Sony to Halt Sales of SD Cards and CFexpress Due to AI

Sony Japan has announced that it will no longer accept orders for nearly all lines of CFexpress and SD (Secure Digital) memory cards, starting from 27 March 2026. This decision has been taken due to a “global shortage of semiconductors (memory) and other factors”, as well as projections that supply will not be able to meet demand in the near future. The announcement was made via Sony’s official product page in Japan, covering orders from official distributors as well as consumers at the Sony Store, with no clear timeline on when this suspension will end. The affected products include nearly all main lines. For CFexpress Type A cards, the halt covers capacities of 240 GB, 480 GB, 960 GB, up to 1.920 GB. Meanwhile, for CFexpress Type B, the impacted models include the 240 GB and 480 GB variants. Not only that, the high-end SD card lines are also affected, including the TOUGH-labelled SDXC/SDHC series with capacities of 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB, as well as the regular SF-M and SF-E series with capacities from 64 GB to 512 GB. However, not all products are being discontinued. Two lines that are still available are the CFexpress Type B 960 GB and entry-level SD cards from the SF-UZ series, as reported by PetaPixel. Sony describes this halt as temporary, though it has not provided certainty on when distribution will return to normal. “We will consider it while monitoring supply conditions, and will announce it separately through the product information page,” the company stated. Quoted by KompasTekno from Tom’s Hardware, the fact that Sony is halting all orders, rather than simply extending delivery times or opening a pre-order system, indicates that the company is struggling to obtain NAND flash supplies. NAND flash component supplies are indeed under pressure due to a surge in demand from AI data centres amid the global memory crisis. Demand from data centres for training and running AI models is absorbing large supplies of memory chips such as DRAM and NAND flash. In February, TrendForce revised its Q1-2026 contract price projection for DRAM to an increase of around 90-95 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Meanwhile, NAND flash prices are also expected to surge by 55-60 per cent in the same period. Phison’s CEO has even warned that NAND shortages could cause several consumer electronics companies to cease operations this year.