Taiwan-based Macronix International, a maker of mask ROM and flash memory, expects to benefit from robust demand for low-capacity NOR flash products in both 2017 and 2018.

Macronix chairman Miin Wu was quoted in a recent Chinese-language Commercial Times report expressing optimism about the NOR flash market thanks to a ramp-up of demand driven by new applications coupled with limited supply growth. Customers are already queuing up at Macronix and other NOR flash suppliers in order to secure production capacity, Wu was quoted as saying.

With major smartphone vendors looking to adopt AMOLED panels in their flagship models, the penetration of AMOLED displays in the smartphone market is set to expand. With NOR flash used to sustain AMOLED color, NOR flash demand will be driven by the growing adoption of AMOLED panels among smartphones.

On the supply side, Micron Technology reportedly plans to put less focus on its NOR flash business while other memory vendors have no plans to build additional production capacity for NOR flash chips. There will be little room for growth in the global supply of NOR flash.

Macronix president CY Lu was quoted in previous reports saying NOR flash memory prices are expected to grow 5-10% in the first quarter of 2017 and will continue to rise through the end of the year.