Micron First to Production of 200+ Layer QLC NAND in Client and Data Center

Micron’s 2500 SSD outperforms rivals with cutting-edge QLC NAND

BOISE, Idaho, April 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), today demonstrated its continued NAND technology leadership by announcing that its 232-layer QLC NAND is now in mass production and shipping in select Crucial SSDs, in volume production to enterprise storage customers and sampling to OEM PC manufacturers in the Micron 2500 NMVe^TM SSD.

Micron 232-layer QLC NAND delivers unparalleled performance for use cases across mobile, client, edge and data center storage by leveraging these important capabilities:

• Industry-leading bit-density, up to 28% more compact than leading competitors'¹ latest products
• Industry-leading NAND I/O speeds of 2400 MT/s,¹ a 50% improvement over the prior generation²
• 24% better read performance over the prior generation²
• 31% better programming performance over the prior generation²

“Micron’s 232-layer QLC NAND is a key enabler of our high-capacity DirectFlash Module,” said Bill Cerreta, general manager of Hyperscale at Pure Storage. “Thanks to Micron's NAND innovation, Pure Storage can take one more step on its quest to replace all HDDs in the data center by 2028.”

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_{¹ Leading competitors are defined as SK Hynix, Solidigm, Kioxia, WD and Samsung.
² Comparisons are based on Micron 232-layer QLC NAND vs. previous Micron 176-layer QLC NAND generation.} 

Micron 2500 Client SSD
The Micron 2500 raises the bar for everyday computing with its best-in-class performance to significantly enhance the PC user experience. For the second generation in a row, Micron is first to ship QLC-based client NVMe SSDs with the highest NAND layer count. The Micron 2500 SSD stands alone as the world's first client SSD to integrate 200+ layer QLC NAND.

“We are impressed with the capabilities of the Micron 2500 SSD, so we are excited to qualify it for our mainstream platform storage options. With its leadership user experience, it is the perfect match for our high-performance AMD Ryzen processors,” said Joe Macri, senior vice president and corporate fellow at AMD.

The 2500 SSD enables a user experience that surpasses competitive TLC- and QLC-based SSDs while also setting a new storage standard for productivity in daily PC applications and computing tasks. It has demonstrated superior PCMark 10 experience benchmark results, outperforming the average scores of QLC and TLC competitors in the value SSD segment by up to 45%.³