- Samsung rumored to be ditching SATA SSDs
- The firm will supposedly announce this in January 2026.
- This means fewer models at the cheaper end of the SSD spectrum, which will likely impact prices considerably.
There’s more bad news on the SSD front adding to another worrying development in the world of RAM, both related to supply difficulties and rising prices for these PC components.
First, the main event here, which is the SSD sadness. It comes via a new video courtesy of Moore’s Law is Dead (MLID) in which the YouTuber provides a rumor about cheap Samsung SSDs (as highlighted by TweakTown).
We are told that one of MLID’s reliable sources in distribution claims that Samsung is about to cut off SATA SSD production, and an announcement to this effect will be made in January.
These SSDs are cheaper models that use the slower SATA interface, unlike NVMe SSDs, which are the newer and much faster storage medium, use PCIe lanes (and usually connect directly to the motherboard in an M.2 slot).
Another of MLID’s sources, this time in retail, backs up this idea, telling the leaker that SATA SSDs will be harder to come by in mid-2026.
On top of that, VideoCardz reports that SK Hynix, a large memory manufacturer, expects consumer RAM supply to remain limited until 2028, which isn’t the first time we’ve heard that prediction. This is based on a leaked slide supposedly from SK Hynix broadcast on X by BullsLab Jay.
Look
Analysis: SSD: low supply of units?
Of course, take this with some seasoning, and just because Samsung could pull the plug on SSD production soon (in theory, and that may not happen right away), there will still be existing contracts to fulfill and stock to sell.
Still, the message is pretty clear: SSDs of the SATA variety are on loan. And while some of you might be thinking “bye, who uses these old slow drives now?” – Well yes, they are outdated, but there are still buyers looking for cheap SSDs that go this route.
This could be especially true if people building a PC are shelling out a fortune on RAM, since the price of that will potentially skyrocket even more next year, and people are looking to save elsewhere.
As for the reality of how many SATA SSD buyers there are, MLID theorizes that it’s something on the order of 20% of the solid state drive market, noting that some of the best sellers on Amazon are SATA drives. Samsung is likely to account for something like half of those sales, so the disappearance of these drives from shelves could explain why the supply of cheap SSDs dries up as 2026 progresses. Fewer cheap SSDs could also put pressure on the prices of more affordable NVMe models.
Why is Samsung making this move? This is because NVMe drives are simply more cost effective, with higher premiums to charge (as they are much faster than SATA products) and are also easier to manufacture (as a base board that plugs into the motherboard, as opposed to a complete drive with a case).
Samsung will focus on making HBM4 memory and GDDR7 video RAM, as well as NVMe SSDs, all of which are more profitable ventures, especially considering the current AI boom.
Needless to say, if you’re thinking about buying an SSD, now is probably the best time to act, especially if you can find something resembling a holiday deal on a drive, because starting in the first quarter of 2026, prices could rise quite quickly, especially for budget SSDs.
Most predictions indicate that memory supply levels will be tight until 2027, if not longer, and MLID reckons we may get to late 2026, possibly mid-2027, before pricing issues calm down a bit.
Don’t forget that RAM and storage price increases not only affect those individual components and pre-built PCs, but also laptops.
The best SSDs for all budgets
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