Solid state drives are the cheapest they’ve ever been! This is thanks to a decline in NAND flash prices because of oversupply and increases in densities. According to a DigiTimes report NAND flash prices have decline 50 percent over 2018, and will continue to drop through 2019. ADATA chairman Simon Chen commented that NAND flash makers haven’t slowed down capacity expansions, and 2019 could witness an even bigger drop in prices than 2018.
Companies like IMFlash Technology, SK Hynix, Samsung, Western Digital, Toshiba, have already taped out their 96-layer 3D NAND flash products. These products could enter volume production by the first half of 2019. The 96-layer 3D NAND introduce 50 percent increases in densities, and with the introduction of these products prices of existing 64-layer NAND based products should drop.
The same report notes that DRAM prices should remain flat throughout 2019. Many NAND flash makers also produce DRAM and they could balance their NAND flash loses with DRAM profits.
