Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (NasdaqGS: SIMO) ("Silicon Motion", the "Company" or "we") today announced its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. For the third quarter of 2023, net sales (GAAP) increased sequentially to $172.3 million from $140.4 million in the second quarter of 2023. Net income (GAAP) decreased to $10.6 million, or $0.32 per diluted American Depositary Share of the Company ("ADS") (GAAP), from net income (GAAP) of $11.0 million, or $0.33 per diluted ADS (GAAP), in the second quarter of 2023.

For the third quarter of 2023, net income (non-GAAP) increased to $21.1 million, or $0.63 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), from net income (non-GAAP) of $12.6 million, or $0.38 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), in the second quarter of 2023.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced memory technology, today held its annual Memory Tech Day, showcasing industry-first innovations and new memory products to accelerate technological advancements across future applications—including the cloud, edge devices and automotive vehicles.

Attended by about 600 customers, partners and industry experts, the event served as a platform for Samsung executives to expand on the company's vision for "Memory Reimagined," covering long-term plans to continue its memory technology leadership, outlook on market trends and sustainability goals. The company also presented new product innovations such as the HBM3E Shinebolt, LPDDR5X CAMM2 and Detachable AutoSSD.

TrendForce expects that memory suppliers will continue their strategy of scaling back production of both DRAM and NAND Flash in 2024, with the cutback being particularly pronounced in the financially struggling NAND Flash sector. Market demand visibility for consumer electronic is projected to remain uncertain in 1H24. Additionally, capital expenditure for general-purpose servers is expected to be weakened due to competition from AI servers. Considering the low baseline set in 2023 and the current low pricing for some memory products, TrendForce anticipates YoY bit demand growth rates for DRAM and NAND Flash to be 13% and 16%, respectively. Nonetheless, achieving effective inventory reduction and restoring supply-demand balance next year will largely hinge on suppliers' ability to exercise restraint in their production capacities. If managed effectively, this could open up an opportunity for a rebound in average memory prices.

PC: The annual growth rate for average DRAM capacity is projected at approximately 12.4%, driven mainly by Intel's new Meteor Lake CPUs coming into mass production in 2024. This platform's DDR5 and LPDDR5 exclusivity will likely make DDR5 the new mainstream, surpassing DDR4 in the latter half of 2024. The growth rate in PC client SSDs will not be as robust as that of PC DRAM, with just an estimated growth of 8-10%. As consumer behavior increasingly shifts toward cloud-based solutions, the demand for laptops with large storage capacities is decreasing. Even though 1 TB models are becoming more available, 512 GB remains the predominant storage option. Furthermore, memory suppliers are maintaining price stability by significantly reducing production. Should prices hit rock bottom and subsequently rebound, PC OEMs are expected to face elevated SSD costs. This, when combined with Windows increasing its licensing fees for storage capacities at and above 1 TB, is likely to put a damper on further growth in average storage capacities.

SK hynix Inc. showcased today the sample of the 321-layer 4D NAND, making public the progress on its development of the industry's first NAND with more than 300 layers. The company gave a presentation on the progress on the development of its 321-layer 1 Tb TLC 4D NAND Flash and displayed the samples at the Flash Memory Summit (FMS) 2023 taking place Aug. 8-10 in Santa Clara.

SK hynix is the first in the industry to unveil the progress on the development of a NAND with more than 300 layers in detail. The company plans to raise the level of completion of the 321-layer product and start mass production from the first half of 2025. The company said its technological competitiveness accumulated from the success of the world's highest 238-layer NAND, already in mass production, paved the way for a smooth progress for the development of the 321-layer product. "With another breakthrough to address stacking limitations, SK hynix will open the era of NAND with more than 300 layers and lead the market."

Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced that it has initiated mass production of its new automotive Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 3.1 memory solution optimized for in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems. The new solution offers the industry's lowest energy consumption, enabling car manufacturers to provide the best mobility experience for consumers.

The UFS 3.1 lineup will come in 128, 256 and 512-gigabyte (GB) variants to meet different needs of customers. The enhanced lineup allows more efficient battery life management to future automotive applications such as electric or autonomous vehicles. The 256 GB model, for instance, has reduced its energy consumption by about 33% compared to the previous generation product. The 256 GB model also provides a sequential write speed of 700-megabytes-per-second (MB/s) and a sequential read speed of 2,000 MB/s.

TrendForce reports that OEMs have continued making concerted efforts to scale back production. However, given that the trajectory of market demand is still unclear, it's expected that the NAND Flash market will continue to be in a state of oversupply in 3Q23. Cautious inventory management by buyers is preventing a stabilization in NAND Flash prices even with an anticipated seasonal surge in demand for 2H23. TrendForce predicts that NAND Flash wafers will be the first to see a price hike in 3Q23 as prices for module products such as SSDs, eMMCs, and UFS will likely continue to fall due to tepid downstream demand. Consequently, the overall ASP of NAND Flash is forecast to continue dropping by about 3~8% in 3Q23, though a possibility exists prices may recover in 4Q23.

Client SSD: Although notebook shipments are expected to gradually recover in 3Q23, reversing an oversupply of SSD will continue to be challenging. Furthermore, a portion of suppliers have implemented aggressive promotions to secure customer orders and hit shipping targets in light of weakened demand and less-than-satisfactory order volumes from major clients, putting pressure on other suppliers. TrendForce estimates that the ASP of client SSDs will fall by 8~13% in the third quarter.

Micron Technology, Inc. announced today that it is now delivering qualification samples of its Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 4.0 mobile solution, built on its advanced 232-layer 3D NAND. Offered in high capacities up to 1 terabyte (TB), the UFS 4.0 storage solution is being shipped to select global smartphone manufacturers and chipset vendors. Micron's newest mobile flash storage outpaces competition on several critical NAND benchmarks, delivering the industry's fastest performance for flagship smartphones with fast bootup, app launches and video downloads.

"Micron's latest mobile solution tightly weaves together our best-in-class UFS 4.0 technology, proprietary low-power controller, 232-layer NAND and highly configurable firmware architecture to deliver unmatched performance," said Mark Montierth, corporate vice president and general manager of Micron's Mobile Business Unit. "Together, these technologies position Micron at the forefront of delivering the performance and low-power innovations our customers need to enable an exceptional end-user experience for flagship smartphones."

Continuing to move Universal Flash Storage (UFS) technology forward, KIOXIA America, Inc. today announced sampling of new, higher performing UFS Ver. 4.0 embedded flash memory devices. These devices deliver fast embedded storage transfer speeds in a small package size and are targeted to a variety of next-generation mobile applications, including leading-edge smartphones. The improved performance of UFS products from KIOXIA enables these applications to take advantage of 5G's connectivity benefits, leading to faster downloads, reduced lag time and an improved user experience.

UFS Ver. 4.0 devices from KIOXIA integrate the company's innovative BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory and a controller in a JEDEC-standard package. UFS 4.0 incorporates MIPI M-PHY 5.0 and UniPro 2.0 and supports theoretical interface speeds of up to 23.2 gigabits per second (Gbps) per lane or 46.4 Gbps per device. UFS 4.0 is backward compatible with UFS 3.1.

TrendForce's latest research indicates that, as production cuts to DRAM and NAND Flash have not kept pace with weakening demand, the ASP of some products is expected to decline further in 2Q23. DRAM prices are projected to fall 13~18%; NAND Flash is expected to fall between 8~13%.

TrendForce reports that the significant drop in DRAM prices was mostly attributed to high inventory levels of DDR4 and LPDDR5 as PC DRAM, server DRAM, and mobile DRAM collectively account for over 85% of DRAM consumption. Meanwhile, the market share for DDR5 remains relatively low.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation ("Silicon Motion", the "Company" or "we") today announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. For the first quarter of 2023, net sales (GAAP) decreased sequentially to $124.1 million from $200.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. Net income (GAAP) decreased to $10.2 million, or $0.30 per diluted American Depositary Share ("ADS") (GAAP), from net income (GAAP) of $23.5 million, or $0.71 per diluted ADS (GAAP), in the fourth quarter of 2022.

For the first quarter of 2023, net income (non-GAAP) decreased to $11.2 million, or $0.33 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), from net income (non-GAAP) of $41.1 million, or $1.22 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Although NAND suppliers have continued to roll back production, there is still an oversupply of NAND Flash as demand for products such as servers, smartphones, and notebooks is still too weak. Therefore, TrendForce predicts that the ASP of NAND Flash will continue to fall in 2Q23, though that decline may shrink to 5~10%. The key to supply and demand returning to a market equilibrium lies in whether NAND suppliers can cut back on production even more. TrendForce believes if demand remains stable, then the ASP of NAND Flash will have an opportunity to rebound in 4Q23; if demand is weaker than expected, then ASP will take longer to recover.

Client SSD: Currently, PC OEM's have managed to liquidate most of their component inventory, and are now gearing up in preparation for mid-year sales events. Suppliers are cutting prices to clear out their inventories of PCIe Gen 3 SSDs, which are gradually being phased out. Meanwhile, prices of PCIe Gen 4 SSDs continue to face downward pressure due to a slow intake of new customer orders. The continuous decline of QLC products in 1Q23 has also dragged down the prices of TLC products, and there is relatively little room for prices to keep falling in 2Q23. While it still remains unclear whether or not demand will recover, TrendForce projects that the prices of PC client SSDs will drop 5~10% in 2Q23.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced the world's first integrated 5G IoT processors that are designed to support four major operating systems, in addition to two new robotics platforms, and an accelerator program for IoT ecosystem partners. These new innovations will empower manufacturers participating in the rapidly expanding world of devices at the connected intelligent edge.

The need for connected, intelligent, and autonomous devices is growing rapidly, and it is expected to hit $116 billion by 2030 according to Precedence Research. Businesses attempting to compete in this fast-moving economy need a reliable source of control and connectivity technology for their IoT and robotic devices. Qualcomm Technologies, which has shipped over 350 million dedicated IoT chipsets, is uniquely capable of providing manufacturers with the platforms needed to address this expanding segment.

MediaTek today announced the Dimensity 7200, its inaugural chipset in the new Dimensity 7000 series. The Dimensity 7200 boasts cutting-edge AI imaging features, powerful gaming optimizations, and impressive 5G speeds, all with deeply engrained power savings for extended battery life.

The Dimensity 7200 delivers the same TSMC 4 nm second-generation process found in the Dimensity 9200, and is ideal for ultra-slim designs in a variety of form factors. The octa-core CPU integrates two Arm Cortex-A715 cores, featuring operating speeds of up to 2.8 GHz, with six Cortex-A510 cores, so users can effortlessly multitask and take advantage of peak performance in every app. To further optimize power and performance, MediaTek's built-in AI Processing Unit (APU) maximizes the efficiency of AI tasks and AI-fusion processing.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation ("Silicon Motion" or the "Company") today announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2022. For the fourth quarter of 2022, net sales (GAAP) decreased sequentially to $200.8 million from $250.8 million in the third quarter of 2022. Net income (GAAP) decreased to $23.5 million, or $0.71 per diluted American Depositary Share ("ADS") (GAAP), from net income (GAAP) of $42.9 million, or $1.29 per diluted ADS (GAAP), in the third quarter of 2022.

For the fourth quarter of 2022, net income (non-GAAP) decreased to $41.1 million, or $1.22 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), from net income (non-GAAP) of $51.2 million, or $1.53 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), in the third quarter of 2022.

A new Android tablet has launched today, courtesy of Chinese phone maker OnePlus. However, the name leaves a lot to be desired, as OnePlus decided to call its new tablet, the Pad. There were enough jokes going around when the iPad was launched and we can only guess the OnePlus Pad isn't going to fare much better, although, as it's a much smaller brand, they might get away with it. Regardless of the naff product name, the OnePlus Pad is powered by MediaTek's Dimensity 9000 SoC, which has been paired with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of UFS 3.1 flash memory.

The standout feature of the Pad is its 11.61-inch 2800 x 2000 pixel resolution IPS display, with a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz. The odd resolution means that it has a 7:5 aspect ratio, something never before seen in a tablet and it places it somewhere between a 3:2 and a 4:3 display in terms of the aspect ratio. The panel offers up to 500 nits brightness and a 1400:1 contrast ratio and the Pad is said to have an 88.14 percent screen-to-body ratio. The back of the Pad is home to a 13 Megapixel camera that can shoot 4K video and around the front is an 8 Megapixel camera with 1080p video support. OnePlus has kitted out the Pad with a 9,510 mAh battery which is said to be good for 14 and a half hours of usage and a full charge from empty takes only 80 minutes thanks to support for 67 W SuperVOOC charging. The housing is made of aluminium and OnePlus offers an optional magnetic keyboard and a stylus for the Pad. No pricing was announced.

MediaTek today launched the Dimensity 9200, its latest 5G chipset powering the next era of flagship smartphones. Boasting extreme performance and intelligent power efficiency, the new SoC brings immersive all-day gaming experiences, ultra-sharp image capturing and support for both mmWave 5G and sub-6 GHz connectivity to consumers around the globe.

"MediaTek's Dimensity 9200 combines ultimate performance with significant power savings, extending battery life and keeping smartphones cool," said JC Hsu, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of MediaTek's wireless communications business unit at MediaTek. "With notably brighter image capturing and improved gaming speeds, along with the latest display enhancements, the Dimensity 9200 will bring new possibilities for next-gen smartphones that come in a variety of stylish and foldable form factors."

KIOXIA America, Inc. today announced that it has begun sampling the latest generation of its JEDEC e-MMC Ver. 5.1-compliant embedded flash memory products for consumer applications. The new products are available in capacities of 64 and 128 gigabytes (GB) and integrate the company's BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory and a controller in a single package.

Demand for mid-range capacities in consumer products such as tablets and IoT devices continues to grow, and though the market continues to shift to UFS, there are cases where e-MMC may still be used. The new KIOXIA e-MMC devices expand the available options. A leading provider of flash memory and storage for consumer applications and mobile devices, KIOXIA has been supporting e-MMC since 2007 and was the first supplier to introduce the higher performance follow-on solution to e-MMC, UFS, in early 2013. Today, the broad KIOXIA lineup of e-MMC and UFS solutions provides support across a wide range of densities (4 GB-1 TB).

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation ("Silicon Motion"), a global leader in NAND Flash controllers and solid-state storage devices, today announces it will be showcasing its unique suite of SSD controller solutions for Datacenter, Notebook PCs and Automotive / Industrial SSDs during the Flash Memory Summit from August 2-4 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, booth #311.

YMTC today at the Flash Memory Summit (FMS) 2022 unveiled its X3-9070 TLC 3D NAND flash powered by Xtacking 3.0 architecture. Since its debut show at FMS 2018, YMTC's Xtacking technology has become a hallmark of the company's vision for innovation, and the approach to hybrid bonding has been widely recognized as one of the key enablers of the industry's future growth. Built out to be a common growth platform that drives value and innovation in the semiconductor ecosystem, YMTC's Xtacking 3.0 architecture opens up a world of opportunities for diversified applications in 5G, AloT, and beyond.

From 1.0 to 3.0, YMTC's Xtacking technology, a heterogeneous 3D integration architecture, has established a proven track record of success, as evidenced by a diverse portfolio of Xtacking NAND-based system solutions, including SATA III, PCIe Gen3 & Gen4 SSDs, as well as eMMC & UFS for mobile and embedded applications, garnering recognition from leading OEMs.

ASUS today revealed the all-new Zenfone 9 smartphone at a virtual launch event. Zenfone 9 is a totally redesigned compact 5.9-inch device with high performance and exciting new features. Powered by the latest flagship Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Mobile Platform, it's the most powerful Zenfone ever released. This latest generation Zenfone 9 has been totally redesigned to give it a premium, sleek look and feel, with four eye-catching new colors, a tactile new high-grip texture, and IP68 certification. The modern design features a massively upgraded dual-camera system with a 50 MP Sony IMX 766 main camera featuring a new 6-Axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilizer, electronic image stabilization (EIS) and ultrafast autofocus technology for sharp, shake-free photos and videos. There's also a 12 MP IMX 363 ultrawide camera, and a 12 MP IMX 663 punch-hole front camera for crystal clear selfies and video chats.

As Zenfone 9 fits perfectly in one hand, the ASUS ZenUI 9 (Android 12) interface has been optimized for one-handed use. There's also the unique ASUS ZenTouch, a multifunction side-mounted power button incorporating a fingerprint sensor for hassle-free unlocking and support for convenient gesture controls. The new Connex Case accessory allows users to attach the Connex Card Holder or Connex Smart Stand, and there's also a new Smart Backpack Mount for safely attaching Zenfone 9 to a backpack's strap.

According to TrendForce research, as output from Kioxia and WDC grows month by month, it has become obvious that production capacity is sufficient to meet increased bit demand. However, post-pandemic demand for consumer electronics such as laptops will no longer lead to flagging orders. Coupled with slow destocking among Chinese smartphone brands due to the pandemic and rising inflation, these factors will lead to oversupply in the 3Q22 NAND Flash market, in turn affecting a price drop of 0~5% in 3Q22.

In terms of Client SSD, although a backstop for business notebook orders remains, demand for consumer notebook and Chromebook orders lags behind 2021, especially as PC brands stock more conservatively. Their intention to actively reduce inventory is obvious and the volume of orders in peak season may fall behind last year. However, as SSD production capacity gradually returns to normal, supply of client SSDs continues to increase. In addition, shipments of Kioxia and WDC products been delivered in succession. In order to avoid a sharp increase in inventory, the supply side is willing to let prices spike. Client SSD pricing is expected to reverse direction and move downwards approximately 3-8% in 3Q22.

According to TrendForce research, looking at NAND Flash wafers, the pricing of which more sensitively reflects the market, suppliers are increasingly motivated to cut prices in exchange for sales due to weak retail demand since March and a more conservative outlook for shipments of other end products. The price of NAND Flash wafers is expected to begin falling in May and the supply of NAND Flash will gradually overtake demand in 2H22. The price decline of NAND Flash wafers in 3Q22 may reach 5~10%.

At the same time, TrendForce indicates that February's contamination incident at Kioxia was expected to tighten the market in 2Q22 and 3Q22. However, as a consequence of rising inflation and the war between Russia and Ukraine, market demand for consumer products in the traditional peak season of the second half of the year is trending conservative and the prices of client SSD, eMMC, and UFS in 3Q22 will be flat compared to 2Q22, breaking from the original expectation that prices may rise. In terms of enterprise SSDs, as demand for data centers remains strong, no significant correction in demand has yet been observed. However, as the overall NAND Flash market gradually moves into oversupply, prices will only grow slightly by approximately 0~5% in 3Q22.

Samsung has announced the implementation of the latest JEDEC standard specification with the adoption of UFS (Universal Flash Storage) standard 4.0. The new standard offers a number of improvements over the previous UFS 3.1 specification related to either performance or power savings. The new standard increases speeds of up to 23.2 Gbps per lane, double that of the previous UFS 3.1 standard. Additionally, UFS 4.0 unlocks sequential read speeds as high as 6.0 MB/s per mA - a 46% improvement over the previous spec, promising decreased battery drain even as workload time is reduced.

Samsung's UFS 4.0 implementation will leverage the company's 7th Gen V-NAND alongside a proprietary controller, which should ultimately enable speeds of up to 4,200 MB/s. Sequential write speeds are nothing to scoff at either, promising up to 2,800 MB/s. The improved performance doesn't translate to increased package sizes, however, as UFS 4.0 will be distributed in compact packages with a maximum dimension of 11 mm x 13 mm x 1 mm for more effective space utilization and design convenience - with capacities reaching the 1 TB per package. Mass production is expected in 3Q2022. Samsung expects its new UFS 4.0-based products to deliver new experiences with increased data throughput of 5G smartphones, future automotive applications, and even AR and VR.

Kioxia Corporation, a world leader in memory solutions, today announced that it has started sampling new Automotive Universal Flash Storage (UFS) Ver. 3.1 embedded flash memory devices. The new line-up utilizes the company's BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory and is available in capacities from 64 gigabytes (GB) to 512 GB to support the various requirements of evolving automotive applications that elevate driver experiences.

The storage requirement for automotive applications continue to increase as infotainment systems and ADAS in cars become more sophisticated. UFS is well-suited to support the high-performance and density needs of these applications. The new devices support a wide temperature range (-40°C to +105°C), meet AEC-Q100 Grade 2 requirements and offer enhanced reliability capabilities that increasingly complex automotive applications require.

Continuing to lead the way forward for UFS technology, KIOXIA America, Inc. today announced sampling of the industry's first Universal Flash Storage (UFS)3 embedded flash memory devices supporting MIPI M-PHY v5.04. The new lineup utilizes the company's BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory and is available in three capacities: 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB. The new devices deliver high speed read and write performance and are targeted to a variety of mobile applications, including leading-edge smartphones.

The new KIOXIA devices are next-generation UFS (MIPI M-PHY 5.0), which has a theoretical interface speed of up to 23.2 Gbps per lane (x2 lanes = 46.4 Gpbs) in HS-GEAR mode. Sequential read and write performance of the 256 GB device is improved by approximately 90 percent and 70 percent, respectively, over previous generation devices. Also, random read and write performance of the 256 GB device is improved by approximately 35 percent and 60 percent, respectively, over previous generation devices. This next generation of UFS provides significant increases in performance, enabling next-generation smartphones and other products to enhance their capabilities and end user experiences in the 5G era and beyond.