Flash Memory Prices Could Be Headed for Collapse

If you’ve been planning a new SSD purchase, it might be best to hold off for a while. There are signs that the market could be headed for a significant downturn, with some experts predicting NAND prices could collapse as low as $0.08 per GB during 2019. That would put NAND flash within striking distance of HDD pricing — certainly far closer than the two have come before.

The collapse, if it occurs, would be driven by several factors. First, manufacturers have been investing heavily in NAND flash production, with new factories coming online around the world. Demand for NAND has been robust over the past decade and continues to grow; The Register notes that analysts expect the amount of NAND flash shipped in 2018 to grow by 45 percent this year compared to last. The actual gap between spinning media prices and NAND prices has remained fairly constant, with both decreasing in price over time.

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