According to Digitimes , Apple has reportedly started sourcing its own QLC (Quad Level Cell) NAND memory chips for its next generation of smartphones, which will enable large storage capacities (1TB or more) for certain iPhone 16 models at more accessible prices than before. This could be beneficial in encouraging a large segment of users to switch to the iPhone 16.
Adopting QLC NAND memory allows iPhone 16 to have storage capacity higher than 1TB
However, the QLC NAND solution also comes with some drawbacks related to QLC technology and its technical limitations. As Wccftech points out, QLC memory has the disadvantage of being less resilient than TLC memory, which makes it less reliable in the long run. It has lower read cycles than its competitors as well as lower transfer speeds. If the iPhone 16 is equipped with QLC memory, at least in part, this could make it a bit slower than the iPhone 15 with equivalent storage capacity.
The advantage of QLC technology is that it allows the use of 4 bits of data per memory cell instead of 3, so on a chip format similar to TLC memory, QLC technology can provide more storage capacity while being less expensive to manufacture. However, despite this double limitation, many other manufacturers have regularly adopted QLC technology to increase the storage space on their devices.
One thing to note is that Apple was rumored to use QLC storage for the iPhone 14 in 2022, but due to the product line being limited to 1TB of storage, Apple stopped this transition plan. The same thing happened last year. But with the iPhone 16, they could be the first iPhones to have over 1TB of internal storage thanks to the application of QLC memory technology.
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