SSDs and eMMC: Samsung apparently discontinues MLC flash production
Samsung continued to produce MLC memory chips for LG's OLED TVs, among others, for a long time. This will soon come to an end.
The SSD 970 Pro was Samsung's last end customer model with MLC memory.
(Image: c't)
The world's largest memory manufacturer Samsung apparently wants to discontinue its last NAND flash products, whose chips store two bits per cell. Such components are commonly referred to as MLC (Multi Level Cells) because they were the first to store more than one bit per cell when they were introduced. Newer chips with even more bits have been given their own, more specific names: TLC, QLC and PLC for Triple, Quadruple and Penta Level Cells.
The South Korean industry service The Elec, which is considered reliable when it comes to Samsung topics, reports on the imminent cessation of production. According to the report, Samsung will only be accepting orders for MLC memory chips until June. At the same time, prices are expected to rise by then.
Samsung presented the first SSD with MLC technology in 2008, at that time without a brand name, with capacities of up to 256 GB and a SATA 2 connection. Such models still cost more than 2 euros per gigabyte – Today's SSDs start at less than 5 cents per gigabyte. Samsung's last end customer model with MLC memory was the SSD 970 Pro from 2018.
Videos by heise
Nowadays mostly in embedded products
Nowadays, MLC components are mainly used in embedded data carriers that are designed to last a particularly long time. The more bits an SSD writes to a cell, the faster they wear out. This can effectively reduce the capacity. This is no longer an issue in desktop PCs and notebooks because SSDs have become more reliable and there are comparatively few write commands.
LG, among others, is to use soldered embedded Multi Media Cards (eMMC) with MLC memory in its OLED smart TVs. According to The Elec, the manufacturer uses modules from three suppliers, including Samsung variants. LG must now replace these.
Replacement with alternatives can be particularly complicated for embedded products because manufacturers often certify their products with specific chips. They have to be able to cope with certain temperatures and humidity values, for example.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(mma)
