The era of generative AI has disrupted technology supply chains, and there’s one sure-fire rule in 2026: If you have memory or storage, you’re getting more expensive. Even devices with years-old technology inside are apparently still subject to that unwritten rule. Nvidia just announced that the Shield TV Pro will be $100 more expensive, effective immediately.
The most recent version of the Shield streaming box debuted in 2019 and runs Android TV with AI enhancement and hardware decoding for almost any type of media. While it ran an older Tegra X1+ processor, it was (and still is) fast for a TV media streamer. The device launched at $199.99, with a non-Pro variant at $149.99. The non-Pro Shield has since been discontinued, but the Shield TV Pro lives on at the new price of $299.99.
Nvidia has confirmed that AI can be blamed for the higher price of the Shield TV. “Starting October 2, SHIELD Pro will be priced at $299. The cost of components, including memory, has increased substantially across the industry,” a spokesperson told Ars.
When we spoke to Nvidia’s Andrew Bell earlier this year, he described Shield as a passion project, but it seems like passion projects still have to pay the bills at Nvidia. In that interview, Bell explained that the Shield is still actively manufactured and that the company sells every unit it makes. Without a stockpile of pre-AI hardware to sell, the new Shield TV units are subject to the same supply chain constraints as current smartphones and computers.
