Raspberry Pi hikes board prices in UK as global RAM shortage tightens

Raspberry Pi has raised retail prices on most Pi 4 and Pi 5 single-board computer SKUs, with the company applying tiered increases that hit boards carrying 2GB or more of onboard LPDDR4 memory the hardest. This is the second notable adjustment in roughly two months, building on smaller increases implemented late last year and in December. The steepest absolute uplifts fall on the highest-memory SKUs — notably the 8GB and 16GB models — which now sit at new price thresholds that meaningfully change the cost calculus for many projects. Raspberry Pi attributes the change to constrained supply of low-power DRAM, a market pressure that has been amplified by surging demand tied to AI compute and by suppliers' allocation choices. Those upstream allocation decisions are already reshaping product strategies across the broader hardware ecosystem: some GPU and SSD suppliers are redirecting memory to higher-margin segments, shrinking or delaying lower-margin models to conserve scarce components. For makers, educators and industrial integrators that rely on fixed-memory single-board designs, the immediate impacts are higher bills of materials, tighter choice when needing specific memory capacities, and longer procurement lead times. Short-term, Raspberry Pi—and peer vendors—can protect margins by passing on supplier cost rises, but they risk dampening demand in price-sensitive markets such as hobbyist and education sectors. Over the medium term, persistent shortages and profit-driven allocations may push vendors to redesign boards with different memory footprints, renegotiate supplier contracts, or consolidate SKUs to prioritize higher-margin products. That strategic trade-off could reduce product diversity and sustain elevated street prices across consumer and embedded categories, as memory modules and packages are diverted toward more lucrative channels. Buyers who can delay purchases or switch to lower-memory variants will see less disruption; others with fixed requirements must budget for higher costs or seek alternative suppliers. Unless upstream capacity expands or demand normalizes, expect continued price volatility and further inventory and pricing adjustments across devices that share DRAM supply chains.