Yesterday's news about the Pi 5 16GB being $299.99 was *not* an April Fool's joke (sadly)—DRAM pricing is killing the hobby SBC market, and it's not just Raspberry Pi that's affected.
I wrote more on my blog, here: https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2026/dram-pricing-is-killing-the-hobbyist-sbc-market/
@geerlingguy Rehashing the same advice elsewhere...
The best time to buy electronics was last year. The second best time is now. Take care of your things, because the upgrade cycles are all broken.
@Tock @geerlingguy note that the oligopolists fanning this greedflation are exactly counting on such a rush to buy.
The best would be to ask one self whether you really need these electronics with those specs, or whether you could fall back on lower specs, second hand, or entirely skip the upgrade.
(less money going into the pockets of 3 Ram makers quasimonopolies)
@dryak @geerlingguy Goes without saying, if you don't need, please save your money.
But take care of your things! (Maybe replace your phone case if it already took a bad hit, or get a better bag for your laptop than a dinky little sleeve.)
Jeff Geerling
Tock
DrYak