Every summer, the "back-to-school tech trio" of a computer, tablet, and smartphone for college freshmen enters its peak sales season. This year, however, many parents are feeling the financial strain, with budgets ballooning to 20,000 yuan.

Tech Trio Prices Surge, Leaving Parents' Wallets Feeling the Squeeze

"The computer has gone up so much that my budget is blown," lamented a mother surnamed Chen in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, whose child is about to start university. She had assumed that 10,000 yuan would be more than enough for a high-spec laptop, but this year prices have climbed relentlessly, with preferred models from major brands all exceeding 10,000 yuan. Adding a new smartphone pushes the total budget to nearly 20,000 yuan. "Luckily, my kid doesn't use a tablet much and decided to skip it, putting that money toward the computer instead. Otherwise, it would really be too much."

The rising costs of memory, graphics cards, and chips have driven up the price of the entire back-to-school trio. A computer that cost a certain amount in June had already risen by more than 1,000 yuan just two months later by the end of August. A business owner surnamed Dai at the Hangzhou Communications Equipment Market noted that in previous years, students would come in before the semester to upgrade their devices or expand memory, but now they balk at the quotes. "Hard drive prices have more than doubled, jumping from around 400 yuan to 1,000 yuan. Memory prices have always fluctuated, and they took a dip a couple of months ago, so it's unpredictable. Now that the back-to-school season is here, we mostly do wholesale, and our retail discounts are smaller than what you'd find online."

Meanwhile, a price hike announced by chip giant Qualcomm has also pushed up smartphone costs. Dai shook his head in frustration: "Once chip prices rise, no Android phone can escape it." Even the Xiaotiancai smartwatch, a favorite among younger children, has gone up in price. The latest Z12 model has an official suggested retail price of 2,699 yuan, 300 yuan more than the launch price of its predecessor, the Z11.

Despite the hit to their wallets, parents are still forking out for the computers that are deemed essential for new college students. One parent admitted: "Classes are about to start, and I can't put it off any longer. Prices are still climbing, and the salesperson said they probably won't drop soon, so I decided to buy now. If it weren't a necessity, I'd wait for the year-end sales and hopefully get a better deal." Another parent mentioned that unless a specific major requires high performance, a cheaper thin-and-light laptop is more than sufficient. After setting a budget for their child, they said any model exceeding it would have to be supplemented by the child's own savings.

What's Behind the Price Surge?

Industry insiders attribute the root cause of this round of price increases to a structural restructuring of global memory chip production capacity, with the direct catalyst being the powerful "siphoning effect" that surging AI computing power demand has had on memory supply. Major memory manufacturers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have shifted their advanced production capacity toward higher-margin, AI-dedicated high-bandwidth memory, squeezing the supply available for consumer-grade products.

Li Xin, an associate researcher and doctoral supervisor at Southeast University's School of Electrical Engineering, believes the price pressure is transmitted from the top down, with the core cause lying in production. The rapid expansion of AI data centers is seizing a large share of CPU, GPU, and memory production capacity. Since AI chips offer higher profit margins, manufacturers are prioritizing supply for the AI sector, which in turn constrains the supply of consumer electronics.

Regarding future price trends, Li Xin believes this round of price increases could last longer than expected. Building new plants and ramping up production capacity is a gradual process, and chip prices are likely to continue rising over the next year or more. Faced with these hardware cost changes, consumers should plan their purchases rationally and buy according to their actual needs. Domestic memory chips and computing hardware sectors are also accelerating independent innovation and production expansion. As the industry chain improves and new capacity comes online, the market's supply-demand balance is expected to improve.