Global Mobile NAND Flash Market 2016-2020

Overview of the mobile NAND flash market

According to the market research analysts at Technavio, the global mobile NAND flash market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of more than 8% over the forecast period. This market research and analysis identifies the growth of multimedia applications as one of the primary factors that will have a positive impact on the growth of the market in the next four years. The mobile devices segment is constantly evolving, which results in the requirement for technological advancements in storage. Moreover, the introduction of the Internet of Things, where a mobile device is considered as the primary connecting device to other smart devices and the integration of technologies such as gesture recognition, augmented reality, and virtual reality in mobile devices also increase the demand for higher memory and processing power, in turn, augmenting the need for high-density NAND flash.

In terms of geographical regions, APAC will dominate the market throughout the predicted period. The presence of several consumer electronics manufacturers in countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Japan and the rise in sales of mobile devices such as smartphones, tablet computers, and laptops will fuel the growth of the market. Also, the availability of low-cost manufacturing inputs induces several manufacturers to start manufacturing units in this region, which will again aid in the growth of the mobile NAND flash market in APAC.

Competitive landscape and key vendors

The global mobile NAND flash market is dominated by a few major NAND flash manufacturers and since all the players compete equally to gain a considerable share of the market, the competition among vendors intense. Though the market’s growth potential will attract new suppliers, the high entry barriers make it difficult for new players to enter the market. Existing vendors have started investing heavily in their R&D sectors to create new and innovative products. For instance, Samsung has opened a new 3D NAND fab in China with a capital expenditure of more than USD 7 billion. Major vendors such as SanDisk and Toshiba have also started producing 3D NAND flash chips in fabs based in Japan and have announced an investment of almost USD 5 billion for the construction and operation of the plant.

Leading vendors in this market are -

• Intel
• Micron Technology
• Samsung Electronics
• SanDisk
• SK Hynix
• Toshiba

Segmentation by application and analysis of the mobile NAND flash market

• Smartphones
• Tablets
• DSCs
• Audio players

This market study predicts that though the market is currently dominated by the smartphones segment, the coming years will witness a rise in demand for tablet computers due to their compact size and flexibility. This will increase the demand for NAND flash memory from this market segment and as a result, this segment will dominate the market by the end of the forecast period.

Segmentation by type and analysis of the mobile NAND flash market

• Multi-level cell (MLC)
• Triple-level cell (TLC)
• Single-level cell SLC

MLC stores more than two bits per cell and was the major revenue contributor to the market during 2015. Though this segment’s market share is expected to decline due to the increasing end-user preference towards TLC that offers three bits per cell, MLC will continue to dominate the market during the forecast period.

Key questions answered in the report include

• What will the mobile NAND flash market size and the growth rate be in 2020?
• What are the key factors driving the global mobile NAND flash market?
• What are the key mobile NAND flash market trends impacting the growth of the market?
• What are the challenges to market growth?
• Who are the key vendors in the global mobile NAND flash market?
• What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global mobile NAND flash market?
• What are the trending factors influencing the market shares of the Americas, APAC, and EMEA?
• What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the global mobile NAND flash market?

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