World News for Students of English

20-10-2026 07:00

Buying a new phone or laptop used to mean getting more memory and better speed for your money. Now, that is changing because of the huge demand for AI.

Companies building AI data centers need a lot of memory chips. Chipmakers prefer selling to these data centers because they make much more money. This leaves fewer chips for everyday gadgets like phones and laptops, and causes component prices to rise sharply. To keep prices from doubling, manufacturers are selling devices with less memory and lower specifications.

Because new phones cost more and offer fewer improvements, people are changing their habits. Many users are keeping their old devices for longer or buying cheaper phones instead of upgrading to the newest models. Experts say this situation will likely continue for the next few years.

Difficult words: demand (the total amount of goods and services people are willing and able to buy), specification (a detailed description of the design and measurements of a product or machine), habit (what you regularly do).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.