Prime Day Is Coming Early This Year
Amazon Prime Day 2026 is sure to be the biggest online sale of the year, and it's coming a bit sooner than you may have expected. In a press release yesterday, quickly issued after the sale's timeframe was revealed in Amazon's own first-quarter earnings statement, the company confirmed this year's event will be held in June. This is the first time Amazon has moved its biggest sale of the year earlier since the height of the pandemic in 2021.
Amazon doesn't usually announce its sales months beforehand, typically waiting until at most a month out to give shoppers a heads-up on when a shopping event will take place. But after this early news drop, it's likely the other major retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy will also adjust to earlier dates and follow suit, with plenty of time to prepare their own sales.
Amazon has yet to announce the exact dates of the sale, but if the 2021 sale is any indication, it will likely be sometime in the week of June 22. In 2025, Prime Day doubled from two days to four for the first time, and it will likely be four days long this year as well.
What to expect from Prime Day 2026
Amazon says shoppers will be able to find deals on electronics, kitchen, beauty, and apparel, as well as fresh groceries and everyday pantry and household essentials. The company will undoubtedly release more information about the sale "soon," and I'll be sure to update you when we know more.
via Lifehacker (author: Daniel Oropeza)
Amazon Prime Day 2026 is sure to be the biggest online sale of the year, and it's coming a bit sooner than you may have expected. In a press release yesterday, quickly issued after the sale's timeframe was revealed in Amazon's own first-quarter earnings statement, the company confirmed this year's event will be held in June. This is the first time Amazon has moved its biggest sale of the year earlier since the height of the pandemic in 2021.
Amazon doesn't usually announce its sales months beforehand, typically waiting until at most a month out to give shoppers a heads-up on when a shopping event will take place. But after this early news drop, it's likely the other major retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy will also adjust to earlier dates and follow suit, with plenty of time to prepare their own sales.
Amazon has yet to announce the exact dates of the sale, but if the 2021 sale is any indication, it will likely be sometime in the week of June 22. In 2025, Prime Day doubled from two days to four for the first time, and it will likely be four days long this year as well.
What to expect from Prime Day 2026
Amazon says shoppers will be able to find deals on electronics, kitchen, beauty, and apparel, as well as fresh groceries and everyday pantry and household essentials. The company will undoubtedly release more information about the sale "soon," and I'll be sure to update you when we know more.
via Lifehacker (author: Daniel Oropeza)
Samsung Says the Memory Crisis Will Get Worse, so You Have Two Choices
Earlier this month, Nikkei Asia reported that the ongoing memory crisis was not slowing down anytime soon. RAM supply is currently in extreme demand, as AI companies are scooping up the hardware to power their ever-growing data centers. Unfortunately, there are only so many memory manufacturers in the world, and only so many resources available to actually manufacture those chips. There are really only three key players—SK Hynix, Micron Technology, and Samsung—and while all are ramping up production as much as possible, it doesn't appear to be enough to meet demands for the immediate future.
Samsung can't meet memory demand this year
Now, Samsung is officially confirming as much. During a post-earnings call this week, Samsung memory chip business executive Kim Jaejune said, "Our supply falls far short of customer demand...based solely on the demand currently received for 2027, the supply-to-demand gap for 2027 is set to widen even further in 2026." This affirms much of the Nikkei Asia report, namely that Samsung cannot keep up with the current level of demand, and that it expects that reality to continue throughout the next year.
It's important to note that these companies are not necessarily trying to boost the production of consumer-grade RAM components; rather, AI companies are looking for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to run their power-hungry processes. But without the HBM supply to meet demand, companies will continue purchasing typical RAM hardware—putting on a strain on the consumer market. Samsung says it expects its HBM revenue to more than triple in 2026 compared to 2025.
Even if you don't buy RAM itself, many of the products you do purchase are affected by this memory crisis. If a device runs on some type of computer, it almost assuredly needs RAM to function. As such, products including smartphones, computers, fitness trackers, cars, smart home devices, audio equipment, and more will all feel the squeeze—and may increase in price as a result.
You have two choices to weather the memory crisis
As all signs now point to an unavoidable memory crisis, you have two choices you can make as a consumer to weather the storm. The first? If you need a new device, buy one now—and on discount, if you can help it. Based on the reports over the past month, there is little reason to expect tech prices to come down, so don't expect big players to offer their latest devices for less than previous offerings.
That doesn't mean you need to pay an inflated price tag, however. Perhaps the best way to shop for new tech is to shop for used tech. Check the refurbished and renewed sections of stores like Apple, Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart—so long as the device meets certain cosmetic qualifications (and work as they should, of course), you can get something that feels new without paying a 2026 price. You can also take advantage of some companies' education discounts, even if you aren't a student or teacher. Apple will take a good chunk off a new MacBook if you go through its Education Store.
If your existing tech still works, however, I'd point you to option number two: hold on tight, and don't let go. If you don't need a new computer, phone, smartwatch, what have you, don't spend your money yet—especially if you can see that device lasting another year or more. There are things you can do to make your aging tech feel new—or, at least, newer than it was before. That includes transforming your existing devices into something different, but just as useful: Rather than buy a new laptop, you could install Linux to speed things up and have more control over your OS; instead of picking up a new phone, you could turn yours into a dumbphone, breaking your addiction while saving money at the same time.
We know that the memory manufacturers don't see supply meeting demand until at least 2027; maybe if it does, prices will stabilize, and the time will be right to buy new tech again.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
Earlier this month, Nikkei Asia reported that the ongoing memory crisis was not slowing down anytime soon. RAM supply is currently in extreme demand, as AI companies are scooping up the hardware to power their ever-growing data centers. Unfortunately, there are only so many memory manufacturers in the world, and only so many resources available to actually manufacture those chips. There are really only three key players—SK Hynix, Micron Technology, and Samsung—and while all are ramping up production as much as possible, it doesn't appear to be enough to meet demands for the immediate future.
Samsung can't meet memory demand this year
Now, Samsung is officially confirming as much. During a post-earnings call this week, Samsung memory chip business executive Kim Jaejune said, "Our supply falls far short of customer demand...based solely on the demand currently received for 2027, the supply-to-demand gap for 2027 is set to widen even further in 2026." This affirms much of the Nikkei Asia report, namely that Samsung cannot keep up with the current level of demand, and that it expects that reality to continue throughout the next year.
It's important to note that these companies are not necessarily trying to boost the production of consumer-grade RAM components; rather, AI companies are looking for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to run their power-hungry processes. But without the HBM supply to meet demand, companies will continue purchasing typical RAM hardware—putting on a strain on the consumer market. Samsung says it expects its HBM revenue to more than triple in 2026 compared to 2025.
Even if you don't buy RAM itself, many of the products you do purchase are affected by this memory crisis. If a device runs on some type of computer, it almost assuredly needs RAM to function. As such, products including smartphones, computers, fitness trackers, cars, smart home devices, audio equipment, and more will all feel the squeeze—and may increase in price as a result.
You have two choices to weather the memory crisis
As all signs now point to an unavoidable memory crisis, you have two choices you can make as a consumer to weather the storm. The first? If you need a new device, buy one now—and on discount, if you can help it. Based on the reports over the past month, there is little reason to expect tech prices to come down, so don't expect big players to offer their latest devices for less than previous offerings.
That doesn't mean you need to pay an inflated price tag, however. Perhaps the best way to shop for new tech is to shop for used tech. Check the refurbished and renewed sections of stores like Apple, Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart—so long as the device meets certain cosmetic qualifications (and work as they should, of course), you can get something that feels new without paying a 2026 price. You can also take advantage of some companies' education discounts, even if you aren't a student or teacher. Apple will take a good chunk off a new MacBook if you go through its Education Store.
If your existing tech still works, however, I'd point you to option number two: hold on tight, and don't let go. If you don't need a new computer, phone, smartwatch, what have you, don't spend your money yet—especially if you can see that device lasting another year or more. There are things you can do to make your aging tech feel new—or, at least, newer than it was before. That includes transforming your existing devices into something different, but just as useful: Rather than buy a new laptop, you could install Linux to speed things up and have more control over your OS; instead of picking up a new phone, you could turn yours into a dumbphone, breaking your addiction while saving money at the same time.
We know that the memory manufacturers don't see supply meeting demand until at least 2027; maybe if it does, prices will stabilize, and the time will be right to buy new tech again.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
SSDN (评论: Same Stories, Different Narratives)
montage_kiki评论: Same Stories, Different Narratives
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via 豆瓣最受欢迎的乐评 (author: montage_kiki)
montage_kiki评论: Same Stories, Different Narratives
评价: 力荐
via 豆瓣最受欢迎的乐评 (author: montage_kiki)