Kioxia announces the end of 2D NAND and third generation BiCS Flash development including critical procurement deadlines and the strategic move to TLC and QLC
Kioxia has revealed its final schedule for the remaining 2D NAND and BiCS Flash third generation development. Kioxia Electronics China has announced that this industry update marks the end of several outdated memory technologies. The manufacturer confirmed that it will officially discontinue its floating gate and third generation BiCS FLASH products by the end of 2028. The company now officially discloses its decision to stop 2D NAND production because this marks a fundamental change in its manufacturing operations.
According to reporting from Technews, the timeline for these changes is now firmly established for all existing clients. The final deadline for submitting procurement forecasts is set for September 30, 2026: this represents the last opportunity for customers to estimate their remaining volume requirements. Following this window, Kioxia will manage the production tail with a final shipment date scheduled for December 31, 2028. These deadlines provide a clear two year window for businesses to transition their hardware designs to more modern storage architectures.
The latest notification follows an earlier announcement which declared the end of life for Thin Small Package or TSOP units. The company decided to stop offering these particular packages because of multiple reasons which included the end of substrate production and the evolution of market needs. The final procurement orders for TSOP products need to be completed by September 15 2026 while the last shipments will take place on March 15 2027.
The rapid evolution of flash memory technology has required cleaner spaces to be used in a more efficient manner while capital investments need to be managed better. The industry is focusing its research resources towards more advanced technologies because 2D NAND and MLC products produce the lowest output value compared to current TLC and QLC products. Kioxia focuses on capital efficiency through its development of systems which support the large capacity needs of current data centers and modern consumer electronics.
Kioxia has stopped production of older generations to match its manufacturing abilities with the current market need for high performance 3D NAND and DRAM. The industry has begun to stop producing 2D products which enables manufacturers to increase their production output while fulfilling the demanding standards of next generation computing systems. The transition to advanced vertical stacking and high density storage solutions marks the end of the 2D NAND era for long term partners who have worked with the company.
