones like the CMF Phone 2 Pro, but also inevitable price hikes for compute-heavy devices like smartphones, tablets, and personal computers that are already quite expensive. Apple's outgoing CEO Tim Cook said these developments are "unavoidable."

What is a budget-savvy shopper to do in 2026? The best solution for the time being might be to hold on to your old phone, tablet, or computer for as long as possible.

There's nothing wrong with a comfort watch. It's the end of a long day, and instead of wasting hours scrolling for something to watch, you throw on a show you've seen hundreds of times. I know people who put on The Office to act as white noise while they sleep. The same goes for people who embark on rewatches of Game of Thronesor The Sopranos. Look, we've all rewatched our favorite shows. Now, it's time to find something new.

I've had solar panels for nearly ten years, after having them installed on both my current home and my previous one. There are a few reasons why I knew I wanted to invest tens of thousands of dollars into this technology, and why I've had no regrets.

I relied on full Excel charts for years, but they often felt like overkill for simple tracking. Then I discovered sparklines—and suddenly I could see trends directly inside the cells. My spreadsheets became tidier, I stopped wasting time inserting and formatting complex charts, and I didn't have to juggle floating objects.

More buyers in the U.S. want an SUV that can basically replace several vehicles at once. It has to be comfortable for commuting, practical for family life, and still feel a bit premium without going full luxury-price headache.

At this point, I have several NAS servers around my house. The best thing I ever did, though, wasn't setting up five NAS servers. It was separating the important data from replaceable data. That is when running a NAS finally clicked with me, and I wish I had done it a long time ago.

Nothing makes me feel more futuristic than tapping my smartwatch to a terminal to pay for a bag of chips. However, there’s one part of the process that has always been a bit annoying to me. Thankfully, Google Wallet on the Pixel Watch finally fixed it.

Now that I've finally jailbroken my Kindle, I can't stop thinking of things to do with it. I'd messed around with making it display various things, and I wondered if I could make it do something genuinely useful and display the feed from my video doorbell.

Just a decade ago, a home server sounded like something only serious tinkerers bothered with. Maybe it was an old desktop under a desk, a basic NAS in a cupboard, or one shared folder. For most people, it was fairly small scale, outside of those of us who were self-identified data hoarders and needed lots of space.

Summer is in full swing, which means you're likely busy with DIY projects, lawn care, and other home maintenance. The right Ryobi tool can help you finish jobs faster and easier, stay cool while you work, and get back inside to the AC. With that in mind, here are several Ryobi tools you didn't know you needed.

Microsoft introduced Secure Boot alongside Windows 8 in 2012 as a way to improve security on Windows PCs by preventing malicious software, including rootkits and bootkits, from loading into your system before the operating system even starts.

New-car shoppers are often told that buying a mainstream sedan is the sensible choice. Models in this segment offer strong reliability, good fuel economy, and plenty of practicality for everyday driving. However, rising vehicle prices have created an interesting situation where some lightly used luxury cars now cost the same as brand-new mainstream alternatives, opening the door to a much more premium ownership experience without stretching your budget.

Many of us collapse in front of the TV with a controller in hand after a long day at work. These devices are an essential part of your home and routine, so why not add them to your smart home too?

NASes are not for everyone. They can be expensive, and oftentimes, they provide features that, frankly, a lot of people don't need. A NAS is what you get when you want your own cloud storage of sorts, but if you don't need the cloud part, a DAS can be a better option.

Most people find out someone is stealing their Wi-Fi thanks to how slow the network gets. What happens next is usually just a password change, and that's it. However, I once took a different approach because of the audacity. What some people don't realize is that when they put their devices on someone else's Wi-Fi, they've opened up their own door as well.

Android Auto is obviously designed to be used on a screen in your vehicle while keeping your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road. And that means it doesn't necessarily need access to everything you get on your phone. It's packed with navigation apps, voice controls, regular apps, and entertainment, but I've turned off a few things.

If keeping your pool clean has always felt like more work than it should be, Beatbot has the answer. The brand has built a lineup of AI-powered robotic pool cleaners designed to take the effort out of pool maintenance, from quick daily top-ups to whole-pool deep cleans. Rather than relying on fixed cleaning patterns or basic suction, Beatbot's robots use onboard AI to map the pool, detect debris in real time, and adapt their route accordingly, covering floors, walls, waterlines, and surfaces, depending on the model.

A lot of people owe Toyota an apology. For years, the Japanese automaker has faced criticism for refusing to fully embrace the “electric vehicle revolution.”

The ESP32 is the go-to microcontroller for DIY projects, smart home sensors, and other lightweight projects, but it’s not the only game in town. If energy efficiency is high on your list of priorities, the nRF52 series might be a better choice.

The calendar is about to flip again, and, like clockwork, Netflix is clearing house. As June succumbs to July, a big pile of movies and shows heads for the exits for U.S. subscribers, so consider this fair warning for any of them still collecting dust on your watchlist—time is ticking for you to watch them before they're gone.