Comment by fire
4 years ago
> I'm nitpicking, but an EVO has TLC.
b...but the M in MLC stands for multi... as in multiple... right?
checks
Oh... uh; Apparently the obvious catch-all term MLC actually only refers to dual layer cells, but they didn't call it DLC, and now there's no catch-all term for > SLC. TIL.
The "L" stands for level, and that makes it even more wrong. MLC should have been been QLC or DBC, and TLC should have been OLC or TBC. It's two bits and four levels, or three bits and eight levels. The latest "QLC" flash has 16 levels (and is a massive step down in performance and reliability; it seems TLC is the sweet spot, at least right now, unless you really want the absolute cheapest, performance be damned).
Interestingly enough, Apple has a patent for 8-bit cell flash (256 levels!), going full blown analog processing and error correction, but I don't think that ever became a product.