Is AI killing laptop upgradeability?

The timing really sucks

Not only is RAM becoming scarcer and more expensive with each passing day, but many laptop makers have removed the ability to upgrade memory. This shift was gradual and normalized long before memory became so volatile, but it happened. 

Buying a base model of a laptop and upgrading the memory later used to be the norm. Back then, RAM was cheap enough that upgrading later was no big thing. Now, a lot of laptops have soldered memory, so you’re kind of stuck with whatever configuration you buy. In other words, you get what you get and you don’t get upset. What used to be a market problem is starting to look more like a design problem.

Why laptops stopped being upgradeable

While the full answer is more nuanced than this, the gist is that thinner laptop designs have less room for modular parts that can be taken out and replaced. That means harder to upgrade.

There’s also the business aspect of it, too. If you can’t upgrade later on, you’re more likely to pay more upfront for additional RAM.

There are real engineering reasons behind this shift, too. Soldered RAM can be positioned closer to the processor, which improves power efficiency and reduces latency. (That’s important for battery life.) Fixed memory also makes it easier to manage heat, which matters in thin laptops that don’t have much headroom to spare. If you want performance, it’s got to stay cool in order to run well.

Where the AI boom fits in all of this

The AI boom didn’t create this upgradeability problem, but it did intensify it. When memory was cheap and plentiful, soldered RAM almost felt like a reasonable trade-off. But the second RAM got expensive and hard to come by, the cracks in the armor started to show. 

You can’t exactly wait this one out, either. With RAM soldered in place, there’s no option to buy now and upgrade later when prices (hopefully) drop. What the AI boom did was expose an assumption that was haunting modern laptop design: that memory would always be cheap and easy to buy. Oh, sweet summer child…

And then there are the AI data centers, which are hoovering up huge amounts of RAM. This demand trickles down to consumers. To meet this sudden surge, manufacturers and laptop makers have to adjust how they handle their inventory, which affects prices for us normal folk. For example, Lenovo’s been holding onto a bunch of RAM with the hope that it’ll help keep laptop prices down.

What does this mean for us?

RAM prices are getting so crazy that some people are trying to come up with wacky workarounds. One modder is salvaging memory chips from old laptop RAM and soldering them onto a custom desktop DIMM in order to save some bucks. That’s a pretty extreme example, though. What about everyone else?

If you’re the type of person who just peruses social media and watches YouTube, a RAM shortage could mean paying an additional $50 to $100 for the specific configuration you want.

But for power users? Well, that’s where things might get a bit dicey. If you’re trying to edit short videos or run some fancy AI features, that 8GB of soldered RAM will likely struggle, which is a problem because upgrading later isn’t an option. Your only options are to swallow the higher upfront cost on a stronger laptop or deal with the compromised performance. For people who push their machines harder than the average Joe, the limitations are going to be even more obvious.

What used to be a minor annoyance is now a freaking headache. Higher prices and fewer choices? What a buzzkill.

Is laptop upgradeability dead?

The ongoing RAM shortage isn’t killing laptop upgradeability, but it is revealing just how inflexibly unupgradeable most modern laptops have become. Your choices are limited, period.

That said, there’s always a silver lining. Framework laptops prove that upgrades still matter—it’s all about giving power and control back to the user. The main takeaway? Don’t take flexibility for granted.