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Apple’s launch of iPhone X has led to a wave of 3D sensing technology, bringing its key component—vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL)—into the spotlight. However, the number of VCSEL suppliers with mass production capacity is very limited due to technical barriers, leading to short supply of VCSELs and thus delaying Android camp’s plan to follow suit. TrendForce estimates the penetration rate of 3D sensing in smartphones will grow from 2.1% in 2017 to 13.1% in 2018, while Apple remains the major adopter.
Micron and Intel announced on January 8, 2018 that they will discontinue their partnership on NAND Flash development after completing the development of the third generation of 3D-NAND Flash. Micron and Intel are currently developing the second generation (64-layer), and the third generation is expected to reach 96-layer. This means that, for development of products greater than 96-layer, the two will part ways formally. This decision will not bring significant impact in near term on their businesses in terms of manufacturing process technology improvements and product planning. They will also have more opportunities to seek new partners after parting ways. According to DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, Intel and Tsinghua Unigroup are now discussing over further collaboration in product offerings and sales.
During 4Q17, the yield rates of suppliers’ respective 3D-NAND processes climbed steadily, while smartphones remained the major demand contributor in peak season, according to DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. As the result, only contract prices of eMMC and UFS products went up by 0-5% QoQ in 4Q17, but other major application markets such as PCs, tablets, and servers together with data centers showed slowing growth momentum. Their contract prices were either flat or fell by a small margin, and the market shifted toward an equilibrium of supply and demand.
Global mobile DRAM revenue hit a new high of US$8 billion in 4Q17, a robust sequential growth of 23.6%, says DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. In 4Q17, the major suppliers raised their prices by 10-15% on average, driven by expected strong demand from the smartphone market during the traditional busy season, and continuing brisk demands from North American datacenters.
The total server DRAM revenue of the top three DRAM suppliers (Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron) rose by 13.9% QoQ in 4Q17 on the back of rising average selling price (ASP), reports DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. The supply of server DRAM has not kept pace with the demand even as suppliers have assigned more capacity to their server product lines. Furthermore, the data center projects in North America have been contributing to the strong demand growth.
