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MacBooks slimming down with Sammy's new 3D NAND diet pills

Honestly, I couldn't eat another thing

The 3D NAND revolution starts here. According to reports, Apple has signed a deal with Samsung to use its 3D V-NAND SSDs in future MacBooks, expected some time in 2016.

The Korean Times estimates the deal is worth billions of dollars.

Instead of having a single 2D or planar layer (as most current MLC flash dies do) 3D NAND has many layers, stacked above a base logic layer, so increasing the capacity of a flash die without enlarging its footprint.

Samsung sells a 32-layer V-NAND-based 850 EVO SSD which uses 3-bit – triple-level cell (TLC) – flash and scales from 120GB up to 1TB.

The 1TB model uses 8 V-NAND packages, each containing 8 x 128Gbit dies manufactured with a 4X-class process (49nm-40nm in size). These drives have a 10-year warranty.

Apple has recently upgraded its base Macbook, taking its weight down below that of its flagship uber-skinny MacBook Air.

We expect Apple to revamp both the MacBook Air and the heavier and more powerful Macbook Pro using MacBook-type technology and design cues. Imagine these babies with 1TB SSDs inside them.

Apple's use of 3D NAND could open the floodgates, prompting other notebook manufacturers to knock on Samsung's door. Neither Micron/Intel nor SanDisk/Toshiba are shipping 3D NAND-based drives yet, seeing it as a 2016/17-timeframe technology.

That means they'll be locked out of first-round contracts unless they pull their fingers out. ®

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