LensDigest

SUMMARY

LaCie is discontinuing its Rugged SSD4 and Rugged SSD Pro portable SSDs, launched just last year, due to a severe global shortage of flash memory. The increasing cost of high-speed NAND flash, driven by AI data center demand, has made these high-performance drives economically unviable to produce. Prices for comparable drives have surged dramatically, with the 4TB Rugged SSD Pro increasing by 167% in under 18 months.

TAKEAWAYS

LaCie is discontinuing its Rugged SSD4 and Rugged SSD Pro portable SSDs.

A global shortage of flash memory is driving up component costs.

Increased demand from AI data centers is a primary cause of the shortage.

The high cost of components makes the fastest SSDs economically unviable.

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