Is Now a Bad Time to Buy a Laptop? Timing the Price Squeeze
Memory prices are climbing and laptop configurations are shrinking. When to buy in late 2026, how to spot false discounts, and what specs to protect.
Illustration: AI-generated image
In this article
The honest answer up front
Buy now if you need a machine; wait only if your current laptop still does the job. That is the practical conclusion from this quarter's market data, and it runs against the usual advice that patience wins. With memory costs climbing since the spring and Counterpoint forecasting a 27 percent shipment decline this quarter while prices stay elevated, the longer you wait, the more likely you are paying the same money for less RAM, less storage, or both.
When waiting actually makes sense
Waiting only wins in two cases. First, a known refresh is days away and you want the new model's better value at the same price, as with Apple's expected announcements this week. Second, your machine genuinely covers your needs and you are only tempted by marketing. If neither applies, the market's current direction says the deal you are waiting for may not arrive, and today's fair price beats next quarter's thinner configuration.
How to spot a false discount
A discount sticker in 2026 deserves more suspicion than it used to get. Check three lines before trusting the price cut: the RAM size, the storage size, and whether the model is this year's or last year's stock. A 200 dollar saving on a machine with 4 gigabytes less RAM than its predecessor is not a saving; it is a downgrade wearing a sale tag. Last year's model at a real discount can be the best value on the shelf precisely because it was configured before the squeeze.
The specs that protect you
If you buy in the next few months, protect the two things manufacturers cut first: memory and storage. Aim for at least 16 gigabytes of RAM on any machine you expect to keep for years, and treat 512 gigabytes of storage as the comfort floor if you keep photos or video locally. Everything else, the slightly newer processor, the marginally brighter screen, matters less than not being squeezed on the specs you cannot upgrade later.
What about Apple buyers specifically
Apple's memory pricing makes this even sharper, because unified memory is permanent at purchase. With this week's event expected to bring new machines, Apple buyers have one genuine wait-for moment: if the announcements land better value at the same tier, buy; if they raise prices, the current models or last generation's stock become the smart purchase. That is a days-long wait with a clear decision point, not an open-ended one.
The decision in one paragraph
Need a laptop now: buy, protect 16 gigabytes of RAM, prefer last year's generously configured model over this year's cut-down one. Current machine works fine: wait for this week's Apple news or Black Friday, then decide. Waiting indefinitely for prices to fall: the data says that plan is broken until at least 2027, and even then recovery is expected to be flat. Buying deliberately this quarter beats optimistically waiting for a market that has stopped cooperating.
One warning about the used and refurbished market, which is absorbing shoppers pushed out of new machines. Certified refurbishment from the manufacturer is the safe lane: tested hardware, warranty, and fair pricing in a squeezed market. Open-market used laptops are the risk lane, because the machines most likely to be resold in a tight year are the ones with too little memory for their previous owner, which is exactly the flaw this market punishes hardest. If a deal looks impossibly good, read the RAM line before anything else.
A final way to think about the decision: this market punishes vagueness. The buyer who says 16 gigabytes, 512 of storage, this budget, this week, and then compares three specific models, wins. The buyer who waits for a better mood in the market loses, because the market's mood is the entire problem. Name your specs, name your price, check the RAM line twice, and the timing question answers itself, whatever the shipment charts say.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 2026 a bad year to buy a laptop?
It is a year to buy deliberately. Rising memory costs mean prices are elevated and entry-level configurations are shrinking, but waiting does not guarantee better deals, since Counterpoint forecasts declines continuing through Q4 and a flat 2027.
Will Black Friday have real laptop deals in 2026?
Expect deals, but check what is discounted: older stock with full specifications is the real bargain, while new thin-configured machines at reduced prices may be worse value than the original model.
How much RAM should a new laptop have in 2026?
16 gigabytes is the protective minimum for a machine you intend to keep, because manufacturers are cutting RAM to hold price points, and RAM is the spec you feel every day.
Should I wait for Apple's October 28 event before buying?
If you are in the Apple ecosystem, yes, that wait is worth days. New announcements may improve value at existing tiers; if prices rise instead, current and last-generation stock become the smarter buy.