Recent reports from tech media and industry sources suggest that Lexar intends to increase prices by up to 25% on its entire memory card lineup, including SD, microSD and CFexpress cards, with a global effective date of June 1, 2026. While still unconfirmed by Lexar’s official website, the rumors align with severe upstream supply chain volatility and similar moves by competing brands, drawing attention from both consumers and channel partners.
Products That May Be More Significantly Affected
| Product Type | Impact Level | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| CFexpress Type B | Very High | Stable demand from professional photography market |
| V60 / V90 SD Cards | High | Increased cost of high-speed NAND |
| 1TB+ microSD | High | High-capacity NAND is tighter |
| Portable SSD | Medium-High | Controller and NAND costs rise simultaneously |
| Standard USB Flash Drive | Medium | Supply of low-end NAND remains relatively ample |
Among them, high-capacity models such as 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB may see more pronounced price changes in the coming months.
Why Prices Might Rise
The root cause lies in severe supply-demand imbalance in the NAND flash market. Explosive demand from AI servers and data centers for high-capacity storage is rapidly depleting global NAND flash inventory, sending chip prices soaring. Data supports this trend: NAND flash contract prices for Q2 2026 are expected to rise 70–75% quarter-over-quarter. South Korean customs data shows that in the month ending May 10, 2026, NAND flash unit prices surged 351.6% year-over-year. Lexar’s parent company, Longsys, acknowledged as early as March 2026 on its investor platform that retail prices would fluctuate with market conditions. If the June 1 rumor holds true, it simply reflects the downstream transmission of raw cost pressure.
Tight Supply May Last Until 2028
Upstream component suppliers offer a sobering forecast. Silicon Motion, a major NAND flash controller maker, warns that AI-driven NAND supply tightness could persist until 2028. This suggests that even if the current Lexar rumor is not officially confirmed, storage product prices are likely to remain high or rise further over the medium to long term.
