The ongoing chip shortage driven by AI data centers is causing everyday tech to skyrocket in price, as manufacturers prioritize AI-capable hardware over the kinds used in things like PCs, smartphones, and gaming consoles. In recent months, products like the PlayStation 5 and Samsung Galaxy tablets have received price hikes. Not even USB drives and SD cards, storage options known for their affordability and consistent price drops, have been spared.
In just one year, USB drive and SD card prices have jumped dramatically. PCWorld and Tom's Hardware each compared the current prices for specific devices to their 2025 peak and found significant increases across all drive types and capacities, in some cases doubling or even tripling. These have gone up further since those reports were published. As an example, a 512GB SanDisk Extreme PRO SD Card that cost $60 in 2025 had risen to around $107 when Tom's Hardware ran its story in April; as of this writing in June 2026, the same product is now $150 on Amazon. By the time you're reading this, prices may have jumped again.
Price hikes haven't necessarily stopped consumers, as people are buying Steam Decks for almost $1,000. Still, it's hard to recommend purchasing USB drives or SD cards at their current prices. While they may be the only storage expansion options in certain cases (the Nintendo Switch 2 uses expensive microSD cards), for the most part, an HDD (hard drive disk) or a cloud service is a smarter financial choice in 2026.
Via MSN
