It’s going to get a little bit harder to source your next SSD or RAM kit, as Micron has announced plans to retire its consumer-focused Crucial brand. While this absence will reduce availability and consumer choice for both product categories, the consequences of Micron’s exit could entail wider consequences for the broader market.
Micron published a statement on its website on December 3, stating that it will continue Crucial product shipments until the end of Q2 2026, ceasing production thereafter. However, the company will continue to offer support and honour the warranties of its DRAM and SSDs agreed at the point of sale, typically up to 10 and five years, respectively.
The surge in demand for memory and storage from AI enterprise outfits is the reason behind this “difficult decision”, to quote Micron. The brand believes exiting the consumer market will improve supply for its “larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments” and will “improve long-term business performance.”
In other words, the company doesn’t believe the consumer market is profitable enough, relative to enterprise, to be worthy of personal investment. From a business perspective, it’s difficult not to agree, with Micron recently enjoying a massive 49% increase in year-on-year revenue, almost entirely driven by AI data centre growth.
While we know Micron will no longer be producing Crucial SSDs and RAM, its statement is vague about its commitments to the consumer market elsewhere. Micron is a key supplier of the NAND flash and DRAM modules you’ll find in countless products made by big brands, including Corsair, Kingston, Sabrent, and many others. In any case, this exit is only going to exacerbate problems with already sky-high memory pricing, which has prompted a reported collapse in motherboard sales.
On a more sentimental note, I am sad to see a longstanding quality brand like Crucial disappear from the market. For as long as I’ve built computers, the brand’s SSDs and RAM were always on my shortlist, and I have a Crucial P310 inside my Steam Deck. It’s a terrible shame to see 29 years of history and prestige disappear like this.
Here’s hoping that Samsung and SK Hynix, the other two major manufacturers in NAND flash and DRAM, don’t adopt similar business strategies. That’s not forgetting other medium-sized players in the space, such as Kioxia and YMTC. However, the invisible hand of the market certainly has an undeniably powerful grip.
The consumer PC market’s immediate future grows bleaker by the day in the wake of this DRAM shortage. I’m keeping a close eye on any and all developments within the space, keen to keep you in the know and desperate to spread some good news as soon it arrives. If you don’t want to miss a thing, make sure you’re following the Club386 Google News feed.
