Chinese memory giant CXMT is reportedly facing difficulties with HBM3 production, according to South Korean media. Late last month, it was revealed that CXMT had begun risk production of HBM3E memory, lagging two generations behind Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron, who are already progressing with HBM4E sampling. At that time, it was known that the company was conducting HBM3E risk production in limited runs, but details were scarce. However, today we learn that three out of four HBM3E stacks are defective, indicating that CXMT currently operates at a 25% yield. Stacking DRAM is a complex task, as the technology required is much more intricate than planar DRAM manufacturing, an area where CXMT reportedly excels.

The low yields are reportedly due to the immaturity of the through-silicon via (TSV) technology that CXMT employs. In front-end manufacturing, CXMT achieves around 30% yields, while back-end processing yields about 70% on top of the original 30%. For instance, Samsung uses about 5,000 TSVs per layer on HBM2, and SK hynix uses more than 8,000 TSVs per layer on its HBM3. However, data suggests that CXMT is attempting to achieve HBM3E with only 3,000 TSVs per layer and is trying to pack 8 layers in the regular 8-Hi HBM3E configuration. Given these challenges, the company is unlikely to transition to a higher-capacity 12-Hi HBM in the near term as it addresses engineering challenges.

Samsung Electronics and ASML today announced an expansion of their long-standing strategic partnership, deepening collaboration on High NA EUV lithography and advanced semiconductor manufacturing technologies that will help drive the next generation of innovation in the AI era.

Building on years of successful cooperation, the companies will work together to accelerate the development and deployment of technologies that support the increasing performance and efficiency requirements of advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

Intel has officially processed one million 300 mm silicon wafers using High Numerical Aperture (High NA) Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, as confirmed by the company yesterday. Using High-NA in silicon manufacturing presents many challenges due to the additional complexity it introduces, but for Intel, the opposite is true. Initially, Intel installed ASML's TWINSCAN EXE:5000 High-NA EUV systems in 2024 for research and testing of the 14A node. However, since then, Intel has found more useful ways to employ High-NA tools beyond the 14A node, extending their use to the 18A node, which was previously believed to be exclusive to 14A.

For a select subset of "Panther Lake" SKUs, Intel is etching a few layers of silicon using High-NA exposure, instead of solely relying on Low-NA. Furthermore, Intel is offering this High-NA setup to external customers, as it could be beneficial for them as well. In collaboration with ASML, Intel has completed acceptance testing at Intel Foundry for its 14A node to enhance wafer output. This is done using TWINSCAN EXE:5200B, which is ASML's second version of High-NA EUV scanners, following the TWINSCAN EXE:5000 that Intel initially used for its 14A trial runs. Intel previously reported processing over 30,000 wafers in a single quarter, achieving simplified manufacturing by reducing the steps needed for a specific layer from 40 to fewer than 10, resulting in significantly faster cycle times.

SK hynix is shifting much of its capacity to the latest 1c DRAM node, according to recent reports. The South Korean giant is transitioning the bulk of its memory production between nodes, and as DRAM technology advances, the company is moving its production to more advanced 10 nm-class nodes. For SK hynix, the sixth-generation 10 nm class 1c DRAM node accounted for 10% of production in Q1 2026, with an increase to about 13% in Q2. In the current third quarter, the company is expected to manufacture 24% of its DRAM on 1c, while Q4 will see more than a third (34%) produced on that node. By Q1 2027, the 1c node will account for around 35%, making the fifth-generation 10 nm-class 1b node at 33%, officially SK hynix's most dominant node.

As a reminder, DRAM nodes are not the same as conventional logic nodes. DRAM manufacturers use variations of 10 nm and scale them with more EUV layers or advanced features. For SK hynix, the currently dominant 1b node is around 12-13 nm in actual design and involves about 4 layers of EUV patterning, while the most advanced 1c node shrinks to 11-12 nm with 5-6 layers of EUV. SK hynix will use the 1c node to manufacture HBM4E, LPDDR6, and DDR5 memory. For the older 1b node, SK hynix produces DDR5, LPDDR5X, HBM3E, and HBM4.

TrendForce's latest findings on the memory industry reveal that sharp rises in traditional DRAM contract prices have led to a 59.5% QoQ increase in total DRAM industry revenue, reaching nearly US$154.73 billion in 2Q26.

Growing demand for AI servers, fueled by expanding LLM training and AI inference, has driven higher shipments of HBM3e, LPDDR5X, and high-capacity RDIMMS. The surge in agentic AI applications is further boosting RDIMM demand across various capacities.

According to Korean media, Samsung Foundry, a division that operates silicon manufacturing as a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, is reportedly allocating significant capacity for HBM4 base die manufacturing. For HBM4, Samsung is producing the base die on a 4 nm node, which reportedly receives half of the entire manufacturing capacity of the 4 nm node, internally referred to as SF4. Customers of HBM4 and the upcoming HBM4E memory standards are now requesting base dies to be filled with custom logic. For instance, customers could implement custom logic like memory controllers and PHYs directly on the HBM base die, significantly reducing the area occupied by these components on the main compute chiplet.

Samsung operates its SF4 manufacturing at Pyeongtaek Campus 2 (P2) and Campus 3 (P3) on lines S5 and S6. An increase in manufacturing is not only coming for ASIC designs by external customers but also for HBM4 base die manufacturing, which is becoming especially important for ASIC customers aiming to maximize the performance of their designs.

The latest NAND market share data from Counterpoint Research shows just how far prices have risen in 2026. The global NAND market grew 70% quarter-over-quarter in Q2, following 90% growth in Q1. This is driven almost entirely by rising prices rather than higher shipments. NAND contract prices climbed 55% QoQ in Q2 alone, which lines up with earlier TrendForce estimates pointing to a 70-75% jump over the same stretch. Samsung held onto the top spot with 28% revenue share, down slightly from 29% in Q1 and 32% a year earlier, while SK hynix sits second at 19% and Micron rounds out the top three at 15%, helped along by high selling prices.

The surge traces back to AI infrastructure eating up NAND supply that would otherwise go toward consumer SSDs. Enterprise and hyperscale buyers are stockpiling high-capacity flash for AI servers, and manufacturers have leaned into that shift since it carries far better margins than retail drives. That's left less capacity for client SSDs, and it's part of why consumer drive prices keep climbing even as shipment volumes stay flat. China's YMTC is one of the more interesting movers here, growing from a 9% share a year ago to 14% in Q2, likely picking up volume as the bigger three chase their most profitable enterprise orders instead. Most forecasts still put meaningful price stabilization sometime in 2027, since new NAND capacity takes years to bring online and AI demand shows no sign of slowing.

According to Counterpoint Research trackers, Chinese memory giant CXMT captured 10% of the global DRAM market share by revenue in Q2 2026, which is 150% more than the company had a year ago. On a quarterly basis, the company also experienced significant growth of 25%, as it increased its market share from 8% in Q1 to 10% in Q2. This is impressive considering the company managed to grow its revenue market share despite constrained access to advanced tooling, while established giants like Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron have undisputed access to all semiconductor manufacturing tools.

Among other DRAM makers, Samsung retains the number one spot with a 38% share, SK hynix holds 25%, and Micron is just behind at 24%. Interestingly, over the last few quarters, Samsung managed to maintain and grow its number one position, while SK hynix's share dropped from 39% a year ago to the current 25%. Micron fluctuated between 22% and the current 24%, while Nanya doubled its share from 1% to 2%.

Today marks the day we see AMD's next-generation RDNA 5 GPU IP inside working silicon, but not in the form you might expect. Thanks to SemiAnalysis's die annotation of the Exynos 2700 SoC from Samsung, we see AMD's new GPU IP shine in a mobile form with the Xclipse 970 GPU. As earlier leaks reported, AMD and Samsung co-developed the Xclipse 970 GPU using AMD RDNA technology and adapted it for mobile. However, the GPU IP has now been upgraded to the latest RDNA 5, making this SoC technically the first RDNA 5-equipped chip that will be shipping. Built on Samsung Foundry's SF2 node, Samsung has designed this SoC with a unique 10-CPU core configuration and a strong GPU to compete with Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite SoCs.

On the CPU front, Samsung uses Arm's off-the-shelf CPU core IP, which includes C2-Ultra and C2-Pro. This setup features a single C2-Ultra big core running at 4.24 GHz, one C2-Ultra running at 3.36 GHz, four C2-Pro cores running at 3.74 GHz, and four C2-Pro cores running at 2.88 GHz, making a total of 10 CPU cores. On the GPU side, the Xclipse 970 packs eight GPU WGPs, each containing two Compute Units. This results in 16 CUs on the GPU front if everything remains the same with RDNA 5 and no changes to the WGP/CU ratio have been made by AMD since the last-generation RDNA 4.

Samsung presented its updated memory roadmap at SEMICON Taiwan 2026, with HBM5 and the upcoming zHBM architecture being the main focus points while setting ambitious goals and expectations. According to Samsung, HBM5 is targeting twice the performance and 20% higher performance per watt compared to HBM4E, alongside a 20% reduction in thermal resistance. As changes, the base die moves from the 4 nm process used in HBM4 and HBM4E to Samsung's in-house 2 nm node, and the stack options expand to 12, 16, and 20 layers. Mass production is expected around 2028. Recently, Samsung confirmed at the Hot Chips 2026 conference's Advance Program that the company is preparing to ship HBM4E memory with speeds of 16 Gbps per pin. Samsung is currently shipping HBM4 that works at 11.7 Gbps per pin.

zHBM uses a more radical approach, rather than placing memory beside the accelerator as conventional HBM does, zHBM stacks memory directly on top of the processor, shortening the data path and delivering higher bandwidth and efficiency. With zHBM, Samsung is targeting eight times the raw performance and three times the performance per watt of HBM4E, with thermal resistance reduced by 75-90%. At FMS 2026, Samsung unveiled the industry's first concept models of zHBM and is expected to launch this completely different architecture after 2029. Rethinking the HBM architecture appears to be the direction the industry is heading. NVIDIA recently announced its own NVHBM custom memory that moves the memory controller into the HBM base die rather than keeping it on the compute die.

NAND Flash suppliers are broadening their enterprise SSD product lines to boost profits and refine their offerings, according to TrendForce's recent memory industry report. Increased shipment volumes and higher contract prices are expected to propel the combined revenue of the top five enterprise SSD brands to double quarter-over-quarter, reaching $37.59 billion in 2Q26—a staggering 103.6% increase.

TrendForce expects enterprise SSD demand to remain elevated in 3Q26 thanks to the growing adoption of generative AI agent services, steady data center infrastructure deployments by CSPs, and large-scale shipments of NVIDIA GB-series AI server racks. These factors are expected to drive industry revenue even higher. However, rising output from Chinese suppliers and the emergence of China's domestic cloud market could reshape the competitive landscape going forward.

Samsung Electronics today announced a new 14-inch Galaxy Book6, expanding the Galaxy Book6 lineup with a more accessible model designed for everyday computing. Starting at $799, Galaxy Book6 combines up to 25 hours of battery life, Intel Core 3 and Core 5 performance, Galaxy AI-enabled features, and the design language of the Galaxy Book6 family.

"With the new Galaxy Book6, we wanted to make the Galaxy Book experience available for more people," said Mincheol Lee, EVP, Head of Galaxy Ecosystems Business Team at Samsung Electronics. "At a more accessible price, it brings together the everyday essentials users value, including dependable performance, long-lasting battery life, connected Galaxy experiences, and Galaxy Book6's design DNA, giving users confidence that lasts beyond the purchase."

Samsung Electronics today announced its 2027 Odyssey gaming monitor lineup at Gamescom 2026, the world's largest gaming event, being held in Cologne, Germany from Aug. 26-30. The new lineup introduces multiple Odyssey models that feature world-first innovations, empowering players with greater versatility across speed, screen size, picture quality, and flexible display modes.

"Players come to Gamescom to discover what is next, try new games, and experience the technology they need to stay focused and compete at their best," said Hun Lee, Executive Vice President of the Visual Display (VD) Business at Samsung Electronics. "With new form factors, higher refresh rates, and advanced display technologies, the 2027 Odyssey lineup gives players more choice across competitive play, cinematic games, and multi-purpose setups."

Samsung Display will showcase the gaming performance advantages of QD-OLED through collaborations with global game companies at gamescom 2026, the world's largest gaming exhibition. The company also announced plans to begin mass production of 24.5-inch QD-OLED panels optimized for eSports and FPS games by the end of this year, underscoring its technology leadership in the gaming monitor market.

Highly anticipated titles from CAPCOM, KRAFTON and CD PROJEKT RED take the stage at gamescom with QD-OLED displays
Samsung Display announced on August 27 that it will partner with global game companies including CAPCOM, KRAFTON, and CD PROJEKT RED at gamescom 2026, taking place in Cologne, Germany, from August 26 to 30. New and flagship titles from each company will be showcased on gaming monitors featuring Samsung Display's QD-OLED panels, demonstrating the outstanding picture quality of QD-OLED to gamers from around the world.

YMTC has set an ambitious goal for its near-term future. The Chinese technology giant aims to become the world's largest NAND Flash maker, overtaking Samsung and SK hynix by the end of 2027. This goal was announced during a meeting with investors and stakeholders ahead of the company's initial public offering, which is planned for the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Through the IPO, YMTC hopes to raise about $5 billion to upgrade its facilities and accelerate research and development efforts, enabling it to deliver more NAND Flash across China for domestic companies and serve international customers by shipping this valuable resource.

The Wuhan-based company recently became the third-largest player in the industry during Q2, surpassing some of the biggest names. Leading the global NAND Flash shipment market is Samsung, holding 25% of the market. In second place is SK hynix, along with its subsidiary Solidigm, commanding 22% of the market share. YMTC has claimed the third spot, with its bit shipments growing 22% year-over-year and 5% quarter-over-quarter, edging ahead of Micron, Kioxia, and Sandisk.

Samsung Electronics a global leader in advanced memory technology, today unveiled the P9 and P7, its next-generation portable solid-state drives (SSDs) featuring USB4 connectivity. The company introduced the new P Series at Gamescom 2026, the world's largest gaming event, held in Cologne, Germany from Aug. 26-30.

Designed to meet rapidly growing storage demands driven by ultra-high-resolution video, AI content, and large-scale games, the P Series includes the flagship P9, which delivers high-end performance for professional users, and the P7, designed for fast and convenient storage across everyday use cases.

According to the latest report from Chosun, the United States government is reportedly in talks with the government of South Korea to secure major investment in domestic memory production on American soil, as pressure on the supply chain continues to grow. Since the majority of the world's DRAM production occurs in South Korea by companies such as SK hynix and Samsung, the U.S. government, during the Trump administration, is negotiating with South Korean officials to encourage more South Korean memory makers to invest in American DRAM fabs, which would significantly improve the supply chain situation.

There has reportedly been dissatisfaction with the level of Korean companies' investment in the U.S. and the delays these companies are causing despite promised expansions. However, the new strategic investment would be separate from the already-promised $350 billion expansion in the U.S. that was agreed upon by both parties last year. This would represent a new buildout, also worth billions of U.S. dollars. A new investment package is expected to be announced sometime in September, which is just days away, meaning we will soon see how South Korean memory makers plan to structure their U.S. investments.

At the Hot Chips 2026 conference's Advance Program, Samsung's Sangwook Han confirmed that the company is preparing to ship HBM4E memory with speeds of 16 Gbps per pin. This is a significant confidence boost for Samsung's Semiconductor division, which has been shipping HBM4E with speeds of 14 Gbps per pin since late May of this year. Essentially, the company confirmed that its scaling progress is going well, and HBM4E represents another milestone in high-bandwidth memory technology that it can produce with impressive speed. Samsung's own HBM4 is now shipping at 11.7 Gbps, making the jump to HBM4E even more impressive.

Currently, at 14 Gbps per pin and 2,048 pins per HBM4E stack, Samsung can achieve a maximum bandwidth of 3.6 TB/s. However, at 16 Gbps, this maximum memory bandwidth will increase to 4 TB/s for a single HBM4E stack. Considering about a dozen memory stacks per AI accelerator or GPU, the total memory bandwidth is remarkable. The company is also currently offering this memory in a 12-layer (or 12-high) configuration with a memory density of 48 GB per stack. However, customer requirements will also include 8-layer 32 GB and 16-layer 64 GB stacks in the future.

According to Reuters, Samsung Foundry is experiencing a significant increase in customer orders, prompting the company to adjust its pricing strategy across multiple nodes. In July, Samsung raised the price of its 4 nm node, known as SF4, by about 10-15% for customers in the United States and China, while customers in Taiwan saw a more modest increase of 5-10%. Prices for wafers produced with the 5 nm node, referred to as SF5, also rose by 10-15%. Interestingly, even the older 8 nm node experienced a 10% price hike. This increase for the SF8 node is likely due to NVIDIA placing orders for its GeForce RTX 3060, a product the company has reintroduced after several generations.

There is no mention of price hikes for newer nodes such as Samsung SF2, SF3, and their variations. It seems Samsung anticipated the level of external customer demand for these nodes, and they are already quite costly. Notably, Reuters reports that U.S.-based customers are prioritized after Samsung's internal chip demand for its own SoCs, while China-based design houses are third in line. However, as China seeks advanced nodes, they are willing to accept higher price increases to secure allocation at Samsung Foundry at any cost.

Memory pricing is a hot topic these days as consumers struggle to purchase any, with little hope of prices dropping. Memory costs are reaching new all-time highs, with various trackers reporting that prices in August this year are up to five times more expensive than the same month last year for DRAM kits. According to data from PCPartPicker, DDR5 memory prices have increased anywhere from 372% for 2 x 16 GB 4,800 MT/s kits to 485% for 2 x 32 GB kits running at 5,600 MT/s. A 6,000 MT/s 64 GB kit, which used to cost $222, is now considered a luxury investment at an astounding $1,272. At the TechPowerUp editorial team, we remember when that was the entire budget for building a very decent high-end gaming PC.

PCPartPicker also shows that DDR4 kits have increased by 120% to 177%, which is still significant but mainly affects those using the older DDR4 technology. For those on a newer DDR5 platform, the change is much more pronounced. Note that PCPartPicker only tracks pricing in the United States, while German websites like ComputerBase have reported a 345% year-over-year increase for August in the Eurozone, which is much higher than anything seen before. With no signs of slowing down, we might see even higher year-over-year changes.

TrendForce's latest NAND Flash industry research reveals that AI server demand remained steady in the second quarter of 2026—particularly for enterprise SSDs—resulting in a supply shortage across the NAND Flash market. This allowed suppliers to raise ASPs significantly through contract negotiations. As a result, the combined revenue of the top five publicly listed NAND Flash brands rose 77% QoQ to US$68.87 billion.

Looking ahead to the third quarter, demand from smartphones and PCs is expected to remain weak as higher BOM costs push up device prices. However, demand from AI servers for enterprise SSDs remains strong. Meanwhile, suppliers are generally prioritizing capital expenditure on DRAM and HBM, limiting new NAND Flash capacity. ASPs are therefore expected to continue supporting overall industry revenue growth in the third quarter.

Samsung Electronics today announced an exclusive partnership with Activision as the official TV, monitor, soundbar, and Wi-Fi speaker of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, the latest title in one of the world's largest first-person shooter (FPS) franchises. The collaboration brings Call of Duty together with Samsung's premium display and connected gaming technologies to give players more ways to experience the title before its official launch.

Call of Duty is a critically acclaimed and award-winning franchise that has become one of gaming's most recognized intellectual properties. The collaboration marks another step in Samsung's efforts to expand next-generation gaming experiences across TVs, monitors, soundbars, Wi-Fi speakers, and connected gaming services.

Chinese memory giant CXMT has finally surpassed 9,000 MT/s on the AMD platform, rivaling DRAM kits from Micron, SK hynix, and Samsung. On the Colorful iGame X870E VULCAN W OC motherboard, an iGame Shadow II 24G×2 kit with 48 GB of memory achieved speeds of 9,000 MT/s. In the provided screenshot, the kit runs at 4,507 MHz, which translates to over 9,014 MT/s, thanks to double data rate technology. Late last year, CXMT announced that its DDR5 could reach 8,000 MT/s, but now we see that overclocked memory can exceed these speeds on the AMD platform.

Additionally, CXMT is working on improving latency. Some Colorful iGame Shadow II 24Gx2 48 GB kits are being tested on ASUS motherboards to achieve ultra-low latency, matching the performance of the top three memory manufacturers. On the latest AMD and Intel platforms, Colorful has tested DDR5 kits running at 6,000 MT with CL30 latency and even some preliminary tests with CL28 latency. This is a promising sign that CXMT memory is finally meeting the standards of competing DRAM from the leading memory makers in both transfer rate and latency.

TrendForce's latest market research shows that the global OLED monitor market maintained strong growth momentum in 2Q26. Shipment growth was driven by the launch of new models, strong demand generated by China's 618 shopping festival, and the continued adoption and promotion of 27-inch QHD monitors, the market's dominant product segment.

Supported by these factors, global OLED monitor shipments increased 26.1% QoQ in 2Q26 and surged 98% YoY, nearly doubling from the same period last year. The results underscore the rapid penetration of OLED technology in the gaming and premium display markets.

Chinese memory giant CXMT has reportedly achieved a significant milestone in DDR5 production, with manufacturing yields now comfortably above 90%. This is comparable to what major manufacturers like Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron are achieving. According to reports, CXMT uses a 17 nm node for DDR5 chip production and has reached a 90% yield for these chips. This is only 2-3% lower than Samsung's yield on its 10 nm class node for DDR5 production, indicating that CXMT's production quality is matching that of the world's largest memory maker. This is a remarkable achievement for a company that excels in cleanroom construction time, taking only 12 months to build its fab's cleanroom compared to the two years others require. As the company plans to end the year with 350,000 DRAM wafers per month, high yields mean there is little waste or leftover.

Chinese MyDrivers also notes that PC OEMs have mixed reactions to adopting CXMT DRAM in their products. For instance, Dell has completely banned the use of CXMT in its machines, while HP only allows CXMT DRAM in its Chinese PCs. Major Taiwanese brands such as ASUS and Acer have increased adoption in some models, as they have more flexibility in supply chain procurement. However, both companies use CXMT memory for PCs sold in mainland China and some emerging markets, meaning the West is still far from receiving PCs with CXMT memory modules. PC OEMs are also cautious about procuring CXMT memory due to concerns about disrupting their relationships with the big three memory makers.