14 DAY TRIAL // Just after it decided to launch its new lightning-fast 950 Pro M.2 SSD, Samsung goes on to bring to the public's attention that 3rd generation V-NANDs will not stop at the 1TB sized 950 Pro but will continue to larger 4TB drives.
While the recently announced 950 Pro is a 2nd-generation V-NAND drive that works on a 32-layered memory chips, the true 3rd-generation V-NANDs are yet to come later on in 2016. Apparently, this is meant to give Samsung that edge in affordability, speed and storage size that it hopes to gain once the new 48-layered V-NAND hits maturity.
Using the 256Gbit 3rd-gen V-NAND, Samsung wants to expand its current products portfolio as well, relying on the 850 series to see its memory storage jump from 2TB this year to 4TB next year in the same 2.4" SATA SSD form factor, while also transitioning the 850 Pro lineup from the 2nd-gen V-NAND to 3rd-gen V-NAND.
Just like Intel's futuristic 3D XPoint, the SATAs are on their way out as well
Overclock3d.net says that Samsung decided to sell the new cutting-edge 48-layered 3rd-gen V-NAND in the 850 series next year to avoid extra consumer confusion when referring to a specific feature that a certain series holds.
The reason Samsung chose the 850 was that it proved to be popular enough in order to receive a major update that can increase its popularity even more. The switch to a denser NAND drive will apparently have an impact on performance that will be completely unavoidable, but since SATA connectivity is involved, it's very hard to really assess how this difference will ultimately appear.
Regarding this 3rd-gen V-NAND advancement, Samsung wants to start branding their cutting-edge V-NAND products more than it did in the past and increase their visibility. This means that consumer and enterprise drives will carry a V-NAND logo, helping Samsung drives stand apart from the competition.