Sony has recently announced that it is suspending memory card sales. In a statement made through the Sony Japan website, the company declared that it is no longer accepting orders for nearly all the products in its CFexpress and SD memory card lines. Among the affected products are CFexpress Type A, Type B, and SDXC/SDHC cards.
With this move, Sony has become the first company in the photography segment to halt orders rather than simply raise prices. For now, it seems that the suspension only affects Japan, but it may be an indicator of what’s to come. The company’s statement mentions the ongoing memory crisis as one of the driving factors of this decision. The demand for specialised chips for AI data centres continues to leave DRAM and NAND flash memory in short supply.
While Sony explains that this suspension is temporary, there is no confirmed timeframe for when it will resume sales. The brand notes that it will continue to monitor the situation. In any case, this does mean that the company intends to bring the products back at some point. But again, it all hinges on whether conditions will improve. That said, given that the memory shortage could stretch on until 2030, it may be a long wait.
As it stands, Sony is not the only company to halt production. Last year, Micron announced that it is shutting down its consumer-facing Crucial brand to focus more on serving the AI industry. Similarly, Samsung has been rumoured to wind down production of its SATA SSDs.
(Source: Sony Japan via PetaPixel)
