Reports suggest that the company is set to phase out production and has held talks with its customers and final orders are expected to be made in June – last shipments are expected to be in October.
Chinese rivals have been winning low-end smartphone orders and have flooded the DDR4 market with cheaper chips, hitting profits, so the company’s decision to end production is no real surprise.
Samsung looks to be shifting its focus to higher-end memory like LPDDR5 and HBM, a move that mirrors many of its competitors in this space, but while that may be the case, Winbond and Nanya Technology, which focus on DDR4, look ready to step into the space vacated by Samsung in terms of DDR4.
Industry watchers have suggested that Chinese memory firms have been making rapid progress in the development of high-end products themselves, with HBM3 and HBM3e products due to be released in 2026-27.
As a result of weak investment in new manufacturing capacity, the memory supply chain is expected to face heightened competition from Chinese companies. How US tariffs will impact the market has also yet to unfold but, according to TrendForce, US “reciprocal tariffs” and the surprise announcement of a 90-day grace period for most regions, has already prompted buyers and suppliers to adjust their strategies in the face of uncertainty.
Consequently, memory market activity is forecast to accelerate in 2Q25, with DRAM and NAND prices projected to rise by as much as 8%.
