We have been experiencing a sharp drop in sales of mechanical hard drives for years. Although WD, Seagate and Toshiba They work to improve their capabilities and benefits, the truth is that the situation is unsustainable. Currently, they do not paint almost anything in the general market and in the server market and Data Centers their days are numbered.
The HDD market is dying
Everything in the computing segment has a life cycle, which lasts until something replaces it. Back in 2005-2006, mini laptops (also called netbooks) were very important in the market. These laptops with screens between 5 inches and 7 inches were replaced by the tablet. Something like that happens with HDDs.
According to analyst Tom O’Malley of Barclays Bank, he has published a research report on the HDD market. The report highlights that during the second quarter the sale of these hard drives will fall by 6%.
It is not a positive scenario for this quarter and annually, the data is not better. Last 2021 there was a 12% drop in HDD sales, but by 2022 one is expected 15% drop.
These HDDs have practically disappeared in consumer electronics and laptops. Other markets, such as servers and data centersthe drop in sales is being remarkable.
Said drop in sales, therefore, will notably affect the manufacture of storage units. Something that would also impact the manufacturers revenue of these hard drives. However, the income has decreased 5% due to falling HDD prices.
An apparent drop in sales and reduced production could lead to price increases. A sharp rise seems unlikely, but a somewhat noticeable increase in the price of HDDs is. Although WD, Seagate and Toshiba have been more focused on the SSD market for a long time, in its different variants.
Exhausted market that is trying to save
Major HDD manufacturers continue to develop new solutions to increase the capacity of these drives. There is talk of capacities of 50 TB or more, but the reality is that capacity is increasingly irrelevant. SSDs for the industrial sector (servers, Data Centers, etc.) also increase in capacity and read and write speeds are much higher.
Both Seagate, WD and Toshiba have been developing solutions for SSD drives for some time. These mythical HDD manufacturing companies are increasingly interested in other sectors.
We do not know when, finally, the death of mechanical hard drives will be ruled. At the user level, both on PCs and laptops, we can already say that they have become extinct or practically. On consoles, they have completely disappeared and will never return. They only last in the NAS, within the domestic sector.
