Micron Unveils G9 QLC SSD with Adaptive Write Tech

On July 1, 2025, Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) announced the launch of the Micron 2600 NVMe™ SSD, a high-value storage solution engineered for next-generation client platforms. Built with the industry's first Gen 9 QLC NAND (G9 QLC NAND) and Micron's proprietary Adaptive Write Technology™ (AWT), the 2600 SSD delivers exceptional PCIe 4.0 performance while retaining the cost-efficiency benefits of QLC flash.

The Micron 2600 SSD offers up to 63% faster sequential write speeds and up to 49% faster random write performance compared to other value-tier QLC and TLC-based SSDs, providing a significant uplift in everyday computing responsiveness and overall user experience.

“The Micron 2600 QLC SSD achieves superior performance compared to competitive value TLC drives,” said Mark Montierth, corporate vice president and general manager of the Mobile and Client Business Unit at Micron Technology. “Micron's unparalleled combination of high-performance G9 NAND and innovative Adaptive Write Technology unlocks the performance previously only considered possible with TLC drives and is in qualification with Micron’s OEM customers. This Micron innovation milestone allows for broader commercial adoption of QLC NAND.”

Micron's AWT leverages a first-of-its-kind tiered caching architecture combining SLC, TLC, and QLC layers, dramatically enhancing write speeds. In performance testing, the 2TB model achieved up to 4× faster sustained sequential writes during 800GB of continuous data transfer.

The G9 QLC NAND features a cutting-edge six-plane design, enabling higher parallelism by allowing more simultaneous read/write operations. The Micron 2600 SSD reaches speeds up to 3.6 GB/s and currently holds the highest NAND I/O rate among all client SSDs in production.

Designed to enhance productivity and streamline user workflows, the Micron 2600 SSD transforms everyday computing by improving application performance, speeding up boot times, and accelerating system responsiveness. These improvements also shorten OS imaging times, streamlining large-scale PC deployments in commercial IT environments.

For AI PC applications, the 2600 SSD's fast read speeds allow rapid AI model loading and seamless task switching, supporting the demands of modern intelligent workloads.

Additionally, the SSD's AWT ensures more efficient storage of active data, delivering smoother performance for content creation, casual gaming, and general computing. In PCMark® 10 benchmarks, the 2600 SSD scored up to 44% higher and delivered up to 43% more bandwidth compared to competitive TLC SSDs in its class.

The Micron 2600 NVMe SSD is now shipping globally in 22x30mm, 22x42mm, and 22x80mm M.2 form factors, with capacities ranging from 512GB to 2TB. Its versatile single-sided design and compact footprint are ideal for handheld devices, ultra-thin laptops, and mobile workstations. Notably, the compact 2TB 22x30mm model delivers high-capacity performance in space-constrained systems like handheld gaming consoles.