Sandisk starts BiCS10 sampling: what the NAND milestone means for SSDs

Sandisk announced sampling of BiCS10 1Tb TLC NAND on July 2, 2026. The company reports 332 layers and 59% higher bit density than BiCS8. Sampling is a component-development milestone; it does not constitute a benchmark of a retail SSD.

Understanding 1Tb

The lowercase b denotes bits. Eight bits make one byte, so 1Tb corresponds to approximately 125GB using decimal units. That describes a chip’s raw capacity.

TLC stores three bits per memory cell. Kioxia explains how multiple electrical states allow a cell to represent more than one bit, providing one route to higher storage capacity.

For a reader, the important distinction is between the memory component and the product being purchased. A finished device may combine multiple chips; its available capacity needs to be established from that device’s specifications. Converting the units helps interpret the announcement, but cannot substitute for the complete drive’s specification sheet.

The way a unit is written therefore matters. Changing a lowercase letter to an uppercase one changes its meaning, a useful detail when comparing semiconductor announcements with storage-product listings.

What CBA does

A Kioxia technical explanation published in 2025 describes CBA as fabricating CMOS circuitry and the memory array on separate wafers before bonding them together. This allows the fabrication processes for the two parts to be optimised independently.

That also illustrates why NAND development cannot be reduced to a layer count. The arrangement of components and the way they connect are additional engineering dimensions.

A chip is part of a storage system

Micron explains that NAND needs controller and firmware functions for error correction, bad-block management and wear levelling. Evaluating a storage product consequently involves the complete system.

Someone choosing an SSD needs answers tied to their own use: how does the drive handle their files, what capacity is available, and how does behaviour change during extended writing? Those questions concern the finished product. A memory-generation name alone cannot answer them.

The sampling announcement matters because it identifies the manufacturer’s development direction and provides a milestone to follow as components move toward products. A purchase decision needs the specifications and tests of those finished products when available.

Keeping those stages distinct makes storage news easier to interpret. It avoids turning progress in one component into an immediate promise about drive performance that has not yet been measured.