PC, laptop, and console users face a new financial blow: NAND flash memory, and with it SSDs, will become significantly more expensive in the coming months.Various reports from South Korea indicate that Samsung, one of the world's largest memory manufacturers, is finalizing a historic price increase that could completely change the storage market.
After weeks of rumors and partial denials, Industry leaks now agree that Samsung has begun signing contracts with increases close to or exceeding 100%. in the price of NAND for this first quarter of 2026. Although the company has not given official figures, the movements in wholesale contracts and the first signs in retail trading make it clear that the impact for the end consumer will be difficult to avoid.
From an 80% rumor to a rise that points to 100% in NAND
The earthquake originated from a leaked document addressed to distributors that discussed a price increase of up to 80% across all Samsung memory productsThat message, which did not distinguish between NAND and DRAM, spread rapidly among wholesalers and specialized media, generating a strong stir in the sector.
A few hours later, Samsung came out to deny that it was going to apply that generalized 80% increase.The company denied any plan to raise prices across its memory products, but avoided providing details about potential price increases specific to different chip types or customers. This response temporarily calmed concerns, though it also left the impression that the company was only modifying the form of the price increase, not its substance.
The calm lasted very little time. ETNews, a South Korean tech news outlet, reported that Samsung was actually preparing to double, or even exceed, a 100% increase in the price of NAND Flash. intended for specific supply contracts. In other words, the aim wasn't to raise the price of all memory equally, but rather to apply significant price increases to key chips for SSDs and high-performance storage solutions.
This distinction is important because The attack focuses on NAND-based products, including consumer and enterprise SSDs.as well as portable units and storage for data centers. The DRAMAlready under considerable strain after months of escalation, it would continue its own dynamic, but without that abrupt leap communicated to strategic partners.
Industry sources cited by ETNews explain that Samsung resumed renegotiating contracts with key clients at the end of 2025 and set new, higher prices starting in January.These agreements mention price increases that, in some cases, would exceed 100% compared to previous values, which fits with the idea that the manufacturer would be taking full advantage of the current strong demand.
Artificial intelligence drives up demand and prolongs shortages
The factor behind this scenario is, once again, the accelerated expansion of artificial intelligence and the massive construction of specialized data centersThese facilities require enormous amounts of memory, both DRAM and NAND, to service increasingly large and complex AI models.
In practice, Demand for high-performance NAND for enterprise storage and AI-oriented eSSDs has skyrocketed.However, supply has not kept pace with this growth. Manufacturers have been very cautious in expanding production capacity after the last oversupply crisis, and they cannot multiply production overnight.
This mismatch creates a bottleneck that, according to industry analysts, will increase in the coming yearsThe forecast of some executives, such as the CEO of Phison, is particularly pessimistic: there is open talk that the memory shortage could last well into the next decade, around 2035, if massive and sustained investments are not made.
Another delicate element is added to this context: Some manufacturers are reportedly cutting production deliberately to maintain high prices and improve profitabilityThe strategy, which is not new in the memory industry, would consist of limiting supply to avoid a new price collapse like the one experienced in previous cycles.
In Europe and Spain, where most PC and component manufacturers rely on Asian supplies, This combination of growing demand, limited supply, and rising prices translates into continuous price increases for the end user., both in consumer products and in business infrastructure and local data centers.
Multi-million dollar contracts for Apple, NVIDIA and AMD with increases of up to 100%
One of the most striking aspects of the leaks is that big buyers like Apple, NVIDIA AMD has already been informed of Samsung's new NAND pricing structureWe're talking about companies that sign long-term contracts and negotiate huge volumes of memory for their products and services.
According to ETNews, Samsung notified these strategic partners that NAND contracts for the first quarter of 2026 will include increases of around 100%.This is not just a one-off adjustment, but a level change that, once consolidated, will set a new price benchmark for the entire market.
Although companies of this size have some room to absorb part of the increase, It is common for such an aggressive price increase to eventually be passed on, totally or partially, to the final price of products such as smartphones, laptops, graphics cards with integrated memory, or professional storage solutions.In other words, consumers and businesses end up footing the bill.
In parallel, Other industry giants like SK Hynix and SanDisk are reportedly joining the trendAnalyst reports such as Nomura indicate that SK Hynix is ​​increasing its prices at a similar rate to Samsung, while SanDisk plans increases of up to 100% on certain NAND chips.
This coordinated move by several of the world's largest suppliers This reinforces the idea of ​​a widespread bullish rally in flash memory., where increases in the range of 50% to 80% are discussed for many contracts, with peaks of 100% for specific high-demand products.
How the NAND price increase affects SSD prices
The effect of these renegotiations is already beginning to be felt in products that users know well. In South Korea, there have been very clear examples, such as the Samsung T7 1TB portable drive.which in a matter of months has gone from around 140.000 won to over 280.000, that is, practically double.
Something similar is happening with PC memory modulesAlthough the focus here is on DRAM, it illustrates the scale of the problem: a 16GB DDR5 module at 5600MHz that cost around 150.000 won in November was recently selling for over 400.000 won. This jump gives an idea of ​​the pressure that key components for building or upgrading a computer are already under.
In the consumer SSD market, Price tracking platforms like PCPartPicker are registering daily increases in numerous popular unitsData collected since October 2025 points to an average increase of around 18% in the best-selling models, with a clearly upward trend that has accelerated as the new contractual conditions were leaked.
Furthermore, Wholesale shipments of 1TB and 2TB SSDs are starting to run short. In certain markets, this complicates purchasing for integrators, PC builders, and large European distributors. When stock dwindles and new orders arrive with updated prices, the result is a double blow: less availability and higher costs.
For the average user in Spain, all this translates to The aggressive deals on NVMe and SATA SSDs that were common a year ago will become increasingly rare.Those who were waiting for prices to drop even further to upgrade their equipment are now faced with the opposite scenario: a cycle of price increases that, barring any surprises, could last for several quarters.
Impact on PCs, mobiles and consumer electronics in Europe
The consequences are not limited to the world of desktop PCs. TM Roh, Samsung's co-CEO, himself acknowledged earlier this year that "everything is getting more expensive" in consumer electronics., largely due to the pressure on memory chips caused by AI data centers.
Although he didn't go into details about the NAND at that time, Subsequent leaks confirm that the increased price of these chips will directly raise the cost of SSDs and internal storage systems in smartphones and tablets.A mobile phone with 256 GB or 512 GB of storage, or a laptop with a 1 TB SSD, now has significantly higher manufacturing costs.
In Europe, where distribution margins and taxes already weigh on the final price, Any sharp increase in the cost of basic components like memory is multiplied before it even reaches the store.Manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers tend to pass on this increase to maintain their profitability, so the end user ends up paying an even higher price than the original factory increase. This phenomenon of increases in components This is already being seen in other segments and reinforces the trend.
Furthermore, The pressure on NAND adds to the existing pressure on DRAMwhich has suffered months of shortages and sharp price increases. This complicates matters for laptop and desktop assemblers, who are seeing two of the cornerstones of any modern computer (RAM and SSD) become more expensive simultaneously.
The result is a scenario in which Building a powerful PC or buying a high-end smartphone is becoming significantly more expensive for the European consumer.Although there will always be occasional promotions or stock clearances, the general trend points to higher prices for much of 2026.
A memory market on the verge of collapse
Voices from the industry describe the current situation with terms that are unusual in a sector accustomed to cycles of ups and downs. There is direct talk of a NAND market on the verge of collapsewith Samsung exerting a decisive influence as the world's largest manufacturer.
The idea circulating among analysts is that The initial 80% leak wasn't entirely wrong, but rather an oversimplification of a more complex reality.There won't be a flat price increase for all memory products, but there will be a sharp price tightening in NAND, especially in key segments such as AI storage and high-performance SSDs.
Experts warn that The effects of these price increases will extend far beyond the home PC.Sectors such as enterprise servers, cloud computing, advanced IoT devices, and even some household appliances with significant internal storage could see increases in their production costs.
In a context in which No major increases in production capacity are expected until 2028 or 2029Short- and medium-term forecasts are cautious, if not downright pessimistic. Investments in new memory factories require years and billions of euros, and manufacturers want to ensure that the current AI boom is not just a passing bubble before committing on a large scale.
Meanwhile Supply and demand tensions will continue to shape price trendsIf artificial intelligence maintains its growth rate and manufacturers continue to prioritize the most profitable contracts, it is likely that both home users and businesses will have to live with more expensive memory for quite some time.
With all these factors on the table, the outlook for anyone considering upgrading storage or building a new system in Spain or other European countries is not exactly encouraging: SSDs and other NAND-based devices are clearly in a phase of price increases, driven by the explosion of AI and a supply that is deliberately kept tight.This makes finding bargains much more difficult and forces you to plan your purchases with much more caution.
