Micron TLC-based SSDs to start shipping this quarter

Micron announced its first triple-level cell (TLC) NAND flash solid state disks will start shipping sometime before the end of this year. The firm is much later with its TLC disks than other manufacturers like Samsung, but Micron has high hopes for these more affordable SSDs.

“We will begin shipping consumer SSDs based on TLC in the current quarter,” said Mark Adams, the president of Micron, during the most recent conference call with investors and financial analysts.

Although Micron is somewhat late with its TLC NAND products, the company pins a lot of hopes on them. Micron uses 16nm fabrication process to make its TLC NAND, which means that the memory should be very cheap, but also less durable than TLC produced using thicker manufacturing technologies. The company projects that about 50 per cent of its SSDs will use TLC NAND in Q3 2016.

Micron didn't reveal any specifications of its TLC-based NAND SSDs but said these products will focus on price/performance rather than high-performance applications.

Source: KitGuru