Limited supply and heavy demand for NAND flash is pushing SSD prices upward

[Shawn Knight]

Those shopping for a shiny new solid state drive this holiday season (or shortly after) may want to expedite the process of pulling the trigger as NAND flash prices are only expected to rise in the coming weeks and months.

A recent report from DRAMeXchange (via Taiwan-based media outlet CTimes) highlights the fact that NAND flash revenue on a global scale grew 19.6 percent sequentially during the third quarter of 2016. That’s only expected to climb during the current quarter as products that use flash memory – namely smartphones – will be in high demand during the holidays.

The technological transition from 2D NAND to 3D NAND on the production side is another contributing factor to rising costs. This will work itself out over time as additional manufacturers upgrade their facilities to churn out newer and more advanced 3D NAND chips but in the interim, it will continue to limit the industry’s overall output.

Even though prices will be inflated, it won’t be anything like what we saw with mechanical hard drives following the extensive flooding in Thailand in 2011. The shortage is, however, already having an impact on devices that use SSDs like computers.

Just last month, for example, Acer delayed shipments of new laptops like the Swift 7 due to SSD shortages.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/67272-limited-supply-heavy-demand-nand-flash-pushing-ssd.html

 

[Theinsanegamer]

And of course record profits are being had. I smell shenanigans.

 

[Bigtruckseries]

And of course record profits are being had. I smell shenanigans.

Let me tell you something: I honestly DON'T CARE about the profits Apple or Samsung earn putting NAND into their devices.

My bottom line: give me what I want.

as far as I'm concerned, my iPhone 7 Plus is perfect thanks to the 256GB NAND. I can record for hours upon hours and have space to finalize videos in iMovie without ever worrying about storage space.

$1000

If they could give me a 512GB NAND right now, I'd get that - even if it cost me $1500.

When I do vacation Travelogues for Youtube, the revenue generated more than pays for the up-front cost.

iPhone has become an integral part of my business and NAND flash plays the most important role in making my vlogs.

 

[p51d007]

Prices go up, prices go down. I upgraded both of my computers, home & laptop to SSD's this past spring.
I will usually wait, until the price is "good enough" for me.

 

[Jack007]

People are realizing that ssds are far superior to ordinary sata drives and for the price ssd go for it is more than worth it for the performance boost alone

 

[davislane1]

And of course record profits are being had. I smell shenanigans.

I have the same feeling any time someone tells me they got a raise. I mean, seriously, who makes record anything without shenanigans?

 

[davislane1]

Hopefully things pull back a bit this summer. Was thinking of grabbing a 960 Pro around June.

 

[fktech]

OK, I'll wait! Over production and greed will make for falling prices in a few months.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

And of course record profits are being had. I smell shenanigans.

Let me tell you something: I honestly DON'T CARE about the profits Apple or Samsung earn putting NAND into their devices.

My bottom line: give me what I want.

as far as I'm concerned, my iPhone 7 Plus is perfect thanks to the 256GB NAND. I can record for hours upon hours and have space to finalize videos in iMovie without ever worrying about storage space.

$1000

If they could give ma 1 512GB NAND right now, I'd get that - even if it cost me $1500.

When I do vacation Travelogues for Youtube, the revenue generated more than pays for the up-front cost.

iPhone has become an integral part of my business and NAND flash plays the most important role in making my vlogs.

Sadly: Companies don't cater to your nuances. Surprisingly: They cater to a wider market.

 

[davislane1]

Sadly: Companies don't cater to your nuances. Surprisingly: They cater to a wider market.

It would seem his "nuances" are aligned with the wider market. See:

as far as I'm concerned, my iPhone 7 Plus is perfect thanks to the 256GB NAND. I can record for hours upon hours and have space to finalize videos in iMovie without ever worrying about storage space.

 

[Bigtruckseries]

I already stated that I love NAND flash and I don't care about profiteering. I handed Apple money for the 256GB iPhone 7 Plus because I wanted it. I lovve it. It's my favorite portable ever.

Then I should mention that I absolutely hate removable memory cards I.e. Galaxy S7 with a 128GB Samsung Micro SD.

Bottom Line: transfer rates are slower. It's also more likely to get data corruption on Micro SD than on NAND.

All these years with Apple and I've never had data corruption - not even once. I'm not saying it doesn't happen - just that it never happened to me.

Micro SD?

I lost data a number of times - and unless you specifically buy high end memory from Samsung, you run the risk of getting knock -off memory cards which don't really hold the amount of data they claim to.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

It would seem his "nuances" are aligned with the wider market. See:

Yeah, I shouldn't pick on him, it's really, really not like me to be like that. I feel ashamed. Just like the rest of us he's entitled to opinion, and constant bragging. But hey, what would the world be like if we were all the same.

 

[wiyosaya]

It would seem his "nuances" are aligned with the wider market. See:

Yeah, I shouldn't pick on him, it's really, really not like me to be like that. I feel ashamed. Just like the rest of us he's entitled to opinion, and constant bragging. But hey, what would the world be like if we were all the same.

I have to agree. He's easy prey, and even when you have legitimately trounced him, he's like wack-a-mole or the Energizer Bunny. Seems like many have caught on, though...

 

[DaveBG]

I already stated that I love NAND flash and I don't care about profiteering. I handed Apple money for the 256GB iPhone 7 Plus because I wanted it. I lovve it. It's my favorite portable ever.

Then I should mention that I absolutely hate removable memory cards I.e. Galaxy S7 with a 128GB Samsung Micro SD.

Bottom Line: transfer rates are slower. It's also more likely to get data corruption on Micro SD than on NAND.

All these years with Apple and I've never had data corruption - not even once. I'm not saying it doesn't happen - just that it never happened to me.

Micro SD?

I lost data a number of times - and unless you specifically buy high end memory from Samsung, you run the risk of getting knock -off memory cards which don't really hold the amount of data they claim to.

What? I have never seen anyone have corrupt data on SD card. I have SD cards in all my phones and all my friends do and no one ever had... you are talking out of your ***.