AI rush turns everyday data storage into ‘digital gold’ for Hong Kong consumers
AI boom pushes makers to prioritise industrial-grade uses, leaving Hong Kong consumers paying more for basic storage.
Photographers and everyday users in Hong Kong are being hit by surging prices for hard drives and SD cards, with some popular models and pro-grade camera cards nearly doubling in just a few months. Manufacturers are diverting production away from low-margin consumer storage into high-end chips and enterprise hardware to feed booming demand for artificial intelligence and data centres, creating shortages on the retail side. Experts warn that basic storage will stay pricey at least until year-end, and the squeeze on memory could push up the cost of desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets by as much as 15 to 20 per cent next year.