Micron announced the launch of its 232 SSD product, featuring the company's first 2500-layer QLC NAND design, to meet the needs of client and data center applications. Products targeting enterprise storage applications have officially begun shipping, while products targeting OEM PC product applications have begun sampling and testing, and are expected to be used in upcoming AI PC products.
Prasad Alluri, Micron's Vice President and General Manager of the Client Storage Business Unit, explained that in response to future data center and AI PC market application needs, the newly launched SSD product, which utilizes a 232-layer QLC NAND design, prioritizes energy conservation while also improving access efficiency and reliability.
At the same time, although Prasad Alluri did not disclose whether he would plan corresponding products specifically for AI computing in the future, he emphasized that his team will continue to advance SSD product application technology to meet the needs of high-density computing applications such as AI PCs and artificial intelligence.
In announcing its SSD product using 232-layer QLC NAND, Micron emphasized that it has a higher bit density, which is 28% higher than the latest products of its competitors. It also has a 2400 MT/s NAND interface data transmission speed, which is a 50% increase over its previous generation product. At the same time, the programming application performance is also 31% higher than the previous generation product.
Thanks to its QLC technology design and cache memory acceleration function, the Micron 2500 SSD launched this time approaches the theoretical saturation performance of PCIe Gen 4, achieving a transfer speed of 7.1GB/s in sequential read speed, and surpassing the QLC NAND SSDs and TLC NAND SSDs launched by competitors.
Among them, the sequential read speed is 72% faster than the competitor's QLC NAND SSD and 48% faster than the competitor's TLC NAND SSD, while the sequential write speed can be improved by 97% and 32% respectively. In addition, the random read speed is improved by 131% and 38% respectively, and the random write speed is improved by 85% and 25% respectively.
As for the service life, Micron emphasized that even the smallest 512GB capacity version can be used continuously for three years while downloading 13 4K-quality movies per day, thereby ensuring its durability.
The 2500 SSD is currently available in three sizes: 22 x 30mm, 22 x 42mm, and 22 x 80mm. Its single-sided design allows for flexible installation and usage in different devices. Capacities range from 512GB to 2TB, making it suitable for handheld gaming devices, thin and light laptops, and workstations. Some products will also be offered under the Crucial brand.
