From February 2026, Micron will shut down its consumer brand Crucial, ending almost three decades of selling RAM and storage products to everyday PC users. The company is shifting its focus towards supplying memory for the rapidly growing artificial intelligence sector and enterprise markets.
Micron will cease shipments of Crucial consumer products at the end of its fiscal Q2, which falls in February 2026.
Reasons for the Shutdown
Rising Demand
There has been a sharp increase in global demand for high-performance memory and storage from AI companies and hyperscale data centres. This has pushed Micron to prioritise these markets.
Higher Profit Margins
Enterprise customers buy in large volumes and are willing to pay premium prices for specialised AI hardware, offering better profit margins than the highly competitive consumer market.
Supply Prioritisation
By exiting the consumer business, Micron can improve supply and support for its larger strategic commercial customers, especially as its entire HBM (High-Bandwidth Memory) production is already sold out through 2026.
Market Focus
This decision allows Micron to concentrate its resources and manufacturing capacity on areas with stronger long-term growth potential in today’s technology landscape.
What Does This Mean for Consumer?
Fewer Options and Less Competition
Crucial has been one of the most recognised brands for consumer RAM and SSDs, developing products for over 30 years. Its exit reduces competition in the DIY PC market, which may limit choice for consumers.
Higher Prices Likely to Continue
Memory prices have already increased significantly for example, a 32 GB DDR5 kit has risen from around £61 to £230. With one major supplier leaving the consumer market, there is less pressure to drive prices down, making good deals harder to find and further price inflation more likely.
Author, Victor Olowomeye