# Why flash drive capacities keep growing exponentially The tech and economics behind the disappearance of low-capacity USB drives - **Source:** [Engadget - Technology News & Expert Reviews](https://brifing.si/source/16dd2da6-3eea-4d1e-b34f-45e846cdf037) - **Published:** 2026-08-17 - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/286566bb-92a9-427e-ba08-4c6ae61c3efa ## When 1GB was a luxury In 2002, JMTek's 1GB USBDrive made headlines, when per-gigabyte costs exceeded $8,000. Today, Kingston's DataTraveler series starts at 64GB, with 512GB models available. By 2013, the cost per GB plummeted to 94 cents. While capacities exploded, core components (USB connector, circuit board, controller) remained fundamentally unchanged. ## How NAND chips shrank Manufacturers revolutionized storage by shrinking cell sizes, packing multiple bits per cell, and 3D NAND vertical stacking. In 2005, Toshiba and SanDisk unveiled an 8Gb chip just 5% larger but with double capacity of its predecessor. This 'production workhorse' significantly reduced costs. Where 2.1GB cost $250 in 2004, 1TB models emerged by 2013. ## TLC NAND's cost advantage TLC NAND, storing 3 bits per cell, became standard for cost-sensitive products like USB drives. However, capacity doesn't equal speed - controllers and USB interfaces matter equally. In 2013, Kingston's 512GB model sold for $1,750, while today that price buys much higher capacities. The economics continue to favor density over raw speed. ## Why small capacities vanished Producing 1GB drives remains technically possible but economically unviable. Low-capacity versions still require controllers, circuit boards and casings. Even basic tasks like Windows installations now demand minimum 8GB. Manufacturers focus on high-capacity production due to scale economics, making small drives commercially obsolete. ## MLC NAND's declining share Global MLC NAND capacity is projected to drop 41.7% by 2026 as manufacturers shift resources to newer processes. This supply contraction may ironically increase prices for older NAND types. Industry leaders like SanDisk and Toshiba now invest primarily in TLC and 3D NAND technologies, leaving MLC as a niche product. ## Small capacities in industrial use Sub-1GB drives persist in industrial and embedded systems. Delkin offers industrial USB drives starting at 1GB, while Apacer goes down to 256MB. In these applications, compatibility, endurance and fixed hardware configurations outweigh raw capacity. Specialized use cases maintain demand where consumer markets have moved on. ## The radical price-capacity shift From 2004-2013, flash memory prices dropped 8,500-fold. Today's 1TB USB drives cost less than 2004's 2.1GB models. NAND density improvements and production scaling drove this collapse. However, fixed hardware component costs made low-capacity models economically unsustainable despite technical feasibility. ## How consumer demands evolved Despite cloud storage proliferation, USB drives maintain portability advantages. But modern consumers demand high capacities for photos, videos and game files - a single 4K smartphone video consumes hundreds of MB per minute. These usage patterns pressure manufacturers to continuously deliver higher-capacity solutions. ## Sources covering this story - https://www.engadget.com/2237555/flash-drive-size-keep-going-up-why-small-rarely-sold-today/ — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._