Micron Technology Inc., a semiconductor manufacturing company, has announced that its 232-layer QLC NAND flash memory is now in mass production. The memory is being shipped to enterprise storage customers and sampled to original equipment PC manufacturers. Micron states that the 232-layer QLC NAND offers improved performance for mobile, client, edge, and data center storage applications. It is more compact, enabling thin and light devices, and has a higher bit-density with NAND I/O speeds of 2400 MT/s, a 50% improvement over the previous generation. The new memory also provides better read and programming performance compared to the earlier generation.
The Micron 2500 Client SSD integrates the 232-layer QLC NAND to enhance everyday computing and improve the PC user experience. It has shown superior PCMark 10 experience benchmark results, outperforming average scores in the value SSD segment. Micron expects the 2500 SSD to accelerate QLC adoption in PCs as the industry shifts to QLC-based storage solutions.
The Micron 2500 SSD offers up to 7.1 GB/s sequential read speeds, surpassing TLC-based NAND and other QLC-based NAND SSDs in the value segment. The accelerated caching feature enhances read and write performance across various applications. The 232-layer QLC NAND also provides endurance, allowing even the smaller 512GB SSD to support 13 4K movie downloads per day for three years.
The Micron 2500 SSD is available in 22 x 30mm, 22 x 42mm, and 22 x 80mm form factors, offering capacities ranging from 512GB to 2TB. The compact 2TB 22 x 30mm option is ideal for handheld gaming devices. These SSDs feature a single-sided design, providing flexibility for OEMs to integrate them into systems that range from ultra-thin devices to workstations.