Weekly recap week 44, 2026: storage news and price per TB

10:43 PM UTC#

WinUI: Microsoft's answer to RAM-hungry web apps remains experimental for now

Microsoft has added tables and charts to WinUI, its library for native Windows apps, in Windows App SDK 2.5.4 Experimental from September 29, PC Games Hardware reports. That closes gaps that had pushed developers towards web apps, which often need far more RAM. According to measurements by Windows Latest, WhatsApp as a WebView2 app (a web app with embedded Edge technology) uses around 1.2 GiB of RAM while scrolling, while the earlier native client got by on about 250 MiB. The SDK version also fixes a resource management bug that could make the memory use of native apps grow. The changes do not arrive through Windows Update, and developers must first adopt them in their programs.

For buyers: PC Games Hardware says there is no immediate RAM saving yet. Anyone looking to save memory can use WhatsApp in the browser for now; how much that helps depends on the browser and open tabs, according to the report.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GBchange from tomorrow(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: PC Games Hardware

06:43 PM UTC#

Review: Biwin M560 2 TB leads PCMark 10, lags in file copying

Tom's Hardware reviewed the 2 TB Biwin M560 M.2 SSD and gave it an Editor's Choice award. The PCIe 5.0 drive has no DRAM cache of its own and pairs the SMI SM2504XT controller with Kioxia's 218-layer BiCS8 TLC flash. Biwin rates it at up to 11,000 MB/s reads, 10,000 MB/s writes and 1.7 million IOPS (input/output operations per second). In PCMark 10 the M560 led the test field, and in the 3DMark storage test it came 2nd behind an engineering sample of the same controller. According to Tom's Hardware, the one weaker result was the DiskBench copy test. Power draw stayed well below 6.5 W. Biwin offers a 5-year warranty and 750 TB of writes per TB of capacity.

For buyers: Tom's Hardware considers the SSD a good fit for laptops because of its low power draw. It comes only in 1 TB and 2 TB, so anyone who needs 4 TB has to pick another model.

TB index SSD M.2 NVMe 133.85 $/TBchange from tomorrow(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: Tom's Hardware

06:43 PM UTC#

Altman on memory prices: market is failing, he does not blame manufacturers

On the podcast Cheeky Pint, hosted by Stripe co-founder John Collison, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made further remarks about the memory market, heise online reports. He disputed that high chip prices are a normal effect of supply and demand, saying the invisible hand of the market is currently failing. According to heise, he does not blame memory makers. He finds it understandable that they are expanding their plants more slowly than their revenue would allow, since memory chips have so far never been a good long-term business. His criticism of DRAM in private computers came in the same conversation; heise frames it as a remark about local AI models.

For buyers: Altman's remarks by themselves change neither supply nor prices. heise online currently sees no quick fix for rising memory prices.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GBchange from tomorrow(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: heise online

02:43 PM UTC#

Lenovo ThinkPlus FU100: "encrypted" USB drive held an unencrypted SD card

Security researcher Xusheng Li found that the Lenovo ThinkPlus FU100 fingerprint USB drive, marketed with AES-256 encryption, contains a plain SD card with no encryption at all, Tom's Hardware reports. The fingerprint reader only unlocked the USB connection. On the Lenovo TSD303 external SSD the data was encrypted, but the drive sent the correct password over USB in plain text. Lenovo rates the flaws as high severity; the fix for the FU100, FU200, TU800 and TSD303 requires calling a service line in China, then a replacement or an on-site firmware upgrade. Using the AI tool Codex, Li also found hardcoded keys and 2 hidden accounts in protection products from other vendors, including Netac, KakaSoft, Nexcopy and SecZure.

For buyers: Owners of the affected Lenovo drives should back up their data and wipe the drive before sending it in, Lenovo advises. Li recommends always verifying the security claims of storage sticks yourself.

TB index Flash USB flash drive 0.113 $/GBchange from tomorrow(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: Tom's Hardware

02:43 PM UTC#

OpenAI CEO Altman meets about 50 Samsung executives in South Korea

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met about 50 senior Samsung executives at Samsung's center in Yongin, Tom's Hardware reports, citing Bloomberg. According to Samsung, the talks covered the existing cooperation on AI data centers, including memory chips for OpenAI's Stargate project. Samsung did not announce a new memory supply agreement. According to Counterpoint Research, Samsung and SK Hynix together held about 63% of global DRAM revenue in the 2nd quarter of 2026 and roughly 83% in HBM, the stacked memory used in AI accelerators.

For buyers: TrendForce estimates DRAM supply will fall 1 to 2% short of demand this year, with the gap expected to widen in 2027. Data centers compete with PCs and smartphones for the same memory, Tom's Hardware writes.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GBchange from tomorrow(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: Tom's Hardware

09:20 AM UTC#

Nvidia HGX Rubin NVL8: less HBM4 memory and 26% lower bandwidth

TechRadar adds new details on the lowered memory bandwidth of Vera Rubin. According to the report, the 8-GPU HGX Rubin NVL8 server board is hit hardest: Nvidia now lists 2 TB of HBM4 at 130 TB/s instead of 2.3 TB at 176 TB/s, a 26% bandwidth cut. HBM4 is stacked memory placed right next to the compute chip. The per-GPU table still shows 288 GB and 22 TB/s, which according to TechRadar no longer matches the system totals. Nvidia has not said whether it uses smaller memory stacks or disables 1 of 8 stacks per GPU, the report says.

For buyers: The change affects data centers. TechRadar reads it as a fallback plan because Nvidia did not get its very high HBM4 targets from memory makers; the report does not say whether this changes the memory shortage for other products.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GBchange from tomorrow(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: TechRadar

06:43 PM UTC#

Komprise and Spectra Logic move rarely used company data to tape

Data management firm Komprise is partnering with tape specialist Spectra Logic, reports StorageNewsletter. Komprise software finds rarely used files on expensive primary storage and moves them to the Spectra BlackPearl Object Gateway, which manages disk and tape behind an S3-compatible interface (access like Amazon cloud storage). The files stay reachable at their original location. The companies cite rising flash prices: according to the announcement, enterprise TLC SSDs (3 bits per memory cell) cost 6.5 times as much as a year ago, and LTO tape vendors reported 57% more shipped capacity in Q1 2026.

For buyers: The news targets businesses but shows that tape is back in demand as low-cost archive storage. Anyone with large amounts of rarely accessed data may want to consider LTO tapes as an alternative to hard drives.

TB index Tape (LTO) 10.64 $/TB0.0 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: StorageNewsletter

06:43 PM UTC#

Lightbits releases native storage plug-in for Proxmox VE

Lightbits Labs has released an open-source plug-in for the Proxmox VE virtualization platform and has been named a Solution Provider by Proxmox Server Solutions, reports StorageNewsletter. The plug-in connects Proxmox clusters via NVMe over TCP (SSD access over standard Ethernet) to Lightbits storage, which runs on standard servers with NVMe SSDs. Administrators can create and resize volumes and take snapshots from the Proxmox interface. It supports Proxmox VE 9.x and all maintained Lightbits releases. Lightbits aims the offering at companies evaluating alternatives to VMware.

For buyers: Nothing changes directly for consumers. Anyone running Proxmox in a home lab or small business gains another way to attach shared SSD storage over Ethernet.

Source: StorageNewsletter

02:50 PM UTC#

Sandisk: quarterly revenue climbs to 11 billion dollars as consumer sales shrink

Sandisk posted record revenue of 11 billion US dollars in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2027, up 378% year over year, reports Blocks & Files. GAAP (US accounting rules) net income came to 8.1 billion dollars. The data center business grew to 4.8 billion dollars, while consumer revenue fell 39% to 397 million dollars, which Sandisk attributes to the market adjusting to higher prices. For the current quarter Sandisk expects 12.4 billion dollars, give or take 200 million. First samples of products based on HBF (stacked high-bandwidth flash for AI chips) are due in 2027.

For buyers: Sandisk links the consumer decline to higher prices and says demand from its large customers exceeds its supply through the end of the decade. For buyers of SSDs, memory cards and USB sticks this argues against quickly falling prices, though that remains an assessment.

TB index SSDs 117.97 $/TB▲ 0.2 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: Blocks & Files

02:50 PM UTC#

Canon: cameras set to cost more in 2027 due to pricier DRAM

Canon expects higher camera prices next year, reports Notebookcheck. In a Q&A document published with its third quarter 2026 results, the company says components such as mainboards are hard to source in sufficient quantities, while the cost of image sensors and DRAM keeps rising. Cameras use DRAM as buffer memory for captures. Canon plans to pass the extra costs on through higher prices while weighing the effect on sales volumes. Canon had previously assumed costs would fall again in the second half of 2027 and now expects them to keep rising throughout 2027.

For buyers: According to Canon, anyone planning to buy a new camera should expect price increases of varying size in 2027. The report shows the memory shortage now reaching devices beyond PCs and consoles.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GB▲ 0.1 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: Notebookcheck

02:50 PM UTC#

Intelligent Memory secures more DDR4 and eMMC supply for industrial customers

Industrial memory maker Intelligent Memory has secured additional DDR4 and eMMC (soldered flash memory) supply and is expanding its range of DDR4 chips, DDR4 modules and eMMC, reports StorageNewsletter. The expanded lineup will be shown at electronica 2026, where further product details are to follow. New distribution partners are Sourceability and Flip Electronics. The company says the industry is shifting investment toward newer memory generations while devices with long lifecycles still need DDR4 and eMMC.

For buyers: The announcement targets industrial and device makers. For DDR4 buyers it shows that, according to Intelligent Memory, the industry's move to newer generations makes older memory harder to source; the company gives no pricing details.

TB index DDR4 UDIMM 6.51 $/GB▲ 1.5 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: StorageNewsletter

10:55 AM UTC#

Samsung: memory business brings in 140.7 trillion won in Q3

Samsung Electronics posted revenue of 195.3 trillion won (about 145.5 billion US dollars) in the third quarter of 2026, up 121.8% year over year, reports Blocks & Files. Operating profit reached 107.4 trillion won. The DS (Device Solutions) semiconductor division brought in 147 trillion won, 140.7 trillion of it from memory, driven by HBM4 (stacked memory for AI accelerators) and server SSDs. Samsung plans to supply more high-speed server DDR5 and more QLC SSDs (4 bits per cell) and expects AI demand in 2027 to exceed industry supply by a wider margin than in 2026.

For buyers: Samsung cites higher market prices across all applications and expects even tighter supply in 2027. For RAM and SSD buyers this points to prices staying high, though that remains an assessment.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GB▲ 0.1 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: Blocks & Files

10:55 AM UTC#

Micron pays large bonuses in Taiwan as Taoyuan pay dispute continues

Micron is paying its production staff in Taiwan 3 bonuses at once in October, reports Tom's Hardware, citing Digitimes. They include an annual bonus of mostly 7.5 to 12.5 months of salary, a mass production bonus of 20% of annual salary and a one-time 1,000,000 Taiwan dollars (about 31,000 US dollars). About 700 of the more than 4,300 production workers receive a combined 5 years of salary this way. A quarterly profit bonus for staff worldwide starts in January 2027. In Taoyuan, nearly 70% of union members rejected the latest offer, and the next meeting is tentatively set for November 6.

For buyers: After the one-day strike in Taoyuan, the pay dispute remains unresolved. The source does not say whether it affects DRAM production.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GB▲ 0.1 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: Tom's Hardware

10:55 AM UTC#

OpenAI CEO Altman: RAM in home PCs is poorly utilized

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman criticized memory in home computers in a conversation with the YouTube channel Cheeky Pint, report Tom's Hardware and WinFuture. From a global allocation view, he said, it is bad for scarce DRAM to sit in many home PCs where it is used only about 5% of the time. With supply this tight, memory should be kept as fully utilized as possible in data centers. Tom's Hardware notes that OpenAI earns its money mainly with models running in data centers.

For buyers: The statement by itself changes neither supply nor prices. It shows how strongly AI providers compete for the same scarce DRAM that PC buyers need.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GB▲ 0.1 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Sources: Tom's Hardware, WinFuture

10:55 AM UTC#

Intel: tight memory supply expected to weigh on the PC market into 2027

Intel reported its third-quarter results on October 29, 2026: revenue of 16.5 billion US dollars, up 21% year over year. For the fourth quarter Intel expects only 15.0 to 16.0 billion US dollars. According to the earnings call summary by BigGo Finance, revenue of the PC division fell 9% from the prior quarter to 8.1 billion US dollars, made worse by memory shortages. Management reportedly expects worldwide PC unit sales to fall 12% in 2026 and about 10% in 2027, with the memory impact lasting through 2027. CFO David Zinsner said in the release that he sees the PC slowdown continuing at least through the first half of 2027.

For buyers: Intel names tight memory supply as one reason for weak PC demand. For RAM buyers this argues against a quick easing of prices, though that remains an assessment.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GB▼ 0.5 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Sources: Intel (Business Wire), BigGo Finance

10:55 AM UTC#

Altera unveils Agilex 27 FPGA family with LPDDR6 and PCIe 7.0, samples in 2027

On October 28, 2026 Altera introduced Agilex 27, the first family of its new Agilex 2X line. FPGAs are chips whose circuitry the customer programs, for example for networking and radio equipment. According to ServeTheHome the chips have memory controllers for DDR5, LPDDR4, LPDDR5X and LPDDR6, the next generation of low-power memory, and support PCIe 6.0 and 7.0. The Quartus Prime 26.3 development software is already available, SiliconANGLE reports, while Altera expects engineering samples in the second half of 2027. PC Games Hardware sees this as a first firm customer base for LPDDR6 memory makers.

For buyers: The announcement has no near-term impact for PC buyers. According to PC Games Hardware, a successor to DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 in desktop PCs is not yet in sight.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GB▼ 0.5 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Sources: ServeTheHome, SiliconANGLE, PC Games Hardware

10:50 PM UTC#

TrendForce: shortage of capacitors for CPU boards and DDR5 modules to last into mid-2027

AI inference, meaning running finished models, is driving demand for CPUs and therefore for DDR5 memory, according to TrendForce. Motherboards and memory modules need many high-capacitance MLCCs, which are small ceramic capacitors. TrendForce expects the shortage of high-end MLCCs to last through the first half of 2027, with the tightest supply in the first and second quarters of 2027. Price talks for the first quarter of 2027 begin in November 2026, and TrendForce says Japanese makers look likely to raise prices. Murata does not expect new capacity before 2028.

For buyers: TrendForce writes that AI is taking a growing share of production and pushing up the cost of memory and other components. Buyers of DDR5 modules should therefore expect little relief from this side until mid-2027.

TB index DDR5 UDIMM 15.62 $/GB▲ 1.0 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: TrendForce

02:54 PM UTC#

Nvidia lowers Vera Rubin HBM4 bandwidth to 19.2 TB/s per GPU

Nvidia has lowered the memory bandwidth figures of its Vera Rubin AI platform and has now commented on the change, PC Games Hardware reports. HBM4 is stacked memory placed right next to the compute chip. Nvidia now lists 19.2 instead of 22 TB/s per Rubin GPU and 1,400 instead of 1,580 TB/s for the Vera Rubin NVL72 rack; memory capacity per GPU is unchanged. The earlier numbers were preliminary architectural targets from development, the new ones reflect volume production, according to Nvidia. The company gives no technical reason, while industry observers in South Korea suspect, according to Digitimes, that the lower requirements are meant to ease HBM4 supply.

For buyers: According to that view, lower HBM4 requirements could make supply easier. The source does not say whether this will affect memory prices for consumers.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GB▲ 0.3 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: PC Games Hardware

02:54 PM UTC#

Seagate plans 55 TB Mozaic hard drives, customer qualification from late 2027

Seagate plans to start customer qualification of its 3rd generation Mozaic hard drives with up to 55 TB on 10 platters towards the end of 2027, Blocks & Files reports from the earnings call. Mozaic uses HAMR (heat assisted magnetic recording). Seagate expects HAMR to make up roughly 50 % of its nearline exabyte shipments, the high capacity drives for data centers, by the end of 2026, with about half of that being Mozaic 4 with up to 44 TB. In the lab Seagate has demonstrated 8 TB per platter. Nearline capacity supply is expected to grow by about 25 % a year on a compound basis.

For buyers: According to Blocks & Files, each HAMR transition lowers manufacturing cost per bit. The source does not say when 44 or 55 TB models will reach consumer retail.

TB index HDD Internal 3.5" 36.25 $/TB▼ 0.5 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: Blocks & Files

02:54 PM UTC#

GitHub added 160 petabytes of storage and 4 million CPU cores in 2026

GitHub has added 4 million CPU cores and 160 petabytes of storage this year, ComputerBase reports from the GitHub Universe conference in San Francisco. 1 petabyte equals 1,000 TB. According to the report, the reason is the sharp rise in activity from AI assisted coding: in September 2026 the platform counted 7.4 billion commits (saved code changes), 5 times as many as a year earlier. GitHub plans to separate compute from data storage and expects up to 35 times higher overall throughput. The Microsoft subsidiary aims to complete its move to a multi region Azure infrastructure next year.

For buyers: The news shows how strongly AI services drive storage demand in data centers. The source does not say which drives GitHub uses.

TB index Hard drives (HDD) 34.31 $/TB▼ 0.9 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: ComputerBase

10:44 AM UTC#

Report: CXMT to sell HBM3E despite yields of only 20 to 30%

China's largest memory maker CXMT (ChangXin Memory Technologies) plans to start selling HBM3E for AI systems soon, WinFuture reports, citing sources of the news agency Reuters. HBM3E is stacked high-bandwidth memory placed right next to AI chips. According to the report, yield, the share of usable chips, is only 20 to 30%, compared with about 70% at SK Hynix. Samples have reportedly gone to several Chinese companies, and limited volume production is set to start within 2 months.

For buyers: HBM3E is designed for use in AI chips. The report does not say whether another supplier will ease the memory market.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GB▲ 0.3 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: WinFuture

10:44 AM UTC#

Report: Apple to spend about $25 billion on NAND flash in 2026

Apple is likely to spend about 25 billion US dollars on NAND flash in 2026, up from 6 billion last year, PC Games Hardware reports, citing the Wall Street Journal and estimates by TechInsights. The volume purchased reportedly barely changed. According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon signed longer-term contracts with Kioxia at higher prices this year. One gigabyte of flash cost about 5 US cents in 2023 and now costs more than 30 US cents, the report says.

For buyers: NAND flash goes into SSDs, memory cards and smartphones. The report shows large AI buyers driving flash purchase prices; it does not say how this affects retail SSD prices.

TB index SSDs 117.97 $/TB▲ 0.5 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: PC Games Hardware

10:44 AM UTC#

Test: Teamgroup T-CREATE Expert DDR5-6000 CL30 keeps up with CL26 kit

PC Games Hardware has tested Teamgroup's T-CREATE Expert kit with 2 x 16 GiB DDR5-6000 and timings of 30-36-36-76 at 1.35 volts. Timings are the memory's wait times in clock cycles. The test sample uses SK Hynix A-dies, but Teamgroup does not guarantee these chips for every module in the series. In games, a G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB with CL26 was only 0.31% ahead on average and about 2.1% ahead in the rare lowest frame rates (P0.2). The test points to tRAS as one explanation: it is 76 on the T-CREATE and 96 on the comparison kits.

For buyers: According to the test, CAS latency alone says little about a DDR5 kit's performance. When comparing kits, it pays to look at all timings.

TB index DDR5 UDIMM 15.62 $/GB▲ 1.0 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: PC Games Hardware

06:43 AM UTC#

FADU shows SSD with its own file system, samples not until Q3 2027

South Korean controller designer FADU has shown an SSD at the OCP Global Summit that understands files rather than just blocks, TechRadar reports. The File-Semantic SSD (FS-SSD) handles file lookup, permission checks and file-to-flash mapping in the firmware of its 6th generation controller, so GPUs and network cards can reach files without the host CPU. In FADU's own preliminary test, throughput held at about 460,000 operations per second as the server was cut from 16 cores to 1. A standard Linux server fell from about 150,000 to 40,000 in the same test. FADU expects partner samples in Q3 2027.

For buyers: The FS-SSD targets AI data centers and arrives as samples in 2027 at the earliest. For SSDs in your own PC, the announcement changes nothing for now.

TB index SSDs 117.97 $/TB▲ 1.1 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: TechRadar

02:43 AM UTC#

Microsoft shows Maia 300 AI accelerator with 288 GB of HBM4

At OCP Summit 2026 Microsoft showed its in-house Maia 300 AI accelerator, ServeTheHome reports. The chip uses 8 stacks of HBM4, stacked memory placed right next to the processor, for a total of 288 GB and 18 TB/s of memory bandwidth. According to the report, each accelerator draws 950 W and is liquid cooled. Microsoft says 96 Maia chips fit into one rack, with 4 per tray. The SSDs, CPU and network cards in each tray are still cooled by fans.

For buyers: The Maia 300 adds another large buyer of HBM4. The report does not say whether demand for this kind of AI memory will affect prices of consumer RAM.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GB▲ 0.3 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: ServeTheHome

10:43 PM UTC#

Seagate HAMR SMR hard drives up to 36 TB now supported on Broadcom controllers

Broadcom has added 2 Seagate SMR hard drives to its approved vendor list for the eHBA 9600 host bus adapters, StorageReview reports. SMR (shingled magnetic recording) partly overlaps tracks to raise capacity, but it needs suitable controllers and software. The list names the Exos M with 32 TB (ST32000NM001F) and 36 TB (ST36000NM001M), both SATA drives using HAMR (heat assisted magnetic recording). Microsoft Azure has qualified the combination for its data centers. According to StorageReview, the same list now also includes 17 SMR models of the Western Digital Ultrastar DC HC690.

For buyers: The approval targets companies running servers. In a StorageReview test, Windows did not detect a similar Seagate SMR drive at all, and Seagate has not published prices for the new models, according to StorageReview.

TB index HDD Internal 3.5" 36.25 $/TB▼ 0.3 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: StorageReview

06:46 PM UTC#

Review: Samsung's first USB4 SSD P9 reads at 4,048 MB/s and stays cool

StorageReview has tested the Portable SSD P9, Samsung's first external SSD with USB4. Samsung rates it at 4,000 MB/s read and 3,800 MB/s write, and the 2 TB test unit reached 4,048 and 3,769 MB/s, reading twice as fast as the older T9. The P9 comes in 1, 2, 4 and 8 TB. Its metal enclosure peaked at 40 °C in testing, while the USB4 drives from SanDisk and LaCie and the Lexar ES5 reached 60 to 70 °C. The weak spot is small random writes: the P9 copied 50,000 small files at 84 MB/s, the T9 at 180 MB/s.

For buyers: According to StorageReview, the P9 only reaches its speed on a computer with a USB4 port. Buyers who mostly copy many small files saw faster results from other drives in the test.

TB index SSD External SSD 127.49 $/TB▲ 0.5 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: StorageReview

06:46 PM UTC#

Report: Samsung cuts Galaxy A phone output by about 20 % due to high memory prices

According to a report by the South Korean newspaper ETNews, Samsung is cutting production of its midrange Galaxy A smartphones by about 20 % in the fourth quarter, heise online reports. The report cites rising memory prices and difficulties sourcing materials. On an annual basis this would mean about 10 million fewer devices, and Samsung reportedly plans a further cut of more than 10 % for 2027. According to the research firm Omdia, flash memory and DRAM (working memory) made up almost 60 % of the bill of materials of smartphones under 400 US dollars in the first quarter of 2026, up from about 32 % in the third quarter of 2025.

For buyers: The figures show how much memory now drives the cost of finished devices. For buyers of RAM and SSDs, the report points away from early relief, though it says nothing about retail prices.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GB▲ 0.3 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: heise online

06:46 PM UTC#

SK hynix moves more than half of its NAND output in Korea to 321 layers

Alongside its quarterly results, SK hynix also outlined its expansion plans, Blocks & Files reports. In the fourth quarter, 321 layer NAND flash is set to make up more than half of its production in South Korea, so it can supply more fast, high capacity server SSDs (eSSD). The M15X fab is to run at full capacity by the end of the year to build more HBM4, the stacked memory used by AI accelerators. In 2027 the first phase of the Yongin fab is due to enter full operation and raise output. HBM4 is expected to overtake HBM3E in volume and revenue next quarter.

For buyers: According to SK hynix, the extra capacity mainly targets server SSDs and AI memory. The company does not say whether consumer SSDs and RAM will benefit.

TB index SSDs 117.97 $/TB▲ 1.1 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: Blocks & Files

02:48 PM UTC#

Seagate revenue up 61 %, data center hard drive supply largely allocated through 2028

According to StorageNewsletter, Seagate posted revenue of 4.23 billion US dollars in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2027, which ended on October 2, 2026, up 61 % year over year. About 81 % of that, 3.4 billion US dollars, came from the data center business. The company shipped 220 exabytes of storage capacity, 198 exabytes of it as nearline drives, the high capacity disks built for constant use in data centers. Seagate says most of this nearline capacity is already allocated to customers through the end of 2028, with some cloud agreements running to 2030. The Mozaic 4 family with HAMR (heat assisted magnetic recording) and up to 44 TB is ramping at large cloud providers.

For buyers: With data center capacity committed for years, there may be little room left for retail supply. Seagate does not say whether or when this will affect prices of large hard drives for consumers.

TB index HDD Internal 3.5" 36.25 $/TB▼ 0.3 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: StorageNewsletter

02:48 PM UTC#

Report: Fujifilm plans to quintuple magnetic tape production by 2028

Fujifilm plans to increase its magnetic tape production capacity fivefold, according to a report by Japanese business daily Nikkei covered by ComputerBase. The company has earmarked about 10 billion yen, roughly 57 million euros, through fiscal year 2028, mostly for its plant in Odawara near Tokyo. The focus is on tapes with up to 100 TB for archiving and backup. According to the report, it would be the company's largest investment in tape production in about 20 years. The report names growing storage demand from artificial intelligence as the reason.

For buyers: The added production is aimed mainly at data centers and archives. Nikkei says storage costs on tape can drop to a quarter of those on hard drives, but any effect on prices for buyers of LTO tapes is still open.

TB index Tape (LTO) 10.64 $/TB▲ 1.8 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: ComputerBase

02:48 PM UTC#

Report: Solidigm in talks over a 45 billion US dollar NAND fab in the US

SK hynix subsidiary Solidigm is in talks with the US Commerce Department about a new NAND flash fab in the US worth 45 billion US dollars, Tom's Hardware reports, citing Bloomberg. In return, Solidigm reportedly wants permission to export equipment to its existing NAND plant in Dalian, China, so that the upgraded plant can help fund the US project. Bloomberg relies on unnamed sources. According to the report, total US investment could eventually reach 100 billion US dollars, with construction in New York pencilled in for 2027. Whether the department will agree is unclear.

For buyers: A new fab would only add NAND flash supply for SSDs years from now. Until a decision is made, no effect on SSD prices is foreseeable.

TB index SSD Internal SSD (2.5" SATA) 125.47 $/TB▲ 1.6 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: Tom's Hardware

06:44 AM UTC#

SK hynix expects memory shortage until 2030 and fewer PCs and smartphones sold

SK hynix reported its third quarter results on October 28 and, according to The Register, expects demand for memory chips to exceed supply through 2030. The company cites the difficulty of leading edge processes and the long time needed to build new fabs. Revenue rose to 104.6 trillion won (78.1 billion US dollars), up 328 % year over year, and operating profit reached 87.68 trillion won. 14 large customers hold long term agreements under which they will together buy more than half of its output in 2027 and 2028. Chief financial officer Kim Woo-hyun expects shipments of PCs and mobile devices to decline because of rising memory prices and supply shortages.

For buyers: SK hynix expects demand to outpace supply for years, and more than half of its 2027 and 2028 output is already committed to large customers. For buyers of RAM, the manufacturer's outlook points toward prices staying high, though it is no guarantee.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GB▼ 0.6 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: The Register

06:44 AM UTC#

Report: Alibaba, ByteDance and Tencent seek 10 year DRAM supply deals with Samsung

Alibaba, ByteDance and Tencent are seeking memory supply agreements with Samsung running 10 years, according to the Korean newspaper Maeil Business Newspaper, as reported by ComputerBase. The deals concern DDR and LPDDR DRAM for servers, the memory used in the companies' AI data centers. Such long term agreements (LTA) usually run 3 to 5 years. According to the report, large US companies have already signed long term agreements with Micron, Samsung and SK hynix. The agreements have not been confirmed so far.

For buyers: If such deals go ahead, another share of DRAM output would be committed for years. The report does not say whether or when this would affect retail RAM prices.

TB index RAM 5.98 $/GB▼ 0.6 % since this story(as of Nov 2, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC, Source: amazon.com)

Source: ComputerBase