If you’re in the market for a new SSD, we have some good news. It sounds like there could be some major price drops for SSDs in the second half of Q3 2022. This is according to a new report from TrendForce that was posted yesterday. Interestingly, demand not meeting the usual peak projections could be the cause of the price drops.
It was already looking dicey for NAND flash manufacturers, as a wafer contract price drops between 15-20% were projected before the latest estimates. Those figures are now up to 30-35%.
Familiar culprits
This situation really stems from the shake-up caused by the global pandemic. In 2020, the demand for at-home computing skyrocketed, which led to a huge amount of demand from consumers. In turn, this led to manufacturers expanding production to keep up with the increased interest.
However, demand has sharply declined throughout 2022. A lot of manufacturers now have excess supply because no one wants to buy. The most obvious example of this is how graphics card prices fell off a cliff. The predicted price drops for SSDs is a similar situation.
An SSD price drop could be imminent
The drop in demand for devices that utilize NAND flash isn’t simply due to a lack of interest from consumers. Generally speaking, consumers are being more mindful about what they’re spending money on. This behavior could carry on later into the year as well. Due to this, another 20% price drop is predicted for SSDs in Q4 2022 as manufacturers attempt to maintain sales and market share.
What’s more, PCIe 5.0 SSDs will hit the market soon. The speeds sound impressive and enticing, but the price tags still remain a big question. Considering how expensive PCIe 4.0 SSDs were just a couple years ago, it will be interesting to see how much manufacturers try and charge in weak market conditions.
Those looking to add more SSD storage to their gaming PCs may do well to wait until the Black Friday sales. Storage is a valuable long-term upgrade for your PC, after all. If you can score a great SSD for a cheap price, you might even be able to afford a higher capacity model. Since it’s not exactly clear when we can expect to see SSD prices drop, the best thing to do is to remain patient and keep an eye out.
