20/12/2025
KIINGSTON STAND STRONG: Consumers come first🫡
In a recent interview with PC World’s The Full Nerd Network, Kingston Datacenter SSD Business Manager Cameron Crandall made it clear that Kingston has no plans to abandon PC enthusiasts, emphasizing that “consumers are the foundation of the company.” At a time when many major hardware manufacturers are shifting their focus away from the retail PC market, Kingston is choosing a different path continuing to support gamers, creators, and everyday PC builders.
However, the broader market landscape presents serious challenges.
📈 The “AI Squeeze” Is Real
The explosive global demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure is putting immense pressure on the supply of traditional PC components. Major memory manufacturers are reallocating production capacity toward High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), which is essential for AI accelerators and data center workloads. As a result, standard RAM and SSDs used in consumer PCs are becoming increasingly scarce.
📊 The Numbers Tell a Stark Story
▶ NAND flash prices have surged by 246% since the start of 2025
▶ Nearly 70% of that increase occurred within the last 60 days alone
▶ Crandall describes the situation as a “pricing apocalypse,” stating that it is unlike anything he has witnessed in his 29 years in the industry
💡 What Happens Next?
Crandall cautions that this trend is far from over, predicting that prices will be even higher in the next 30 days—and likely higher again 30 days after that. While Kingston is actively working to keep its FURY (performance memory and SSDs) and Canvas (storage solutions) product lines available for consumers, the relentless AI boom shows no signs of slowing down.
⚠️ Bottom Line:
With production shifting toward AI-driven technologies, the era of cheap storage and memory is temporarily on hold. For PC builders, gamers, and creators, now may be the most stable pricing window before further increases take hold.
