In the mainstream PC-Client OEM SSD market for the second quarter, the average contract prices of TLC- and MLC-based products respectively fell 4~11% and 6~10% compared with the prior quarter, according to DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. Looking ahead to the third quarter, the overall supply-demand situation in the NAND Flash market may become more balanced.
In the first quarter of this year, the average contract price of NAND Flash chip fell by about 10% compared with the previous quarter due to persistant market oversupply. During the same period, the prices of eMMCs and Client-SSDs also dropped 13~18% quarterly as a result of steep decline in shipments of smartphones, tablets and notebooks.
DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, reports that the global DRAM industry posted US$8.56 billion in revenue in this first quarter, down 16.6% from the previous quarter. Market oversupply and sliding average selling price were the main culprits behind the revenue decline.
The Chinese government officially released the 13th Five-Year Plan this March. In this broad national economic roadmap, two initiatives – the upgrading of modern industries and the expansion of the country’s Internet economy – will have significant influence over the development of the Chinese fabless IC design industry.
Virtual reality (VR) has made significant progress in the consumer market as major technology companies roll out competing products. According to the global market research firm TrendForce, the 9 million out of the estimated 105 million units wearable devices shipped this year will be VR-based products. Gaming has emerged as the first major consumer application for the VR technology, said TrendForce analyst Ariel Chen.
