[Exclusive] Samsung to start supply of new portable SSD ‘T5’ next week

Samsung Electronics is preparing to supply new portable solid state drive T5 running on the company’s fourth-generation 64-layer V NAND flash memory chip early next week, according to sources on Tuesday.

The South Korean tech titan has named the newest portable drive the SSD T5 and embarked on production for supply next week, a source familiar with the matter told The Korea Herald. 

The portable SSD is a compact storage device suitable for individual users.

Samsung introduced a 2-terabyte portable SSD T3 based on its 48-layer V NAND last year. The size of T3 is about two thirds of a business card. It weighs about 50 grams. The device can store up to 400 full-HD movies.

According to electronics parts makers, the upcoming SSD T5 is expected to be smaller and lighter than its predecessor.

The capacity of the T5 is expected to be larger, considering that it makes use of Samsung’s 64-layer V NAND Flash memory chips. Data transfer speeds are expected to improve from the current 450MB per second as well.

Stacking 64 layers of cell-arrays, the Samsung V NAND chip can increase its storage density to 512Gb per single die, and its input-output speed to 800Mbps.

Samsung plans to launch the T5 in black, silver and coral blue, the sources said. It decided to add the company’s latest signature color, coral blue, that was first introduced with the Galaxy S8 series last month.

“Considering the recent production volume, official launch of the product may be possible around June,” the source said.

Samsung confirmed the company was currently working to develop the new product, but said the schedule for its official launch hadn’t been made yet.

“It is yet too early to confirm specifications about the new product, including the name,” said a Samsung official.

At the Flash Memory Summit held in Santa Clara last August, Samsung first unveiled an array of 64-layer V NAND flash-embedded products with a road map for a super high storage era.

At the event, the company showcased the world’s largest capacity drive 32 TB SAS SSD, 1 TB memory in a single BGA package and a high-performance and ultra-low latency SSD solution dubbed Z-SSD.

The Korean tech giant started providing the fourth-generation V NAND chip-based storage solutions and products late last year, and is expected to ramp up mass production as it starts operation of a new V NAND chip plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, in July.

By Song Su-hyun  (song@heraldcorp.com)