Intel's New 3D NAND Technology Allows for Greater Than 10TB Solid-State Drives
Intel and Micron on Thursday announced the availability of new 3D NAND technology that enables high-density flash devices with three times more storage capacity than other NAND technologies in production. 3D NAND technology is also more cost efficient than planar NAND, with faster performance, improved latency and new sleep modes that result in low-power use by cutting power to inactive NAND die.
The advancements pave the way for future Macs and other devices with flash memory to be equipped with greater than 10TB solid-state drives, significantly more storage capacity than the maxed out 1TB PCIe-based flash storage upgrade option that Apple offers for the MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Pro. As planar NAND faces practical scaling limits, Intel and Micron expect that 3D NAND will shape the future of flash memory.
"Micron and Intel's collaboration has created an industry-leading solid-state storage technology that offers high density, performance and efficiency and is unmatched by any flash today," said Brian Shirley, vice president of Memory Technology and Solutions at Micron Technology. "This 3D NAND technology has the potential to create fundamental market shifts. The depth of the impact that flash has had to date—from smartphones to flash-optimized supercomputing—is really just scratching the surface of what's possible."
3D NAND has innovative process architecture with a floating gate cell that enables greater performance and increased quality and reliability. Intel and Micron expect that 3D NAND technology, which "stacks flash cells vertically in 32 layers to achieve 256Gb multilevel cell (MLC) and 384Gb triple-level cell (TLC) die," will result in continued performance gains, cost savings and widespread adoption of flash storage solutions for mobile consumer devices and enterprise deployment.
Intel and Micron claim that the 256Gb MLC version of 3D NAND is being sampled by select partners beginning this week, while the 384Gb TLC design will be sampling later this spring. Both devices are slated to enter full production in the fourth quarter, and both companies are developing separate lines of SSD solutions based on 3D NAND technology that are expected to be available within the next year.
Given that flash storage solutions using 3D NAND are not expected to be available until the end of this year at the earliest, it is unlikely that larger SSDs based on the new technology will be included in any next-generation Macs for the foreseeable future. Apple also recently refreshed the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, so those two notebook models in particular are still early in their product cycles.
Popular Stories
Apple's "Let Loose" event kicks off today at the unusual time of 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time, and we're expecting to see an iPad-focused event with new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, updated Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard accessories, and perhaps some other announcements. Apple is providing a live video stream on its website, on YouTube, and in the company's TV app across various platforms. We...
Apple today unveiled redesigned iPad Pro models featuring the M4 chip, Ultra Retina XDR OLED displays, a nano-texture display option, and more. The new iPad Pro offers a considerably thinner design and slightly larger 11- and 13-inch display size options. The 11-inch model is 5.3mm thick and weighs less than a pound, while the 13-inch model is just 5.1mm thick and weighs a quarter pound less ...
Apple today announced that iOS 17.5 will be released to the public "soon," following over a month of beta testing. While the software update is relatively minor, it does have a few new features and changes, as outlined in the list below. "The new Pride Radiance watch face and iPhone and iPad wallpapers will be available soon with watchOS 10.5, iOS 17.5, and iPadOS 17.5," said Apple, in its...
Apple will be holding its first event of the year this Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube. How long will the event be? In his newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the video will have a runtime of "around 35 minutes." Apple is expected to announce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, along with updated Apple Pencil...
Apple at its "Let Loose" event today announced a new Magic Keyboard for the latest iPad Pro models, with a thinner, lighter design. Apple says the Magic Keyboard has been redesigned to be thinner and lighter, while maintaing the same floating design. Two colors are available that match the new iPad Pro. New features include a function row with screen brightness controls, an aluminum...
While the iPhone 16 series is still months away from launching, an early rumor about an all-new iPhone 17 model has now surfaced. In a research note with investment firm Haitong this week, analyst Jeff Pu said Apple is planning a so-called "iPhone 17 Slim" model that would replace the Plus model in the lineup. Pu said this model will feature around a 6.6-inch display, a slimmer design, an...
Apple is expected to announce iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, and new features have already been rumored for many apps, including Apple Music, Apple Maps, Calculator, Messages, Notes, Safari, and others. Below, we recap iOS 18 rumors on a per-app basis, based on reports from MacRumors, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, and others: Apple Maps: At least two new Apple Maps features are...
Top Rated Comments
You have it totally backwards.
Samsung 850 Pro review, from September 2014:
3D NAND and RAM caching result in the fastest, most durable SSD money can buy (http://www.extremetech.com/computing/189003-samsung-850-pro-review-3d-nand-and-ram-caching-result-in-the-fastest-most-durable-ssd-money-can-buy)
On a 2 year contract, the iPhone 7 will start at $199 for 16GB, $299 for 64gb and $1199 for 1TB.
We think you're going to absolutely love the most advanced iPhone ever.