Bottom line: Solid-state drive pricing will remain in freefall for at least the next few months, ensuring you will be able to secure dirt cheap NAND-based storage in the months leading up to the holiday buying season.
According to a new report from TrendForce, the NAND flash market will remain in a state of oversupply through at least the third quarter due in part to cautious inventory management by buyers. The market intelligence firm believes this will lead to a drop in the average selling price of NAND flash by three to eight percent in Q3.
Oversupply will hit the consumer SSD market especially hard in the coming months. TrendForce estimates that average selling prices could fall by as much as 13 percent in the third quarter which is great news if you are in the market for some speedy storage (and not so much if you are in the business of selling drives).
The outlook is nearly as bleak in the enterprise SSD market as TrendForce has forecast an average selling price decline of five to 10 percent. UFS storage prices, meanwhile, could dip between eight to 13 percent. Small-capacity eMMCs are already at rock bottom with virtually no more room for prices to fall. As such, we can expect them to remain flat in Q3, TrendForce said.
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The major takeaway here – at least for consumer SSD shoppers – is that it will likely pay to play the waiting game. Unless you absolutely need a new drive today, wait a month or so before pulling the trigger. Doing so might save you a few bucks that could be put towards other hardware upgrades.
On the flip side, SSD prices are already very low. Samsung's 1 TB 990 Pro M.2 NVMe drive, for example, is currently priced at $69.99 over on Newegg. Waiting a month or two just to save about $10 is not going to make or break you either way.