en.Wedoany.com Reported - Lenovo has begun adopting solid-state drives (SSDs) from Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd. (YMTC) in some of its mainstream business laptops, becoming one of the first major PC manufacturers to integrate domestically produced storage devices into popular models. Notebookcheck discovered during testing that at least one configuration of the ThinkBook 14 G9 IPL features a YMTC 512GB M.2 2242 PCIe 4.0 SSD, marking the first YMTC laptop SSD tested by the outlet.
The source of the NAND flash memory is the key focus here. YMTC is one of China's primary NAND flash suppliers, and the presence of its SSDs in Lenovo business laptops signals that domestically produced storage devices are now appearing in mainstream systems alongside brands like Samsung, Kioxia, and Western Digital. The ThinkBook 14 G9 IPL is a 14-inch office laptop powered by Intel Core Ultra 200 series processors, targeting office and productivity users. This model uses a 512GB SSD in a compact M.2 2242 form factor, aligning with its office positioning and helping Lenovo balance performance, capacity, and cost amid tight SSD supply.
In terms of specifications, this is a modern PCIe 4.0 client SSD. However, Notebookcheck tests show it runs slower than most office laptop SSDs they have tested. The drive achieves sequential read speeds of up to 3,950 MB/s and write speeds of up to 2,514 MB/s. The report notes that the drive experiences performance degradation under heavy loads and delivers below-average 4K performance. Nevertheless, the review concludes that its speed remains sufficient for daily office use.
With strong demand for storage devices from AI data centers, tightening memory and drive supply has driven up component prices. Against this backdrop, Lenovo's adoption of YMTC SSDs is part of a broader market trend where PC manufacturers are seeking alternatives beyond the traditional three major flash memory suppliers to secure component supply and control costs. The ThinkBook 14 G9 IPL is not a showcase of YMTC's performance; its benchmark results are solid but unremarkable, yet it represents an early case of Chinese NAND flash products appearing in everyday office laptops for ordinary users.
In June this year, YMTC's retail storage brand Zhitai announced its expansion into the Asia-Pacific market at COMPUTEX Taipei, launching three new products: the upgraded flagship PCIe 5.0 SSD TiPro9000, the high-performance TiPlus9100, and the mainstream PCIe 4.0 product TiPlus7100s. The TiPro9000 features an independent DRAM design and an intelligent SLC caching mechanism, with maximum sequential read speeds of 14,900 MB/s, targeting the gaming and video creator markets. The TiPlus9100 is the first PCIe 5.0 product in the TiPlus series, achieving maximum sequential read speeds of 12,000 MB/s and sequential write speeds of 10,700 MB/s without a DRAM cache, with random read/write performance up to 1850K IOPS. Its single-sided PCB design, combined with thermal optimization, addresses overheating and throttling issues of early PCIe 5.0 SSDs in thin and light devices.
The flagship product TiPlus7100s targets the PCIe 4.0 market, with maximum sequential read speeds of 7,400 MB/s. Its single-sided chip design offers low power consumption, low heat generation, and long lifespan, targeting users upgrading old computers, expanding PS5 storage, or upgrading to SSDs for the first time, covering daily creative tasks and efficient office scenarios. All three new products are equipped with YMTC's self-developed Xtacking architecture and original NAND flash chips. The Xtacking 4.0 version achieves I/O speeds of 3,600 MB/s, approaching the interface speed of DDR memory. The three new products cover capacities from 1TB to 4TB. Zhitai's retail business head Fan Zengxu stated that Taiwan, China is the first stop for Asia-Pacific market expansion, with plans to gradually enter South Korea and Singapore.
Counterpoint data shows that YMTC's global NAND flash market share has risen from 8% in the same period in 2025 to 13%, leading the industry in growth rate and ranking third globally. YMTC's third wafer fab in Wuhan is expected to begin production by the end of 2026, with full capacity released in 2027. Meanwhile, the company has officially announced plans to build two new NAND factories, with long-term total capacity set to double. In terms of overseas expansion, the Zhitai brand has officially entered the South Korean market, launching a full range of consumer SSDs and directly entering the monopoly market dominated by Samsung and SK Hynix for decades. With these multiple moves, South Korean storage manufacturers generally predict that if YMTC maintains its current expansion pace, its market share could reach 15% by the end of 2026.
