The open hardware manufacturer recently posted an update on its Mastodon account, and it's not great news if you were hoping to grab new Linux-powered PINE64 hardware.
The disruptions in DRAM and eMMC supply are to blame, as PINE64 says its Linux hardware production pipeline is empty for now, with nothing new planned while component costs stay high.
Whether that changes depends on component pricing after mid-2027, and they aren't promising anything before then. They expect stocks for the PineNote and PineTab2 to run out in three months.
Once that happens, there's no more new launches or restocks to cover the outgoing stock.
Not everything is affected though. PINE64's microcontroller lineup, the PineTime, PineVoice, and Pinecil, will keep shipping as usual since they don't rely on the same memory chips.
Concluding their announcement, they gave everyone a status update on the upcoming PineTime Pro:
As for the PineTime Pro, currently the demo firmware has basic drivers for the display, touch, motion, GPS, buttons, heat rate sensor (chip id only), battery charger, motor, microphone and the speaker. Though some issues do need to be ironed out first before a pilot batch begins production.
That's it for this post, all in all it's a bit bleak for the Linux devices, but in the meantime PineStore still have a great lineup of MCU powered devices which will continue to expand with more exciting devices.
The unnamed culprit
PINE64 never actually says the word "AI" in their post, choosing to keep the announcement focused on the DRAM/eMMC shortage. But you have to look further to see where that shortage is actually originating from.
Memory prices have been climbing for months, and DDR5 has taken the hardest hit of all. Companies running AI data centers have been locking up global memory supply well into next year, leaving everyone else fighting over what's left.
Executives across the memory industry aren't optimistic either. SK Hynix's CEO recently said that the worst is still ahead, with supply expected to lag behind demand for years to come.
Not the only ones
PINE64 isn't the only Linux-focused hardware provider caught in this price surge.
The Orange Pi Neo, a Linux-first handheld built with Manjaro, has been sitting on ice since earlier this year for the same reason. The project has been in development for two years and still has no launch date, all because DDR5 and SSD prices refuse to come back down.
I am sure these aren't the only projects affected; smaller ones still in the crowdfunding or conceptualization phase must be facing the same problem.
What worries me is that the AI bubble will eventually burst, but small Linux-focused projects are the ones getting choked out right now. If these component prices stay this absurd, we are going to lose the few independent hardware choices we actually have left.
Suggested Read 📖: Omarchy Bets Its Future on AI Agents While the Linux World Stays Cautious
Sourav Rudra
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