Samsung is set to begin mass production of its 1.4 nm node in 2029, according to recent reports from South Korean media outlet The Bell. Initially, Samsung aimed for mass production in 2028, but this has been postponed to 2029 due to the expanding manufacturing capacity of the 2 nm SF2 and its derivative process, the SF2P node. This timeline aligns with the rest of the industry's targets for similar node high-volume manufacturing. Intel, for example, plans to start risk production of its 14A node in 2028, with high-volume production slated for 2029. As a result, we can expect more competitive silicon manufacturing by the end of the decade, offering better alternatives for TSMC customers. TSMC plans to begin mass production of its A14 node in 2028, which will still give it a slight time advantage over Samsung and Intel.

Additionally, it is known that Samsung is exploring High-NA EUV lithography for its 1.4 nm node, marking the company's first transition from Low-NA EUV tools in a new manufacturing process. The company has been engaging with numerous domestic suppliers as well as international toolmakers like Applied Materials and Lam Research to obtain tools for its NRD-K R&D hub for semiconductors.

AMD has reportedly informed its GPU add-in board (AIB) partners that a price hike is imminent, according to a report from Chinese Board Channels. The report claims that AMD is preparing a 10% price increase on its GPU kits, which include a GPU die and GDDR6 memory, for July of this year. This increase will affect its AIBs that are producing custom Radeon RX GPUs with specialized PCBs. Typically, AMD sources GDDR6 memory from one of the three major memory makers like SK hynix, Samsung, or Micron. This approach allows GPU AIBs to avoid sourcing the memory themselves, and AMD can secure better contracts for volume purchases that surpass any single GPU AIB. However, since GDDR memory is also in short supply, AMD is forced to raise the price of its GPU kits supplied to AIBs like Sapphire, ASUS, XFX, and others.

For consumers, this doesn't necessarily mean an immediate 10% price hike, as the GPU kit is only part of the cost associated with the development of a GPU for third-party companies. While it is a significant expense, it may not account for the majority of the GPU cost, meaning that the final price increase consumers see might be less than 10%. However, this will also depend on whether AIBs pass these costs onto consumers, which they likely will, and exactly when the new GPU pricing appears at retailers. While GPU AIBs might honor pricing for models made before the price increase, retailers and smaller resellers might not, as they could use this information for an immediate price increase. Hence, we are yet to see how this plays out.

Apple has reportedly been negotiating with the U.S. government to get clearance to use sanctioned Chinese memory maker CXMT in its products. According to a report from the Financial Times, Apple is in talks with the U.S. government to clear the previously blacklisted Chinese entity. The U.S. government had earlier placed Chinese memory maker CXMT on a sanctions list, preventing American companies from purchasing products like the now highly sought-after DRAM. This has created a challenging situation given the severe supply shortage the entire industry is facing. Since the big three—Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron—are ramping up capacity at an insufficient rate, sourcing DRAM from another supplier would help ease the pressure on electronics makers by providing better pricing, more supply, and facilitating product shipments.

CXMT is capable of manufacturing the latest DDR5 and its low-power sibling LPDDR5X memory. Late last year, the company showcased DDR5-8000 and LPDDR5X-10667 DRAM modules that are in mass production. These memory modules are available in 12 Gb and 16 Gb LPDDR5X capacities, while DDR5 scales to 16 Gb and 24 Gb module formats. However, a significant problem remains. Even if Apple gets clearance from the U.S. government to use CXMT memory, the company likely can't satisfy domestic demand first before shipping the quantity that Apple would require. Some estimates suggest CXMT could reach over $50 billion in revenue by 2026, according to SemiAnalysis, indicating that domestic demand is so strong that CXMT is rapidly selling out wafers.

A very grim picture is being painted over the consumer PC space as Lenovo is now claiming that memory price increases will become the new norm. According to the latest report from Wall Street News China, Lenovo stated at ISC 2026 that the upward trajectory for memory prices has just begun, meaning that these increases will become a standard expectation. This is disappointing news for the majority of PC enthusiasts who were hoping for stabilization in DRAM and NAND Flash pricing, as these increases are pushing the cost of consumer electronics beyond previous levels of affordability.

Lenovo, one of the largest PC OEMs, frequently conducts channel checks with its DRAM and NAND Flash suppliers. The company is adept at projecting demand, allowing it to understand where the demand and supply ratio is heading. According to the company's analysis, even though Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron are accelerating the construction of new semiconductor fabs to expand capacity, this is simply not enough to meet demand. It is unclear whether this means that the new capacity coming online is insufficient or if the current capacity projections are inadequate. Either way, Lenovo projects that shortages of DRAM and NAND Flash will last longer than originally anticipated.

Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology today announced that, for the first time in the industry, it has developed the industry's fastest Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 5.0 solution, which will help enable seamless and highly efficient AI services on future mobile devices.

The milestone sets a new benchmark for the next-generation mobile memory market as the enhanced performance is expected to allow mobile device users with significantly reduced latency and faster response times when running large language models (LLMs) in on-device AI environments.

Chinese companies like Gloway and KingBank, which provide DDR5 memory kits for consumer platforms, have started integrating domestically produced CXMT DDR5 memory into their RAM kits, effectively ending their reliance on DRAM from Micron, SK hynix, and Samsung after years of external dependence. It has been reported that Gloway and KingBank have begun incorporating CXMT's 24 Gb DDR5 modules, which are being shipped as part of 48 GB RAM kits. With 3 GB per module, this results in eight modules per DDR5 DIMM for a total of 24 GB of capacity. In the regular dual DIMM configuration, Gloway and KingBank are offering consumers 48 GB of capacity.

Gloway has prepared the Longwuyi Yi Special Edition kit, which operates at 6,000 MT/s with latencies of CL36-38-38-80. This kit runs at a voltage of 1.2 V and is specialized for AMD CPUs. Reportedly, it features custom heat spreaders to maintain cooling and control heat dissipation, with 5 W/mK thermal pads included. Meanwhile, KingBank DIMMs use 2 mm heat spreaders and have a custom thermal interface material applied over the PMIC, along with dual-side RGB LED lighting that can be controlled via software.

Samsung Display announced today that it will showcase a comprehensive gaming display lineup at COMPUTEX 2026, held June 2-5 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center in Taiwan. The exhibition will feature 16 of its latest OLED and QD-OLED products optimized for gaming, ranging from 8.8-inch OLED panels for handheld gaming PCs to 49-inch QD-OLED panels for monitors.

Samsung Display will introduce new laptop OLED technologies, including a slim design optimized for gaming laptops, as well as new QD-OLED products for monitors with industry-leading performance, including the world's first 4K 360 Hz QD-OLED monitor. Visitors will also be able to experience the differentiated display performance of Samsung OLED and QD-OLED through a variety of game content and comparative demonstrations.

Samsung Electronics, a global leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it has begun shipping the industry's first 12-layer HBM4E samples to major global customers, further strengthening its leadership in the next-generation HBM market.

Following the industry's first mass production and commercial shipment of its industry-leading HBM4 earlier this year, Samsung now extends its HBM roadmap with the introduction of HBM4E samples, addressing the rapidly evolving demands of AI computing and hyperscale infrastructure.

Samsung Display has successfully developed the first QD-OLED monitors to combine 4K resolution with a 360 Hz refresh rate. The company will unveil the panel for the first time at COMPUTEX 2026 in June.

Samsung Display announced that it will showcase its 31.5-inch 4K 360 Hz QD-OLED for monitors to customers and media at COMPUTEX 2026, taking place in Taipei from June 2 to 5. While monitors supporting either 4K resolution or refresh rates of 360 Hz and above have been introduced previously, Samsung Display is the first to deliver both specifications simultaneously.

Samsung is steadily working towards its goal of creating 1000-layer NAND Flash storage modules. However, as manufacturing complexities increase, the company cannot achieve this with a single chip. Instead, it is turning to advanced packaging solutions to stack two 450-layer V-NAND modules into a single 900-layer V-NAND chip. According to ET News, which first reported this manufacturing achievement, Samsung is using Cell Multi-Bonding (CMB) technology, a variant of wafer stacking achieved through hybrid bonding. This process forms a permanent bond between two silicon chips using embedded metal bumps that are fused together to create a single chip. Multiple dies, or in Samsung's case, multiple whole silicon wafers, can be connected by stacking two chip back ends together. Samsung's proprietary process, called CMB, paves the way for 1000-layer V-NAND chips by 2030.

Early last year, Samsung unveiled its 10th-generation V-NAND technology, enabling over 400 layers on a single module. The company also introduced hybrid bonding for the first time, indicating that the technology has since been refined. Interestingly, wafer bonding on already thick 450-layer designs is challenging due to wafer warping. Thankfully, Samsung developed microscopic chucks to address this, along with new bonding techniques to correct overlay issues and misalignment errors when wafers are bonded together. Within the NAND itself, Samsung created new bitline and wordline structures to help manage power consumption and maintain reasonable individual chip sizes.

According to TrendForce's latest survey of the NAND Flash industry, CSPs worldwide experienced an exponential surge in demand for enterprise SSDs in 1Q26 due to the need for high-speed data transmission and the massive data storage capacities required to build out AI server infrastructure. Additionally, a persistent structural shortage of traditional HDDs has led a significant volume of storage-related orders to shift toward QLC enterprise SSDs. Amidst this soaring demand and constrained supply, NAND Flash suppliers' ASPs broadly exceeded expectations. Hence, the combined revenue of the world's top five NAND Flash suppliers jumped 83.7% QoQ, surpassing US$38.9 billion.

Moving into 2Q26, the supply-demand imbalance is expected to persist. Although rising memory costs and higher end-product prices have dampened smartphone and PC demand, brisk server orders will fill this gap. NAND Flash suppliers generally anticipate continued growth in their shipments through the second quarter, and their pricing strategies are expected to sustain elevated ASPs.

Samsung Electronics and Google today unveiled new intelligent eyewear at Google I/O 2026 by giving a first look at two premium styles created with eyewear partners Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. Designed to work as a companion device to a mobile phone, the new eyewear enables users to access help through voice interaction and connect seamlessly to their phones, all through a familiar form factor.

Co-created with the eyewear partners, the intelligent eyewear combines breakthrough AI capabilities with comfort and style, merging Samsung's leadership in hardware engineering and Google's AI technology with premium eyewear design. Each eyewear brand brings a distinct design approach to the device. Renowned for their legacies in fashion eyewear, Gentle Monster presents styles with disruptive yet refined aesthetics, while Warby Parker showcases refined and timeless designs.

Samsung today announced the global availability of its latest Odyssey gaming, OLED, ViewFinity and The Movingstyle Essential monitors, setting new benchmarks in resolution and performance across gaming and professional displays. The 2026 lineup features two new Odyssey models, including the industry's first 6K gaming monitor alongside a 5K model. Samsung is also introducing even more OLED models with the Odyssey OLED G8 and Odyssey OLED G7 to bring OLED technology to a broader range of users.

The announcement comes amid continued leadership in the global gaming monitor market by Samsung, where, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC), it holds an 18.9% revenue share and earned the No. 1 position in the OLED gaming monitor market for a third consecutive year with a 26% share.

According to the latest research by global market intelligence firm TrendForce, the OLED monitor market entered a seasonal downturn in 1Q26. Moreover, strong promotional campaigns in 4Q25 had already pulled forward demand. Consequently, global OLED monitor shipments dropped by 11% QoQ in 1Q26. However, from a YoY perspective, 1Q26 shipments actually soared by 78%. The key growth driver was the increasingly abundant supply of QD-OLED panels, which enabled new market entrants to ramp up volumes and effectively fill gaps in the market.

In terms of market share, ASUS remained firmly at the top of the rankings in 1Q26 with a 24% share. Its leadership was underpinned by a comprehensive OLED product lineup. As part of its first-quarter product push, ASUS launched a 34-inch gaming monitor with an ultra-high 360 Hz refresh rate and continued to expand into mobile displays with a new 16-inch portable OLED monitor. The brand leverages a highly differentiated product matrix to reinforce its competitive barrier.

Samsung is gradually winding down its factory production as an 18-day strike looms over the company facilities. According to South Korean news outlets, Samsung is slowing its manufacturing operations to enter what is referred to as emergency management mode, which essentially limits production capacity. According to the Seoul Economic Daily, about 43,286 factory workers have joined the picket line for the strike, which is more than half of the entire semiconductor division (DS unit) labor force. As factories face worker shortages, production lines are gradually stalling. In emergency mode, Samsung will restrict the number of new wafers introduced into the production process, which is a long and demanding procedure that typically runs 24/7. Interestingly, the factory can still operate at minimum production capacity thanks to the extensive automation involved, but operating machines still requires human involvement.

TrendForce estimates that about 3-4% of the world's global DRAM supply could be disrupted, along with about 3% of the world's NAND Flash supply. At a time when DRAM and NAND Flash shortages are at their peak, this will exacerbate the global supply chain situation. The targeted production lines in the strike are for HBM, (LP)DDR5, and some custom logic production. If Samsung's customers perceive uncertainty from the production capacity stall, many could shift to competitors like SK hynix or Micron. With more than half of the workforce absent, there will not be enough factory workers to keep production lines running, and output will drop significantly.

Surging mobile DRAM contract prices in 2Q26 continue to place even greater cost pressure on smartphone brands, according to TrendForce's latest memory market research. The two major Korean suppliers may have adopted different pricing strategies: Samsung Electronics is pursuing a more aggressive one-step pricing approach with sharper increases, while preliminary quotations from SK hynix indicate relatively milder hikes through a gradual price-raising strategy, with final pricing expected to be completed in late May. Overall, TrendForce estimates that the ASP of LPDDR4X solutions will jump by at least 70-75% QoQ for 2Q26, while the ASP of LPDDR5X solutions will see a QoQ surge of 78-83%.

Notably, several consecutive quarters of steep price increases have significantly intensified cost burdens for smartphone vendors. Under such conditions, brands are expected not only to reduce total smartphone production in 2026, but may also struggle to fulfill the bit procurement volumes stipulated in the LTAs (or MoUs) arranged with suppliers at the end of last year.

Desktop monitor shipments reached 133.4 million units in 2025, growing 4.3% year-on-year, signaling a recovery from post-pandemic disruptions. This expansion reflects the evolution of monitors into versatile, high-value tools for laptop-dominated environments, with gaming fueling interest in high-performance displays.

Gaming monitor shipments are projected to expand to 43 million units in 2026, supported by increased cost-effectiveness and added functionality. This trend reflects a shift toward specialized consumer applications and immersive entertainment experiences.

Memory makers like Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron are currently striving to find the delicate balance between supplying the world with enough DRAM and expanding their production capacity by placing large new orders for the semiconductor fabs used to produce the memory. According to SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, who also oversees SK hynix, if companies like SK hynix do not increase their memory supply, customers will find ways to use less memory by optimizing their infrastructure and software for much lower utilization. At present, hyperscalers and AI accelerator makers such as AMD, NVIDIA, and others are securing as much memory as possible. This is part of AI data center expansion, which requires more GPU and CPU DRAM to support large training runs and maintain massive model inference, now reaching tens of trillions of parameters and needing hundreds of gigabytes of system memory to host a single model for just a few users.

This demand has created a supply chain issue where memory makers are selling all of their available DRAM months in advance but are hesitant to significantly expand manufacturing capacity, despite recognizing the increase in demand years ago. Memory makers are the first to notice rising demand, and their reluctance to increase manufacturing capacity is contributing to the current memory shortage. However, they are also wary of expanding production capacity as it takes years to build new memory fabs, just as projected demand is expected to stabilize. SK hynix has ordered about 20 Low-NA EUV machines from ASML for their expansion plans, which will also support future storage production once the tools are operational. However, all of this added capacity is still years away, and we will remain in a tight situation for a little while longer.

The Chinese DRAM market has just gained another player with POWEV entering the DDR5 market. POWEV is a sub-brand of the Chinese company Jiahe Jinwei, which announced its entry into the DDR5 market almost half a decade ago but is delivering now when it is needed most. POWEV has introduced DDR5 DRAM in form factors like UDIMM, SODIMM, and RDIMM, capable of up to 64 GB capacity and available in either 4,800 MT/s or 5,600 MT/s speeds. At these speeds, modules have different latencies, so it is best to refer to the specification table below. Firstly, POWEV separates its DDR5 products into "pure domestic" memory modules and industrial memory modules. This likely refers to some modules being for PC DIY and OEM applications, while others are for servers and industrial applications.

Both categories come with non-ECC unbuffered memory modules, while RDIMMs carry registered ECC on their own DIMMs. Every module operates at a voltage of 1.2 V, with a specific pin count depending on the form factor. Interestingly, it is unclear what technology POWEV uses to manufacture these DDR5 modules and create these DIMMs, as the underlying technology is undefined. South Korean memory makers such as SK hynix and Samsung usually reveal which iteration of their 10 nm manufacturing technology is used for chip manufacturing, but that is not the case here. Jiahe Jinwei has entered mass production of DDR5 memory, but no underlying technology has been disclosed. For many, this doesn't matter as long as the performance meets JEDEC's DDR5 specifications.

The global tablet market remained flat in Q1 2026, with shipments rising just 0.1% year on year to reach 37 million units, according to the latest research from Omdia. While tablet shipments declined sequentially, in line with typical seasonal patterns, regional performance was led by Latin America, followed by the Middle East and Africa. However, this growth was largely driven by inventory build-up rather than underlying end-user demand, pointing to a weaker demand outlook.

"Heading into 2026, tablets have been relegated in importance for vendors across margins, volume, and overall value," said Himani Mukka, Research Manager at Omdia. "In this supply-constrained environment, consumers and vendors alike are being more deliberate about which devices to prioritize. PC vendors are focusing on notebooks and desktops, while those operating across both smartphones and tablets are gravitating toward smartphones due to their outsized contribution to overall business."

PassMark's MemTest86 update version 11.7 (Build 1000) has added preliminary testing for the LPCAMM2 memory type, primarily for Intel's "Meteor Lake" and "Arrow Lake" chips. This means that the latest memory form factor can now be tested using a standardized testing methodology. With the rise of LPCAMM2 appearances, it is only logical that MemTest86 adds support for this form factor, which we have started seeing on Lenovo ThinkBook 14+ and 16+ and Framework Laptop 13 Pro models, especially from major DRAM manufacturers such as CXMT and Samsung. CXMT's LPCAMM2 memory uses LPDDR5X-8533 modules, while Samsung's modules are running LPDDR5X-9600 memory stacks. Interestingly, with further support from SK hynix, Samsung, Micron, and now CXMT, LPCAMM2 is aiming to become a universal standard for memory. Since the upcoming DDR6 memory is scheduled to be the main driver behind (LP)CAMM2, having a memory testing tool is essential.Below is the list of fixes and enhancements.

Companies like Apple are always seeking top-tier manufacturing for their Apple Silicon products, which range from the A-Series chips in iPhones and low-power MacBooks to the more powerful M-Series SoCs that power iPads and higher-end Macs. Manufacturing these custom processors has traditionally been handled by TSMC, but Bloomberg now reports that Apple has been in talks with both Intel Foundry and Samsung Foundry to manufacture some of its chips in the coming months. It has been known for some time that Apple is exploring Intel's 18A-P process design kits (PDKs). Apple has used version 0.9.1 of the PDK designed for Intel's 18A-P node. With performance, density, power, and other metrics meeting expectations, Intel could become Apple's source for advanced node production by 2027.

Additionally, Apple is reportedly waiting for Intel to release the 18A-P PDK version 1.0, which is on track to launch in the first half of 2026 or may have already been released to partners. Once available, Apple plans to start with the lowest-end M-series chip, used in MacBook Air and iPad Pro devices, as previously mentioned. This node is particularly interesting due to its performance characteristics, as the 18A-P can deliver a 9% performance increase at the same power level or achieve 18% power savings at the same performance level compared to the standard 18A. This is exactly what Apple is looking for. Coupled with better thermal conductivity, these designs should offer improved heat dissipation and performance compared to what Apple currently achieves with TSMC's 3 nm process in the M5 SoC.

Samsung Display announced today that it will participate in Display Week 2026, hosted by the Society for Information Display (SID), and showcase its latest display innovations.

The exhibition will take place from May 5 to 7 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in California. Display Week is one of the world's largest display industry exhibitions, where global companies and experts gather to share advanced technologies and research achievements. Under the theme "The Spectrum of Display Innovation with AI" Samsung Display will present its latest technologies as a leading OLED company.

It seems we are not too far from the next-generation Double Data Rate 6 (DDR6) memory for desktops and servers, as memory manufacturers are working with JEDEC to establish a new standard. According to South Korean media outlet The Elec, major memory makers such as SK hynix, Samsung, and Micron have reportedly begun designing DDR6 in their labs and are gradually coordinating module development with substrate manufacturers. This collaborative effort is taking place under the supervision of JEDEC, the industry authority that oversees standard development and ensures a common foundation for design. Manufacturers could have accessed JEDEC's first DDR6 draft since 2024, but the draft still lacks concrete specifications such as finalized voltage ranges, signal usage, power envelopes, and pinout design. However, this is expected to change as manufacturers are now accelerating standard development.

Last year, we reported that the major players mentioned above had already moved past the prototype stages and embarked on rigorous validation cycles. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the designated throughput of 8,800 MT/s, with plans to scale up to a staggering 17,600 MT/s, nearly doubling the ceiling of today's DDR5. This increase is driven by DDR6's 4×24-bit sub-channel architecture, which requires entirely new approaches to signal integrity. It also differs from DDR5's current 2x32-bit sub-channel structure. To overcome the physical limits faced by DIMM form factors at higher speeds, the industry is betting on CAMM2 technology. Early indications suggest that server platforms will lead the change, with high-end notebooks following once manufacturing ramps up.

Chinese Board Channels now confirm that NVIDIA's upcoming resurrection of the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB edition will take place in June, with many of NVIDIA's existing add-in-card (AIC) partners assisting in relaunching this five-year-old GPU. Interestingly, there are rumors that the recently integrated GALAX within the Palit group will be among these partners. Other AIC partners include NVIDIA's usual launch partners like ASUS, Colorful, and MSI. It will be interesting to see whether these AIC partners design new PCBs for the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB relaunch or use their older designs, which they probably stopped producing years ago. We have already reported that NVIDIA is reintroducing the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB SKU with a 192-bit wide memory bus.

For this, NVIDIA will once again use Samsung's 8 nm DUV node, as it has in the past. The entire NVIDIA "Ampere" architecture lineup was produced on the 8 nm DUV node, and its return after several years was unexpected. We also reported that the rumored RTX 5050 9 GB edition is reportedly on hold, as NVIDIA is pausing the transition from its 8 GB RTX 5050 "Blackwell" version to a 9 GB model due to the reintroduction of the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB "Ampere" GPU. Since both of these GPUs compete in the budget segment, the company will reportedly only release the older GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB SKU as its primary entry-level design.