Update | Framework calls out Dell for price gouging as it charges much less for 32 GB RAM upgrade

Fact-checking revealed that certain statements made in the source posts are false. Our article has been adjusted accordingly.

Edited article continues as follows:

The effect of memory supply shortage has started to take its toll on laptops, with GPU pricing also expected to balloon in the coming months. Some users online spotted that Dell is currently demanding an insane $550 surcharge to go from 16 GB to 32 GB LPDDR5X memory on certain Dell XPS 13 9345 SKUs, which prompted a response from Framework.

Dell’s memory pricing is apparently worse than even Apple's, which is notorious for overpricing memory and storage upgrades on its laptops which comes with all key components soldered-in. Apple currently charges $400 extra for 32 GB of memory on the M4-powered MacBook Air 13 (available on Amazon.com). This means that either Dell has no RAM inventory for its products and is forced to factor in the current market conditions, or it is price gouging. Framework staff believes it's the latter, as the company has called out Dell on X.

In response to an X post showing Dell’s absurd 32 GB RAM markup, Framework remarks that the company currently only charges $80 more for 32 GB of DDR5-5600 memory. This is a stark contrast to Dell’s $550 and Apple’s $400 surcharge. Framework also explains that, while there is going to be a RAM price increase soon, the company won’t follow the path of Dell’s apparent price gouging or Apple’s routine overcharging for RAM upgrades.

The users who initially spotted the huge $550 RAM markup of the 32 GB RAM on the Dell XPS 13 9345 with the Snapdragon X Elite seem to have missed a crucial detail. Dell has slashed $350 off the price of the 16 GB RAM model with 2 TB of storage, while offering no such discount for the SKU with 32 GB of RAM and 2 TB of storage. As a result, the total RAM surcharge appears to be $550. However, if we look at the prices of the 16 GB RAM/512 GB storage and 32 GB RAM/512 GB storage SKUs, the actual price difference is $250.

So, while Framework's pricing isn't as much better compared to Dell as the company's X post might have you believe, it is still more consumer-friendly than the $250 that Dell seems to be asking for that 16 GB RAM bump.

Finally, while Framework is committing to staying away from price gouging, we have no doubt that the eventual RAM price bump will be brutal. OpenAI is reportedly hoarding the majority of the global memory supply and is even allegedly sending employees to buy retail DDR5 kits. So, it is likely that all laptop OEMs will be scrambling for memory soon, which will worsen the already bad RAM shortage.

When Framework’s inventory runs dry, the company will have to play by the market’s rules and pass the burden on to the consumers. Therefore, if you need a laptop and Framework tickles your fancy, now might be the time to pull the trigger.