Samsung 4TB SSD Price Jumps 166% — The AI Tax Is Real

If you’ve been eyeing a Samsung 4TB SSD lately and nearly fell off your chair at the price, you’re not imagining things. A drive that was selling for under ₹30,000 around September 2024 is now fetching close to ₹80,000 — a staggering ~166% jump in just a few months. For context, gold delivered nowhere near those returns in the same period. So what on earth is going on?

Samsung 4TB SSD: How Bad Is the Price Spike?

And it’s not just the 4TB variant. A 1TB SSD with an enclosure that cost around ₹6,000 in 2024 now ranges anywhere from ₹10,000 to ₹14,000 depending on the seller. RAM has followed the same trajectory, with prices doubling in just a few months.

Why Are SSD Prices Skyrocketing in India?

The short answer: AI. Every major tech company — OpenAI, Meta, Google and others — is building massive data centres, placing enormous orders for DRAM and NAND chips. The problem is that consumer SSDs and enterprise AI memory are made by the same three companies: Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. With AI memory now the fastest-growing and top-priority segment, fewer wafers are left for consumer parts — not because SSDs are being replaced, but because they’re being out-prioritised.

Making matters worse, Micron has formally exited the consumer SSD and RAM market, winding down its Crucial brand after 29 years to focus on enterprise and AI customers. When a major supplier walks away from consumers entirely, it tells you where the money has moved.

The CEO of Phison Electronics, a major NAND flash controller supplier, warned that current supply tightness could extend to ten years, with shortages worsening in 2026 as demand outpaces planned capacity. New fabs like Micron’s $9.6 billion Hiroshima plant won’t ship meaningful output until 2028. So if you need storage now, you’re paying the AI tax — whether you like it or not. Read our full coverage of the global RAM crisis and its impact on Indian phone prices on Technosports.

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