Good for Mother Nature? RAM-pocalyse encourages millions to recycle their old devices as expert says 'economics of component recovery are changing'
AI-driven memory shortages are raising used smartphone prices, while repair businesses increasingly find value in components from damaged and aging devices.
The recent RAM-pocalyse, driven by the increasing demand for AI memory, has led to a surge in the value of old smartphones, encouraging millions of consumers to recycle their devices. As replacement components become harder to source, even broken or outdated smartphones are gaining unexpected monetary value. This trend is primarily fueled by the global shortage of memory chips, which is pushing consumers toward the resale market.
While the motivation behind this shift may not be purely ecological, retailers are capitalizing on the trend by offering sweetened trade-in offers to keep the supply of parts flowing. The economics of component recovery are changing, making it worthwhile to salvage parts from damaged phones that were previously considered worthless scrap.
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