Micron today announced its 5210 ION SSDs which are the first SSDs to feature the company's quad-level cell (QLC) NAND. The SSDs will be available in capacities ranging from 1.92TB to 7.68TB and are targeted at 'read-centric' data-center and enterprise usage.
Quad-level cell (QLC) NAND is the successor to triple-level cell NAND. Quad-level cell means a single NAND cell can hold 4 bits of data. That's a 33% increase in data density compared to the 3 bits in MLC NAND. Micron's QLC NAND is 3D NAND and consists of 64-layers. A single Micron 64-layer QLC 3D NAND chip can hold up to 1 terabit of data, Micron writes in the press release announcing the 5210 ION SSD series.
The 5210 ION will be available in a 2.5" form-factor with a SATA interface. Micron markets the drive as a cost-sensitive replacement for traditional HDDs with the benefits of a smaller form-factor, increased performance and lower energy consumption. The company does stress that the SSDs are best used for read-centric usage.
Micron doesn't provide any performance and endurance numbers, but it's safe to assume that both numbers will be lower than that of NAND types with less bits per cell. The company also hasn't disclosed any pricing information. The drives are already available but for now only to Micron's strategic enablement partners and customers. One of them being the Chinese internet giant Baidu.
Broad market availability of the 5210 ION SSDs is expected in the fall of 2018.
