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Apple Expected to Adopt Technology That May Pave Way for 2TB iPhones

I feel like modern TLC NVME SSDs are just a lie. Yeah sure you got crazy fast speeds but once you've written through your SLC "cache" you're down to Sata speeds. Like for example the WD SN770, a well reviewed drive, has a write of up to 4,850 MBps but once you get through the cache you're down to 560 MBps. On top of it a lot of drives don't even have built in DRAM anymore, so you're using HMB (Host Memory Buffer), the computer's RAM to store data mapping tables.

I wish we had stuck with MLC. I got a 970 Pro, one of the last consumer NVME MLC drives as my Windows drive and I'll hold on to it until it dies.
 
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Why would Apple focus that much on storage for a phone? Since there’s usb c around (finally) you can add an ssd drive for filming 4K. Give us more RAM first so iOS can run properly and websites don’t have to be reload.
 
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lkrupp said:
Who’s to say things won’t improve dramatically in a couple of years when Apple is ready to use? Two years is an eternity in technology advances. Why the knee-jerk negativity again. I’m certainly willing to wait and see.
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It’s much more likely for TLC to become cheaper than for QLC to become more reliable. QLC has been on the general market for six years now, and the only thing that changed significantly is price.
 
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Apple Mac Daz said:
2TB iPhone I would have start flogging my organs
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Or folks can demand Apple bring back the microSD slot. 2TB storage? Hail, my sub-$300 android phone can have that if I cough up the dough for a 2TB microSD instead of being a cheap (_!_) using a 512GB microSD card. Use the fast built in storage for apps.

You don't need superfast storage to keep your thousands of photos on your phone. Hail, all I use my microSD card for is to hold dozens of movies. Sometimes good enough is good enough. The law of diminishing returns, y'all.
 
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2TB iPhone with garbage tier NAND will cost $2999. Very cheap.

jwsf28 said:
Make it so that the iPhone shows up as an external drive when you plug it into your Mac and I’d buy a 2TB version in a heartbeat.
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That's just simply not possible because.... reasons..

Apple will go bankrupt but will not do these 2 things
1. Make iPhones and iPads show up as external drives.
2. Allow HD-Audio passthrough on Apple TV.
 
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We’ve been hearing this for what seems like 3 years now. Clearly it’s not a priority for them. Just let me know if they announce it in the keynote at this point lol.
 
HJM.NL said:
Why would Apple focus that much on storage for a phone? Since there’s usb c around (finally) you can add an ssd drive for filming 4K. Give us more RAM first so iOS can run properly and websites don’t have to be reload.
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I imagine it's to encourage people to shoot 4k 3D video or movies on their iPhones for their Vision Pros without the need for an external drive.
 
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ricketysquire said:
I feel like modern TLC NVME SSDs are just a lie. Yeah sure you got crazy fast speeds but once you've written through your SLC "cache" you're down to Sata speeds. Like for example the WD SN770, a well reviewed drive, has a write of up to 4,850 MBps but once you get through the cache you're down to 560 MBps. On top of it a lot of drives don't even have built in DRAM anymore, so you're using HMB (Host Memory Buffer), the computer's RAM to store data mapping tables.

I wish we had stuck with MLC. I got a 970 Pro, one of the last consumer NVME MLC drives as my Windows drive and I'll hold on to it until it dies.
Click to expand...
"SATA speeds" is pretty pessimistic, at least for higher-end TLC drives. The WD SN850X and Samsung 990 Pro for example have sustained write speeds north of 1,500 MB/s even when writing the whole SSD with one continuous write. But you're correct that that's still nowhere near as good as the almost 7,000 MB/s of write speed they are advertising that only applies to the SLC portion of the SSD. Unfortunately there aren't any MLC "prosumer" SSDs on the market anymore.

QLC seems like a huge downgrade even compared to TLC though. I'm sure there are better examples, but I have a Samsung 870 QVO 8 TB I use for backups (primarily because it was cheap when I bought it about a year ago), and after its SLC cache is done write speeds go down to HDD levels (100 to 150 MB/s).

I wouldn't care too much on a device like an iPhone but I know that Apple is gonna charge the same (or higher) prices for storage upgrades, so we'll be getting even less for our money in return. This is probably gonna make it to their Macs then sooner or later and there the upgrade pricing will be even more ridiculous considering the cheaper and better NVMe SSDs that are available.
 
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HJM.NL said:
Why would Apple focus that much on storage for a phone? Since there’s usb c around (finally) you can add an ssd drive for filming 4K. Give us more RAM first so iOS can run properly and websites don’t have to be reload.
Click to expand...
Because people want it. I have over 1 TB of content in Photos. Apple can give you more RAM and they can give me more storage. They can do both.
 
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It would be nice to have enough memory that I can listen to my music/see my photos/read my books when I'm out of phone coverage. They don't need fast memory.
Incidentally, it would be nice to be able to download all my music without having to do it album by album.
 
Apple is going greedier and jumping into an even deeper cheaper cost higher price rabbit hole. QLC ewww… I’m sure some folks will defend Apple saying “you won’t even write enough to use up your SSD before your iPhone fails or need to be replaced“. This is just purely wrong for you have no control how iOS reads and writes the SSD. Apple can then choose to use Host Memory Buffer to avoid the cost of dedicated SSD DRAM, saving even more costs, while charging upwards of $1000 extra for their 2TB model from 1TB model. Yeah, $1000 Apple QLC, how about that?
ricketysquire said:
I feel like modern TLC NVME SSDs are just a lie. Yeah sure you got crazy fast speeds but once you've written through your SLC "cache" you're down to Sata speeds. Like for example the WD SN770, a well reviewed drive, has a write of up to 4,850 MBps but once you get through the cache you're down to 560 MBps. On top of it a lot of drives don't even have built in DRAM anymore, so you're using HMB (Host Memory Buffer), the computer's RAM to store data mapping tables.

I wish we had stuck with MLC. I got a 970 Pro, one of the last consumer NVME MLC drives as my Windows drive and I'll hold on to it until it dies.
Click to expand...
I have the cheaper NVME SSD and I once used it for backup. It only shot up to ~500MB/s, which was plenty faster than using my USD HDD (~30MB/s to 90MB/s). I don’t even know if it has DRAM cache or not. Probably not. What’s even more horrifying is other SSD manufacturers don’t highlight whether their drive have DRAM cache anymore, or use bait and switch to trick reviewers thinking their drive has DRAM cache but do not have one in their actual products. It’s a whole mess, and now Apple is onboard for their cheap version of it, and charge $1000 more for $20 more in cost. Brilliant. 5000% profit margin. Furthermore, like other commenters pointing out, Apple can very well use QLC across the board, meaning lower storage tier got a significantly shorter lifespan of their SSD compared to today’s model. Maybe the days of quality Apple products are officially over.
 
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QLC is not good. However will be good to have a 2 TB model for those who want higher storage capacity.
 
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