Word from perennial foreign-language leak site Expreview is that the release of Samsung's latest SSD range is near at hand. Likely to be known as the 850 EVO, it will effectively replace the well regarded 840 EVO range.

Unlike the Samsung 850 Pro it's believed that the 850 EVO will make use of 3D Triple-Level Cell (TLC) V-NAND, stacking 32 layers together thanks to 2nd generation manufacturing techniques. This NAND packs three bits per cell compared with the usual two bits per seen in MLC techniques, and will allow for much higher densities at lower cost. The trade-off is in long-term durability due to higher wear rates, although it's hoped that the 2nd Gen. V-NAND improvements will off-set the downsides of TLC NAND.

The 850 EVO should also introduce a new triple-core controller. It's not known as yet if the new drives will also diversify away from 6G SATA and towards SATA Express and M.2.

Whilst the performance is unlikely to dethrone the 850 Pro, it's likely that the new SSD's will be a more ideal price/performance balance for the consumer and enthusiast market.

Source: Expreview, TechReport