Intel Optane SSDs to hit mass production in Q2 2017

Some details about Intel's 2017 SSD plans were published over at DigiTimes. Most of it focuses on the enterprise models so I'll just skip to the parts that contain interesting snippets for the consumer side of the market:

For the professional market, Intel will launch PCIe/NVMe-based Pro 7600P and SATA-based Pro 5450s in the fourth quarter. For the consumer market, following the release of the 600p in September 2016, the CPU giant will release a BGA-version 600p and SATA-based 545s in the third quarter of 2017.

For the embedded market, Intel has prepared the 5430S-series for April 2017 and an M.2 form factor-based version of the 5430S for July 2017. In the third quarter, Intel will release the 20nm MLC-based E 6500p, and existing E 5400s/5410-series will both enter EOL in the first quarter of 2018, while the E 6000p will stop supply in the third quarter of 2018.

The site notes Intel's SSD unit is still running at a loss, but that's expected to change in 2017 with the arrival of the 3D XPoint memory. Intel already provided clients with Optane SSD engineering samples in Q3 2016 and the SSDs are expected to enter mass production in Q2 2017. The Optane-based SSDs will target high-end servers and PC products.