3 6 Ke·2025-12-23 23:48Core Insights - The consumer electronics market has struggled for years without profiting from artificial intelligence (AI), facing significant price increases in storage components due to AI infrastructure demands [1][5] - Mechanical hard drives (HDDs), which have seen a decline in shipments for nearly a decade, are experiencing a resurgence in 2024, with a notable increase in shipment volume and average selling prices returning to levels not seen since 1998 [1][8] Group 1: Market Dynamics - The average price of mechanical hard drives has significantly increased, with major manufacturers like Western Digital and Seagate raising prices due to heightened demand from AI and data centers [3][10] - The demand for HDDs is primarily driven by the need for "cold data storage," which is less frequently accessed but requires large storage capacities, making HDDs a cost-effective choice compared to solid-state drives (SSDs) [5][7] Group 2: Competitive Landscape - The market for HDDs is characterized by a lack of new production capacity, as major manufacturers are prioritizing higher-margin enterprise products over consumer-grade offerings, leading to price increases in the consumer market [10][24] - The competitive landscape is shifting, with SSDs becoming more prevalent, but HDDs still hold a significant cost advantage for large-scale cold storage needs, maintaining a price ratio of 7:1 compared to enterprise SSDs [21][22] Group 3: Industry Trends - The trend of rising prices in the storage market is not isolated to HDDs; other sectors, such as memory chips, are also experiencing price surges, impacting various consumer electronics [26][30] - Companies like Micron are exiting the consumer storage market to focus on larger-scale strategic clients, indicating a broader industry shift towards enterprise and data center solutions [28]