2023-12-29 20:30:10
We had already talked about it, the price of flash memory has been artificially low for several months now, and manufacturers of SSDs and other USB keys (which integrate this type of memory) are suffering from it. And 2024 should (unfortunately) set the record straight.
This model has gained 20% since November.
SSD prices could rise due to flash memory shortage
It’s a movement that has actually already started: SSDs are more expensive than in November, the last time we talked about the problem. A 1TB Crucial P3 was less than €50, it is now sold for around €60… a price that is still too low. As the reports Hardware and co.NAND flash memory manufacturers would have to increase their prices by 40% for production to become profitable, and the expected increases are therefore more around 50%.
Currently, it is not very visible for a good reason: companies that integrate memory still have stocks purchased at low prices. But flash memory manufacturers tend to reduce production, to prevent their customers from stockpiling again when prices are low. Samsung, for example, would only produce 50% of its total capacity on the chips used in entry-level SSDs and USB drives. We should therefore expect a sharp increase in 2024.
The Apple case
There remains one unknown: Apple. The company has never passed on the reduction in the price of flash memory, and the storage of the brand’s devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac, etc.) is therefore currently very expensive: the increase from 256 to 512 GB on a MacBook Air is for example still billed at €230, or roughly the price ofun SSD de 4 To with equivalent performance. One of the reasons comes from the fact that Apple uses proprietary flash memory, which interfaces directly via PCI-Express with the brand’s systems on a chip. As the memory is produced exclusively for Apple, price variations linked to high inventories, excess production or too low demand are absent. And maybe that’s good news in a sense: Apple products shouldn’t be affected by the hike.
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