Memory: HBM4 Debuts, SSDs Upgrade
Memory: HBM4 Debuts, SSDs Upgrade
With the explosion of AI computing power, the importance of memory has become increasingly prominent. High bandwidth and large capacity were the two key themes for memory manufacturers at CES 2026, with products like HBM and QLC SSDs garnering significant interest.
SK hynix showcased 16-layer stacked HBM4 memory with a capacity of 48GB, serving as critical support for next-generation AI accelerators. Additionally, it demonstrated the low-power SOCAMM2 module specifically designed for AI servers.
At the exhibition, Samsung warned of an AI-driven memory supply shortage and confirmed that its Galaxy S26 series will come standard with 16GB of LPDDR5x memory to meet the demands of on-device AI.
SanDisk officially announced a new brand naming system for its solid-state drive series: SANDISK Optimus. Within this:
The Standard Edition targets creative professionals, balancing speed and value, formerly part of the WD Blue® series.
The GX Game Edition is designed for gamers, focusing on blazing-fast loading and high energy efficiency, formerly key models from the WD_BLACK™ line.
The GX PRO Flagship Edition caters to professionals and high-end gamers, suitable for AI PCs, workstations, etc., formerly high-end WD_BLACK™ models.
Micron released the industry's first PCIe Gen5 QLC client SSD – the Micron 3610. This product boasts sequential read speeds of up to 11,500 MB/s, aiming to make Gen5 high-speed storage a standard feature for AI PCs with lower power consumption and cost.
Kioxia showcased the BG7 series SSD, utilizing 8th Generation BiCS FLASH and CBA technology. It achieves random read/write speeds of up to 1,000,000 IOPS and sequential read speeds of up to 7,000 MB/s, representing a performance improvement of approximately 10% to 16% over the previous KIOXIA BG6 series. Furthermore, by employing CBA technology to enhance memory cell performance, combined with high-efficiency control circuits and an optimized SSD controller, the series achieves approximately a 67% improvement in sequential write energy efficiency.
