TrendForce's latest findings reveal that weaker consumer demand has persisted through 3Q24, leaving AI servers as the primary driver of memory demand. This dynamic, combined with HBM production displacing conventional DRAM capacity, has led suppliers to maintain a firm stance on contract price hikes.

Smartphone brands continue to remain cautious despite some server OEMs continuing to show purchasing momentum. Consequently, TrendForce forecasts that Q4 memory prices will see a significant slowdown in growth, with conventional DRAM expected to increase by only 0-5%. However, benefiting from the rising share of HBM, the average price of overall DRAM is projected to rise 8-13%—a marked deceleration compared to the previous quarter.

Altera, an Intel Company, today unveiled an array of FPGA hardware, software and development tools that make its programmable solutions more accessible across a broader range of use cases and markets. At its annual developer's conference, Altera revealed new details on its next-generation, power- and cost-optimized Agilex 3 FPGAs and announced new development kits and software support for its Agilex 5 FPGAs.

"Working closely with our ecosystem and distribution partners, Altera remains committed to delivering FPGA-based solutions that empower innovators with leading-edge programmable technologies that are easy to design and deploy. With these key announcements, we continue to execute on our vision of shaping the future by using programmable logic to help customers unlock greater value across a broad range of use cases within the data center, aerospace and defense sectors, communications infrastructure, automotive, industrial, test, medical and embedded markets," said Sandra Rivera, CEO of Altera.

TrendForce reports that a recovery in demand for general servers—coupled with an increased production share of HBM by DRAM suppliers—has led suppliers to maintain their stance on hiking prices. As a result, the ASP of DRAM in the third quarter is expected to continue rising, with an anticipated increase of 8-13%. The price of conventional DRAM is expected to rise by 5-10%, showing a slight contraction compared to the increase in the second quarter.

TrendForce notes that buyers were more conservative about restocking in the second, and inventory levels on both the supplier and buyer sides did not show significant changes. Looking ahead to the third quarter, there is still room for inventory replenishment for smartphones and CSPs, and the peak season for production is soon to commence. Consequently, it is expected that smartphones and servers will drive an increase in memory shipments in the third quarter.

Gigabyte has quietly added a new SSD to its growing lineup and this time around it's something quite different. The drive is part of Gigabyte's new AI TOP (Trillions of Operations per Second) and was announced at Computex with little fanfare. At the show, the company only announced that it would have 150x the TBW compared to regular SSDs and that it was built specifically for AI model training. What that 150x means in reality is that the 2 TB version of the AI TOP 100E SSD will deliver no less than 219,000 TBW (TeraBytes Written), whereas most high-end 2 TB consumer NVMe SSDs end up somewhere around 1,200 TBW. The 1 TB version promises 109,500 TBW and both drives have an MTBF time of 1.6 million hours and a five-year warranty.

Gigabyte didn't reveal the host controller or the exact NAND used, but the drives are said to use 3D NAND flash and both drives have a LPDDR4 DRAM cache of 1 or 2 GB depending on the drive size. However, the pictures of the drive suggest it might be a Phison based reference design. The AI TOP 100E SSDs are standard PCIe 4.0 drives, so the sequential read speed tops out at 7,200 MB/s with the write speed for the 1 TB SKU being up to 6,500 MB/s, with the 2 TB SKU slightly behind at 5,900 MB/s. No other performance figures were provided. The drives are said to draw up to 11 Watts in use, which seems very high for PCIe 4.0 drives. No word on pricing or availability as yet.

GIGABYTE today launched its flagship M.2 NVMe SSD, the AORUS Gen5 14000 series. The drive packs the winning combination of Phison PS5026-E26 Max14um controller, with Micron B58R 232-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory, along with a fast LPDDR4 DRAM cache. The drive comes in 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB capacity variants. The maximum speeds vary for the three.

The 2 TB model is the fastest of the three, with a sequential read speed of up to 14,500 MB/s, and sequential write speed of up to 12,700 MB/s. The 4 TB model is the second fastest, with up to 14,100 MB/s sequential reads, and up to 12,600 MB/s sequential writes. The 1 TB model is third, with up to 13,600 MB/s sequential reads, and up to 10,200 MB/s sequential writes. All three models come without a heatsink, with just a metal film label on top. GIGABYTE recommends pairing the drive with M.2 SSD cooling solutions included with your motherboard to minimize performance throttling. The company didn't announce pricing.

ASUS today announced the ASUS Chromebook CZ series of laptops tailored for K12 students, which offer a portable and durable design for enduring value and empower engaged learning - anywhere. Featuring a 180° lay-flat or 360°-flippable design and an 11.6-inch (CZ1104C/F) or 12.2-inch (CZ1204C/F) 16:10 WUXGA display or touchscreen with TÜV-certified eye-care technology, the series not only enhances the visual experience but also prioritizes eye protection. ASUS Chromebook CZ series laptops are built for easy IT maintenance, with a modular design that minimizes downtime. The series boasts an extended battery life for uninterrupted use throughout an entire day of classes, empowering students to extend their learning beyond traditional limits.

A reliable study companion
For K12 students, an everyday-use laptop should be invincible. With lively and active users, scratches and knocks are an almost-inevitable part of their daily routine, so the ASUS Chromebook CZ series features an all-round rubber bumper for extra peace of mind. The laptops also feature a rugged design that's tested to meet or exceed the MIL-STD-810H US military-grade standard, and use tough Corning Gorilla Glass to protect the screen from scratches. Additionally, the spill-resistant keyboard can cope with minor water spills without harm, so minor splashes on the desk or at the dinner table can be easily drained, cleaned, and dried. Finally, the special fingerprint-resistant finish keeps the laptop cleaner for longer.

Sabrent today announced its latest flagship M.2 NVMe SSD series, the Rocket 5. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, the Sabrent Rocket 5 is sold as a bare drive, with an included fan-heatsink that you install if needed. This cooler comes with a tiny fins-stack, two copper heat pipes, and a 20 mm fan. At the heart of the drive is the new Phison PS5026-E26 Max14um controller, paired with Micron B58R 232-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory, and LPDDR4 based DRAM cache. The drive comes in 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB capacity variants.

The company didn't put out capacity-specific performance or endurance numbers, but mentioned sequential read speeds of up to 14 GB/s, as is characteristic of the Max14um controller variant; up to 12 GB/s sequential write speeds, up to 1.55 million IOPS 4K random reads, with up to 1.8 million IOPS 4K random writes. The Rocket 5 replaces the Rocket 4 Plus as Sabrent's flagship SSD. The 4 TB variant is listed at $730, the 2 TB variant at $340, and the 1 TB variant at $190.

Samsung is partnering with Square Enix to launch a limited collector's edition package of the 990 PRO 2 TB SSD co-branded with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (FFVII Rebirth). The package consists of a special 180 mm x 180 mm x 175 mm (WxDxH) cuboidal box with branding and imagery from FFVII Rebirth characters. Inside, you'll find a Samsung 990 PRO 2 TB M.2 NVMe SSD with its reference heatsink. The heatsink makes the drive compatible with the PlayStation 5. There are no changes in the specs of the drive—it offers 2 TB of storage with a 2 GB LPDDR4 DRAM cache, and transfer speeds of up to 7450 MB/s sequential reads, and up to 6950 MB/s sequential writes, making it among the fastest Gen 4 SSDs in the market. But that's it with the bundle—you don't actually get the game, but a special edition box that can make for a good background prop if you're streaming. The limited collector's edition is expected to come out some time in March 2024.

Crucial, the client-focused brand of memory giant Micron Technology, showed off a handful new innovations at its booth along the sidelines of the 2024 International CES. First up, is a prototype USB4 portable SSD and prototype desktop SSD. These are proofs of concept, and not actual products. With this, Crucial is testing the waters with USB4 and its delicious 40 Gbps bidirectional bandwidth, which unlocks a new generation of fast removable storage devices. The prototype USB4 portable SSD comes in a tiny chassis about the size of a burner phone. It is a PCB with an M.2-2280 slot with PCIe Gen 4 x4 wiring, connected to an ASMedia ASM2464PD USB4 bridge chip. An OEM Micron Gen 4 SSD with 232-layer 3D TLC NAND flash and LPDDR4 DRAM cache, is installed on this drive. The CDM reading for this drive is 3821 MB/s sequential reads, with 885 MB/s sequential writes.

Next up, is a larger desktop SSD prototype (which again, isn't an actual product but a proof of concept). Its metal chassis is about the size of a 3.5-inch HDD. Inside is at least one M.2-2280 Gen 4 slot (there are probably more); with a preinstalled drive. An ASMedia ASM2464PD handles things here, too. The performance is mostly similar, at 3792 MB/s sequential reads, but with significantly increase 3803 MB/s sequential writes. This may seem unspectacular because Thunderbolt 4 has been delivering 40 Gbps for many years now, and we've had TB4-based external SSDs; but USB4 somewhat democratizes this kind of bandwidth.

Chinese company Sipeed has introduced the Lichee Pocket 4A, one of the first handheld gaming devices based on the RISC-V open-source instruction set architecture (ISA). Sipeed positions the device as a retro gaming platform capable of running simple titles via software rendering or GPU acceleration. At its core is Alibaba's T-Head TH1520 processor featuring four 2.50 GHz Xuantie C910 RISC-V general-purpose CPU cores and an unnamed Imagination GPU. The chip was originally aimed at laptop designs. Memory options include 8 GB or 16 GB LPDDR4X RAM and 32 GB or 128 GB of storage. The Lichee Pocket 4A has a 7-inch 1280x800 LCD touchscreen, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connectivity, and an array of wired ports like USB and Ethernet. It weighs under 500 grams. The device can run Android or Linux distributions like Debian, Ubuntu, and others.

As an early RISC-V gaming entrant, performance expectations should be modest—the focus is retro gaming and small indie titles, not modern AAA games. Specific gaming capabilities remain to be fully tested. However, the release helps showcase RISC-V's potential for consumer electronics and competitive positioning against proprietary ISAs like ARM. Pricing is still undefined, but another Sipeed handheld console retails for around $250 currently. Reception from enthusiasts and developers will demonstrate whether there's a viable market for RISC-V gaming devices. Success could encourage additional hardware experimentation efforts across emerging open architectures. With a 6000 mAh battery, battery life should be decent. Other specifications can be seen in the table below, and the pre-order link is here.

GIGABYTE Technology, one of the top global manufacturers of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, announced today the latest AORUS Gen5 12000 SSD with an M.2 2280 form factor. Harnessing the power of a PCIe 5.0 controller with ultra-fast 3D-TLC NAND Flash, the AORUS Gen5 12000 SSD delivers a boosted performance of more than 70% over PCIe 4.0 SSDs with easy installation and superb capability. Equipped with the ultimate thermal design of M.2 Thermal Guard Extreme, the AORUS Gen5 12000 SSD becomes the perfect choice for power users, content creators, and gamers.

With PCIe 5.0 support on new motherboard platforms, the bandwidth and transfer performance are raised to the next level. The AORUS Gen5 12000 SSD is equipped with the latest Phison PS5026-E26 8-channel controller, providing users with superior control of random read speeds. Along with an over 232-layer stack structure of 3D-TLC NAND Flash and a built-in LPDDR4 cache design, the AORUS Gen5 12000 SSD unleashes the full potential of PCIe 5.0 performance with 12 GB/s ultra-fast access speed, which is more than a 70% increase compared to its predecessor. Furthermore, with AORUS optimized Direct Storage support, the AORUS Gen5 12000 SSD brings next-level performance with optimized stability.

Make health and fitness journeys smoother with the Exynos W930—the wearable processor that keeps smartwatches ahead of the curve, with new leaps in performance and power saving.

Watch it work wonders
Exynos W930 is equipped with the Arm Cortex-A55 dual-core CPU, boosting CPU speed to 1.4 GHz for an 18% jump over our last generation processor. In-package DRAM expands to 2 GB in the Exynos W930, passing the last generation by 33%, so you can switch between apps up to 25% faster and manage your workouts and your work life better with a suite of apps performing at their best.

Axiomtek - a world-renowned leader relentlessly devoted to the research, development, and manufacture of series of innovative and reliable industrial computer products of high efficiency - is pleased to introduce the AIE110-XNX, its new edge AI developer kit powered by the NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX platform which features 6-core NVIDIA Carmel ARM v8.2 64-bit CPU delivering up to 21 TOPS of accelerated AI computing performance and integrates an advanced 384-core NVIDIA Volta GPU with 48 Tensor Cores. Aimed to save effort on system integration and reduce complexity for embedded developers, the AIE110-XNX enables users to develop AI solutions on a friendly budget with no limit of minimum order. The palm-sized edge AI developer kit is ideal for makers, learners, and system integrators to build more AI innovation with little effort.

"The AI boom is happening all over the world, and it is now available for everyone. Catching the AI wave with faster responding and more efficiency, Axiomtek's AIE110-XNX can be quickly engaged to be the AIE100-903-FL-NX for smart city, the IP67-rated AIE800-904-FL for outdoor edge AI applications, the AIE900-XNX for robotics and AMR or self-service kiosk applications. It can also be flexibly transitioned to a new generation platform with upgraded AI performance such as NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX, NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano, and more," said Annie Fu, a Product Manager of the AIoT Team at Axiomtek. "In addition, the AIE110-XNX has reserved mounting holes on the bracket, which helps system integrators to easily start development right out of the box."

Crucial T700 marks the brand's return to the high-end SSD segment after years of catering to the mainstream segment with well-priced drives that the company can move in high volumes. The company had retired its Ballistix brand to mark its withdrawal from the high-end. The drive combines Micron's 232-layer 3D TLC NAND flash with a Phison E26-series controller and LPDDR4-based DRAM cache, and takes advantage of the PCI-Express 5.0 x4 host interface, with NVMe. A small section of the tech press was sampled with these drives and permitted to do performance previews.

Every SSD manufacturer's favorite benchmark, CrystalDiskMark (CDM), shows the drive clock 12.4 GB/s sequential reads (1 MB, QD8), along with 9.22 GB/s (1 MB QD1). Sequential writes are as high as 11.87 GB/s (1 MB QD8), and 9.66 GB/s (1 MB QD1). IOMeter testing revealed that the sustained write speeds are rather low, with the T700 holding onto top speeds only up to 25 GB, beyond which write performance falls off a cliff to 3.8 GB/s. Find more such interesting results in the source link below.

IBASE Technology Inc., a global leader in the manufacture of embedded computing products, has launched the new RM-QCS610 SMARC 2.1 compliant module powered by an Octa-core Qualcomm QCS610 SoC and designed for the creation of devices with edge artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities such as vision-enhanced drones, advanced intelligent conferencing cameras, and smart robots.

"The low cost, low power RM-QCS610 offers high performance for devices with edge AI capabilities that have grown in popularity in the last few years," explained Albert Lee, Executive Vice President at IBASE. "The module is our first Qualcomm-based platform. It provides flexible I/O interfaces and brings powerful visual edge computing to accelerate AI across devices with sensors or cameras to collect and process information, make decisions, and perform tasks in the same location in applications including traffic data collection and analysis, computer vision in manufacturing, and automated security validation."

GIGABYTE formally launched its flagship AORUS Gen5 10000 series M.2 NVMe SSDs that take advantage of a PCI-Express 5.0 x4 interface. Currently, all AMD B650 series and X670 series motherboards offer a PCIe Gen 5 M.2 slot wired to the processor without eating into PEG bandwidth, while some Intel 700-series chipset motherboards offer Gen 5 M.2 slots by subtracting lanes from the PEG slot. AORUS Gen5 10000 for now comes in 1 TB and 2 TB capacities. The drives combine a Phison E26 series controller with 3D TLC NAND flash memory and LPDDR4 DRAM cache.

The 1 TB model offers sequential transfer speeds of up to 9.5 GB/s reads, with up to 8.5 GB/s writes, and 700 TBW endurance; whereas the 2 TB model is faster, with up to 10 GB/s sequential reads, up to 9.5 GB/s writes, and 1,400 TBW endurance. The drive's power consumption is under 10 W, and GIGABYTE has deployed a thoughtful fanless cooling solution for the drive that spares you from the annoying high-pitched noise of other upcoming Gen 5 M.2 SSDs that use fan-heatsinks. The company didn't reveal pricing, but mentioned that the drives are backed by 5-year warranties.

At the 2023 International CES, we caught a hold of Phison, makes or arguably the most popular SSD controllers, which sprung to prominence on being the first to market with PCIe Gen 4 NVMe controllers, and now hopes to repeat it with PCIe Gen 5. We'd been shown a reference-design Phison E26-powered M.2 SSD, along with some hardware specs of the controller itself. The drive itself isn't much to look at—a standard looking M.2-2280 drive with a PCI-Express 5.0 x4 host interface, and the Phison E26 controller with its shiny IHS being prominently located next to a DDR4 memory chip, and two new-generation Micron Technology 3D NAND flash memory chips.

The Phison E26 controller, bearing the long-form model number PS5026-E26, is an NVMe 2.0 spec client-segment SSD controller. It has been built on the TSMC 12 nm FinFET silicon-fabrication node. The controller features an integrated DRAM controller with support for DDR4 and LPDDR4 memory types for use as DRAM cache. Its main flash interface is 8-channel with 32 NAND chip-enable (CE) lines, support for TLC and QLC NAND flash, a dual-CPU architecture, and hardware-acceleration for AES-256, TCG-Opal, and Pyrite. The controller features Phison's 5th generation LPDC ECC and internal RAID engines. For its reference-design 2 TB TLC-based drive, Phison claims sequential transfer rates of up to 13.5 GB/s reads, with up to 12 GB/s writes. The 4K random-access performance is rated at up to 1.5 million IOPS reads, with up to 2 million IOPS writes.

Lattice Semiconductor, the low power programmable leader, today unveiled Lattice Avant, a new FPGA platform purpose-built to bring the company's power efficient architecture, small size, and performance leadership to mid-range FPGAs. Lattice Avant offers best-in-class power efficiency, advanced connectivity, and optimized compute that enable Lattice to address an expanded set of customer applications across the Communications, Computing, Industrial, and Automotive markets.

"With Lattice Avant, we extend our low power leadership position in the FPGA industry and are poised to continue our rapid pace of innovation, while also doubling the addressable market for our product portfolio," said Jim Anderson, President and CEO, Lattice Semiconductor. "We created Avant to address our customers' need for compelling mid-range FPGA solutions, and we're excited to help them accelerate their designs with new levels of power efficiency and performance."

MediaTek today announced its new Kompanio chipsets for Chromebooks: the Kompanio 520 and Kompanio 528. With upgraded computing performance and battery life for entry level Chromebooks, the newest Kompanio chipsets provide a seamless experience so consumers can browse, cloud game, stream and use Google Play apps while enjoying all-day battery life.

"Enhanced power efficiency, speedy performance and reliable connectivity are at the core of a great user experience, and that's exactly what MediaTek's new Kompanio chipsets deliver," said Adam King, Vice President and General Manager, Client Computing Business Unit at MediaTek. "As the No. 1 provider of Arm-based Chromebooks, MediaTek makes the latest AI, connectivity, display and imaging features accessible at every price point."

IBASE Technology Inc., a world leading manufacturer of industrial motherboards and embedded computing solutions, is proud to announce its latest intelligent railway gateway computer supporting the new Intel Atom x6000E family processors (codenamed Elkhart Lake). Certified with EU EN45545-2 fire protection and EN50155 standards covering equipment used on rolling stock applications such as Passenger Information System (PIS), surveillance systems and vehicle monitoring systems, the MPT-500R series is built to withstand up to 3 Grms/3~500 Hz vibration resistance and operating temperature of -30°C to +70°C.

The MPT-500R low-power, compact railway gateway system comes with 4 GB/8 GB LPDDR4 3200 memory on board, 64G MLC SSD storage with high reliability, and an option between 24 V and 72/110 V DC input to meet various power requirements. Featuring robust M12 USB, Ethernet and power input connectors, it ensures fail-safe connection and fault-free data transmission suitable for deployments in harsh industrial environments. It has two PoE ports that provide power to IP cameras and runs artificial intelligence identification. Measuring 210 x 138 x 96.8 mm (WxDxH), the unit supports a host of useful connectivity functions including HDMI, RS485, two SIM sockets with 4G/5G WWAN operation, 2280 M.2 M-key for PCI-E SSD and an mPCI-E full/half-size socket.

AAEON, renowned for its UP Board range, has announced the UP Squared V2, the successor to its UP Squared Developer Board. Providing dramatic improvements in processing power, graphic capability and expansion options on the same 3.37" x 3.54" (85 mm x 90 mm) form factor, the UP Squared V2 is designed to make the development process more efficient.

While still reflecting the competitive pricing of the previous generation, the UP Squared V2 boasts a 40% improvement in CPU performance due to its Intel Celeron N6210 Pentium J6426 Processor SoC (formerly Elkhart Lake). As a product of this, users can take advantage of 1.7x the single-thread performance and 1.5x the multi-thread performance along with up to 16 GB LPDDR4 system memory.

In a major breakthrough in single board computing, AAEON introduces the de next-TGU8, the smallest board featuring an on-board Intel Core i-level processor ever created, measuring just 3.31" x 2.17" (84 mm x 55 mm). Offering up to 4 cores, with 8 threads, the 11th Generation Intel Core i7/i5/i3/Celeron Processor (formerly Tiger Lake-UP3) provides the de next-TGU8 with the kind of high-performance power never-before-seen in a board so small.

This power ensures users can utilize the potential of the de next-TGU8's 16 GB onboard LPDDR4x memory and expandability, for which it has an M.2 2280 M-Key (PCIe [x2]) to enable AI acceleration, Wi-Fi, and 4G modules. The de next-TGU8 also provides an FPC slot for PCIe [x4] Gen 3 with Riser kit, for additional storage or more advanced graphics options to go along with its Intel UHD Graphics.

CTL announced today the support of CBRS in the updated NL72L and NL72CT-L. "Digital equity and inclusion is a priority for CTL and we believe by adding additional communication technologies to our products, we are one step closer to solving the digital divide. Band 48 has been requested by our most innovative customers, and are excited to address this need in the market." - Erik Stromquist, CEO

Band 48 CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service), often referred to as the private LTE, is the frequency band of 3.50 GHz, operating in the LTE spectrum in the United States, and is perfect for services that require ultra-high resources. LTE was designed to work across a wide range of frequency bands (450 MHz up to 3.80 GHz) referred to as E-UTRA. The LTE technology is capable of supporting two modes of communication, FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) and TDD (Time Division Duplex).

The LattePanda Team launched the world's thinnest pocket-sized hackable computer - LattePanda 3 Delta with global electronic components distributors. The collaboration will ensure that the product choice for LattePanda 3 Delta is passed on to customers through quick, easy online selection via the website of global electronic components distributors and LattePanda.

"LattePanda Team is so proud to cooperate with the global electronic components distributors for this joint launch. It delivers an exciting message to our customers that they can gain fast, easy access to our high-performance and hackable LattePanda 3 Delta anywhere in the world. Our collaboration will assure even higher levels of customer service," said Sandy Zhang, CMO of LattePanda Team.

According to TrendForce, DRAM market demand bit growth will only amount to 8.3% in 2023, sub-10% for the first time in history, and far lower than supply-side bit growth of approximately 14.1%. Data indicates the DRAM market to be severely oversupplied at least in 2023 and prices may continue to decline. NAND Flash is still in a state of oversupply and, although prices are expected to fall in the first half of next year, NAND Flash has built-in price elasticity compared to DRAM and average prices are expected to stimulate density growth in the enterprise SSD market after declining for several consecutive quarters. Demand bits are expected to grow by 28.9%, while supply bits will grow by approximately 32.1%.

From the perspective of various applications, rising inflation continues to impact demand in consumer markets, so the primary goal of memory brands has been to prioritize inventory correction. Especially in the past two years, a shortage of upstream components caused by the pandemic led memory brands to overbook purchase orders while sluggish sales on the distribution channel side have resulted in slow depletion of current notebook inventory, resulting in a further weakening of notebook demand in 2023. In terms of PC DRAM, the proportion of DDR4 and LPDDR4X in PC applications will fall further while the penetration rate of LPDDR5 and DDR5 continues to rise. However, the price premium of DDR5 will limit the growth of density in PCs. DRAM density in PCs is estimate to increase by approximately 7% annually in 2023. If manufactures cut DDR5 pricing more aggressively next year, installed capacity may be driven up to 9%, depending on whether DDR5 price concessions can be effectively reconciled with DDR4.