Overview
- Micron will stop selling Crucial‑branded RAM and SSDs through retailers, e‑tailers and distributors, with consumer shipments continuing only through February 2026 and warranty support maintained.
- Chief business officer Sumit Sadana said AI data‑center growth is driving the decision to reallocate supply to larger strategic customers, as Micron’s HBM revenue neared $2 billion in the August quarter.
- Analysts warn the squeeze will raise costs for devices, with Counterpoint expecting memory prices to climb about 30% in Q4 and another 20% in early 2026, which Bain estimates could lift typical PC and phone bills of materials by 5%–10%.
- Nvidia’s pivot to LPDDR puts it in direct competition with premium smartphone makers for advanced memory, intensifying pressure on supply already concentrated in HBM and advanced DRAM.
- Industry signals point to a prolonged crunch as Samsung and SK Hynix balance capacity to avoid oversupply and shipment delays ripple downstream, including a Transcend memo citing deferred NAND deliveries and 50%–100% cost jumps.