Samsung has announced that it is now mass producing 3-bit per cell 3D V-NAND memory. 

The company claims 3D V-NAND will allow it to build SSDs with significantly higher data densities, thereby improving performance and value. 

3D V-NAND essentially stacks several layers of memory on top of each other, reducing the footprint and improving density. This also means Samsung does not have to use the latest nodes to get exceptional data density. Samsung is not talking about the node in questions, but many observers believe it is using a relatively old node, although we cannot confirm this.

"With the addition of a whole new line of high density SSDs that is both performance- and value-driven, we believe the 3-bit V-NAND will accelerate the transition of data storage devices from hard disk drives to SSDs," said Samsung VP Jaesoo Han.

The first chips to go into production are actually second-generation V-NAND devices. Each chip offers 128Gb of storage and utilizes 32 vertically stacked cell layers per chip.

In terms of value, Samsung said the new technology doubles wafer productivity compared to Samsung's 10nm-class 3-bit planar NAND. It is worth noting that "10nm class" is marketing speak for 10-20nm NAND.