Are Synology and QNAP Becoming Irrelevant in 2026?

Best NAS of the Year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCSwXppmhX0 Best NAS of the Year 2025 - https://nascompares.com/guide/best-nas-of-the-year-2025/ - Aoostar WTR Max ($799) Amazon - https://amzn.to/3MjjHDE - Aoostar WTR Max ($859) AliExpress - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4MB7ppT - Minisforum N5 NAS ($594) - https://amzn.to/4romPyo - Beelink ME Mini ($279) - https://amzn.to/49EKggw - Lincstation N2 ($395) - https://amzn.to/4itqZRp - UnifyDrive UT2 Mobile NAS ($399) - https://unifydrive.com/?ref=ROBERTANDREWS + Get a further 5% OFF with this code: NASCOMPARES Those New Stories and NAS Hardwware Updates in full: Synology 2025 NAS Hard Drive and SSD Lock In Confirmed – Bye, Bye Seagate and WD https://nascompares.com/2025/04/16/synology-2025-nas-hard-drive-and-ssd-lock-in-confirmed-bye-bye-seagate-and-wd/ SYNOLOGY REVERSE THE HARD DRIVE POLICY - WE WIN? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnOfmHY2Nb0 QNAP TECH SUMMIT IN TAIWAN 2025 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQRyuGINf34 QNAP 2025 Event in London https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGFIV2rrU9s Fake Seagate HDDs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5HXfS56WMQ Is It Game Over for Plex? And is it Jellyfin Time? (ft. Alex ‪@ktzsystems‬ ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcorAYtHHhQ YOU NEED TO BUY A PLEX LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION NOW - SERIOUSLY! (THAT $249 Price Increase!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TQFJSBWCyU Synology Kills Graphics Drivers and HEVC & H.264 HW Transcoding on the J4125 NAS (DS225+ & DS425+) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzaAQ4jP-JU UniFi UNAS - 1 Year Later - Should Synology and QNAP Be Worried? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjaJG5jLoLk QNAP 2025 Event in London - QTier in QuTS 6, QuTS Mega, QNAP AI LLMs, HDP Backup, QVR Surveillance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGFIV2rrU9s Beelink Me Pro, S, X and MAX, 9x M.2, 10GbE, 5GbE NAS - NEW DIY NAS COMING SOON! (It's INSANE!!!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv_oWU4VFl8 Beelink ME Pro NAS Revealed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36z2lc6r5q4 What is the Point of Mobile NAS? Who Are They For? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZRqDu7nYZA ======== Video Chapters 00:00 Big NAS Question 00:25 Rising Competition 00:49 Scope Of Discussion 01:19 Market Reality 02:12 Storage Costs Impact 02:34 Mega Value NAS 03:34 DIY NAS Growth 03:53 Turnkey Alternatives 04:40 Easy NAS Options 05:00 True Competitors 05:44 UniFi Threat 06:12 UGREEN Challenge 06:38 TerraMaster Rising 07:02 45Drives Option 07:32 Niche Advantages 07:53 RAID Innovations 08:23 Thunderbolt Alternatives 09:01 TrueNAS And HexOS 09:33 Unraid Hardware 09:59 Synology Strategy 10:29 Drive Lock Controversy 10:58 QNAP Hardware Stall 11:33 Marketing Slowdown 12:01 Synology Criticism 12:25 QNAP Visibility Drop 13:01 Reputation Versus Hype 13:25 Short Buyer Memory 13:51 Entry Tier Abandoned 14:11 Money In Midrange 14:40 Harder To Recommend 15:09 Call To Compete 15:32 Entry Tier Warning 15:54 Final Thoughts Thinking of buying a product mentioned in today's video from Amazon? If this video has helped you make that decision, you can head to Amazon using this link and we will get a small % commisson of whatever you buy, which goes directly back to NASCompares and allows me and Eddie to keep doing what we do here on YouTube and the Blog - https://amzn.to/3TjM0kj