SK Hynix is expected to begin mass production of its 375-Layer NAND Flash solution by the end of 2026, offering higher storage capacities. SK Hynix Goes For 375-Layer NAND This Year & 480/604-Layer Follow-Ups In The Years Ahead SK Hynix and Samsung are in the race to reach the highest number of layers in the NAND Flash segment. While Samsung is aiming beyond 400-layers with dual stacking solutions going up to 1000-layers, Hynix will soon be commencing mass production on its 375-Layer NAND. As per sources of The Elec, it is reported that SK Hynix has completed the verification of […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/sk-hynix-races-samsung-to-400-layer-nand-must-abandon-tungsten-as-stacking-hits-a-wall/

The AI surge has not only led to a global supply problem, but it's also driving record revenue in the NAND segment; however, the PC market has taken a big hit. NAND Suppliers Earn Record Revenue In Q1 2026 With China's CXMT Climbing Up To 13% of the Global Share The latest market report shared by Counterpoint Research shows us the extent of the global NAND demand. As of Q1 2026, the NAND market has seen a massive 3.5x surge in global revenue, driving the tally up to 46 billion US dollars. The strong demand is driven primarily by Agentic […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/nand-revenue-explodes-3-5x-record-46-billion-in-a-single-quarter-as-agentic-ai-starves-the-pc-market/

Higher memory prices are expected to make their impact on the PC and server markets in the second half of this year and the first quarter of 2027, says investment bank UBS. The bank discussed computer hardware firm Dell in an investment note where it bumped the share price target to $440 from $243 and lifted the firm's earnings estimates for the fiscal years 2027 and 2028. UBS' coverage came after Dell's fiscal first quarter earnings report saw it post an 88% annual revenue growth on the back of a 757% AI server revenue bump. Memory Pressure On Dell's Server […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/sharp-memory-price-jumps-will-be-felt-more-severely-in-dells-pc-server-markets-in-coming-months-says-bank/

Korean customs export/import data has been updated, showcasing the massive DRAM & NAND price surge that will affect global memory and SSD markets. NAND & DRAM Demand Has Swollen To Record Levels & Korean Semiconductor Firms Are Earning Big Time Due To Memory & SSD Price Surges The latest data from the Korean customs import/export department, specifically focusing on DRAM and NAND segments, has been released. As per the new data, DRAM & NAND demand surge can clearly be seen, which has affected all major tech components, with their prices seeing a massive hike of up to 63% in a […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/koreas-dram-nand-export-massive-prices-bump-versus-last-month-ssd-memory-up-63-percent/

Silicon Motion's CEO has said that memory (DRAM) and SSD (NAND) shortages would last until 2028 due to the continued demand from AI firms. Memory & SSD Shortages Are So Bad That They Are Expected To Last Till 2028, And Prices Are Expected To Continue To Climb We know that memory and SSD shortages are bad, both in the enterprise and consumer segments. DRAM & NAND makers are adding new factories to boost production capabilities, but these aren't expected to become operational within this year. At the earliest, the first facility expansion and bring-up plans are expected around 2027, which […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/silicon-motion-ceo-warns-memory-ssd-shortages-will-drag-into-2028/

Micron posted a record Q2 as DRAM demand increases, but its CEO says this is just the beginning as more memory is required for AI to reach its full capabilities. Micron CEO Sees Demand For Faster Memory To Increase Massively For AI To Reach Its Full Potential Memory & Storage maker, Micron, has seen exceptional growth across all of its businesses, which include DRAM, NAND, and HBM. The growth comes from skyrocketing demand for their products as the Agentic AI craze continues to lift off every memory and storage firm. During a conversation with CNBC, Micron's CEO said that what […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/micron-ceo-warns-ai-is-only-in-the-first-innings-memory-supply-tightens-dram-nand-demand/

Memory makers are enjoying a huge boost to revenue as AI demand has earned them more in a single quarter than the entire previous year. Memory makers such as ADATA saw a 17x Annual Growth In Profits, Others Also Seeing Similar Boost From AI Boom The AI crunch continues to devastate the consumer markets as component prices go up; at the same time, memory makers are seeing an astronomical rise in their profit margins. So there are two things to factor here, first is that memory demand is at an all-time high due to AI firms requiring more DRAM for […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/memory-manufacturers-earned-more-in-q1-than-all-of-last-year-prices-to-spiral-up/

Another hike has been implemented, which makes buying SSDs even more difficult than ever. Samsung and Kingston Increase Price of All SSD Products by Around 10%, Marking Another Significant Price Hike When Prices are Unusually High Remember the Micro Center shelves, which were fully stacked by the high-end SSDs selling for thousands of dollars? Yeah, they are about to get even more expensive. This thing isn't stopping anytime soon and we don't know how long this will continue, as at hundreds of dollars for 1 TB of SSD storage, it is becoming super difficult to build a budget gaming PC. […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/samsung-and-kingston-hike-ssd-prices-by-10-again-pushing-1tb-drives-past-330-as-nand-shortage-deepens/

When Samsung and SK hynix vow to only sell DRAM via long-term contracts going forward, it naturally prompts uncomfortable questions regarding additional price upside. After all, why would these companies try to lock in today's DRAM prices if substantial upside lies ahead? The newfound penchant for long-term DRAM supply contracts from Samsung and SK hynix suggests there might not be a lot of price upside left ahead According to a recent report from South Korea, Samsung and SK hynix have "virtually abandoned the one-year memory short-term supply contract method with global big tech companies and decided to supply products only […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/peak-dram-prices-in-sight-as-samsung-sk-hynix-double-down-on-long-term-contracts/

The latest drive from Kioxia is the Exceria PRO G2, the new flagship model for the company's consumer range. The Gen 5 drive, which uses a combination of an 8-channel controller and 218-layer NAND, is Kioxia's fastest drive to date, rated up to 14,900MB/s and 13,700MB/s for sequential read and writes, respectively.

At the time of writing, the Exceria PRO G2 lineup consists of three capacities: 1TB, 2TB and the flagship 4TB model (the drive we are looking at here). At the heart of the drive is a Silicon Motion SM2508 8-channel controller paired up with Kioxia's BiCS8 218-layer 3D TLC NAND.

Kioxia rates the Sequential performance of the 4TB Exceria PRO G2 as up to 14,900MB/s for reads and up to 13,700MB/s for writes. The 2TB drive gets the same read rating as the 4TB drive, while the 1TB is rated up to 14,400MB/s. When it comes to write performance, the 2TB drive is rated up to 13,400MB/s and up to 12,700MB/s for the 1TB model.

Random performance for the 4TB drive is quoted as up to 2,300,000 IOPS for reads and up to 1,950,000 IOPS for writes. The 2TB drive is rated up to 2,250,000 IOPS and up to 1,950,000 IOPS for read and writes, respectively, while the 1TB gets 2,000,000 IOPS for reads and 1,900,000 IOPS for writes.

The 4TB drive gets a TBW endurance rating of 2,400TB, while the 2TB gets 1,200TB, and the 1TB gets 600TB.

Kioxia backs the drives with a 5-year warranty.

Physical Specifications:

• Usable Capacities: 4TB.
• NAND Components: BiCS8 218-layer 3D TLC NAND.
• NAND Controller: Silicon Motion SM2508.
• Cache: LPDDR4.
• Interface: PCIe Gen 5 x4, NVMe 2.0d.
• Form Factor: M.2, 2280.
• Dimensions: 80.15 x 22.15 x 2.63mm.

Firmware Version:  AZRA4103.

Samsung's NAND supply is now expected to see a significant price hike, as the Korean giant, like DRAM, plans to capitalize entirely on demand from the AI sector. NAND Prices Are Getting Out of Control, And It Could Have Devastating Impacts on the PC Market The PC industry is set to face another crisis from memory suppliers, and after being disrupted by AI customers' demand for DRAM, it appears NAND is next. According to a report by the Korean media outlet Sedaily, Samsung now plans to hike prices by a whopping 100% in Q2, following a similar hike in Q1. […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/the-nand-price-crisis-is-getting-worse/

The WD_Black SN7100 4TB NVMe SSD is $546 on Amazon with Gen4 speeds and TLC NAND at roughly $137/TB.

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/wd_black-sn7100-4tb-nvme-ssd-drops-to-546-on-amazon-60-off-list/