Micron Unveils 3610 Gen5 QLC SSD
Micron has launched the 3610 PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSD, marking its return to the consumer space just weeks after discontinuing the Crucial brand. This new drive targets mainstream OEM PCs and ultra-thin laptops, offering impressive sequential read speeds up to 11,000 MB/s. Designed for compact devices, the 3610 is available in 1TB, 2TB, and a groundbreaking 4TB single-sided M.2 2230 form factor, the largest of its kind.
Compact Design Meets High Capacity
The 3610 SSD’s single-sided 2230 design makes it ideal for ultra-thin notebooks without sacrificing storage. Despite its small size, Micron has packed in up to 4TB of QLC NAND, catering to users who need massive capacity in a tiny package. Random read and write performance scales proportionally with storage size, ensuring that larger drives deliver faster operations and higher endurance.
Blazing-Fast Performance Gains
Compared with Gen4 QLC drives, the Micron 3610 achieves up to 57% faster sequential reads and 45% faster writes. Write speeds vary with capacity: 1TB drives reach 7,200 MB/s, while 2TB and 4TB models hit 9,300 MB/s. This performance boost translates to smoother media workflows, faster application launches, and responsive multitasking for everyday computing needs.
Optimized for Multitasking and Media Workflows
The SSD’s random read and write IOPS scale with capacity, from 850K/1,500K at 1TB to 1,500K/1,600K at higher capacities. With a read latency of just 50ms and write latency of 12ms, users can expect near-instantaneous data access. This makes the 3610 suitable not only for mainstream laptops but also for light content creation and productivity applications.
Supporting the Latest Standards
Micron’s 3610 is the world’s first Gen5 G9 QLC client SSD, supporting PCIe Gen5 and NVMe 2.0 across multiple M.2 form factors. This ensures compatibility with next-generation motherboards and laptops while providing the speed and efficiency gains required for modern computing tasks.
A Strategic Pivot After Crucial’s Exit
The launch follows Micron’s decision to retire the Crucial brand, refocusing on enterprise and AI storage markets. By introducing the 3610, Micron demonstrates its commitment to the consumer sector while leveraging its advanced Gen5 QLC technology to outpace previous-generation drives.
What This Means for Users
For consumers and OEMs, the Micron 3610 offers a rare combination of compact form factor, high capacity, and Gen5 speeds. Ultra-thin laptops now have access to a 4TB SSD, and users seeking faster boot times and application performance can benefit from Micron’s significant speed improvements over Gen4 QLC drives. The 3610 SSD sets a new benchmark for what mainstream consumer storage can achieve in 2026.
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