Following rumors that said Samsung Electronics was considering halting some of its NAND flash production at its P1 facility in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, new rumors have now emerged that Samsung plans to convert some 128-layer NAND production lines to 236-layer NAND in the facility, focusing on advanced products rather than mature ones.
Korean media ET News, citing industry sources, reported the development, with Samsung reportedly having finalized the strategy and entering the execution phase.
According to Samsung's latest earnings results, the memory giant anticipates a gradual recovery in demand in the second half of 2023 as the industry implements broader production cuts, adding that Samsung planned to optimize its product portfolio by focusing on high-value-added and high-density items and will leverage its supply flexibility to adapt to the dynamic market landscape.
Earlier, ZDNet Korea quoted sources saying that Samsung was considering suspending production for some NAND flash production lines at the P1 facility, primarily responsible for making the matured six-generation V-NAND with 128 layers, which becomes the easy target when production cuts are needed. Besides, ZDNet Korea reported that Samsung's facilities in Korea and China would implement production cuts accordingly.
NAND flash with 128 layers accounted for 50% of the market, followed by that with 176 and 96 layers. It is expected that 176-layer NAND Flash will constitute over half of the market, and the market share of 200-layer products will reach 10% in 2023.
