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Samsung showcases world’s smallest 256TB SSD, 400+ layer V-NAND and zNAND-O

By Freedom251 Team · · 4 min read

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Samsung has presented three enterprise-memory developments aimed at different parts of AI infrastructure: the BM1773, a V9 QLC SSD family ranging from 16TB to 256TB; the PCIe 6.0 PM1763 for high-throughput AI and high-performance-computing servers; and zNAND-O, a developing NAND architecture for edge and on-device AI. A 2026 Shenzhen Memory Industry Association report distributed through PRNewswire called the 256TB BM1773 the “world’s smallest 256TB SSD,” while Samsung separately described its next V10 BV-NAND as exceeding 400 layers or word lines.

What Samsung announced

BM1773: capacity-focused enterprise storage

The BM1773 is Samsung’s V9 QLC enterprise SSD family. Capacities span 16TB, 32TB, 64TB, 128TB and 256TB according to the 2026 Shenzhen Memory Industry Association report. It is designed for shared capacity in AI servers and other data-center storage systems, where operators need to keep large datasets, checkpoints and inference data available at scale.

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QLC NAND stores four bits per cell. That emphasis on bits per cell and total capacity distinguishes BM1773 from Samsung’s performance-oriented drive. The announcements do not establish BM1773’s sequential-speed ratings, endurance, power draw, connector, physical form factor or shipping date.

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PM1763: throughput-focused PCIe 6.0 storage

The PM1763 is the performance line. Samsung positions it as a PCIe 6.0 enterprise SSD for AI and HPC servers rather than as a bulk-capacity tier. For a 16TB configuration, Samsung Electronics reported sequential read of 28,400MB/s and sequential write of 21,900MB/s in 2026.

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Those figures describe the specified 16TB configuration, not every PM1763 capacity or a guaranteed result in every server. The product’s role is to feed accelerators and CPUs quickly during high-throughput workloads, while BM1773 is intended to hold more data in a shared storage pool.

Is the BM1773 really the world’s smallest 256TB SSD?

The careful answer is: it was described that way in the GMIF2026 report, in an enterprise-SSD context. “World’s smallest” is therefore an attributed event claim, not an independently defined industry standard. The report does not state the dimensions, volume calculation, comparison set or test method used to establish the superlative.

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Readers should not interpret the phrase as proof that the BM1773 is a consumer desktop drive, or that every 256TB SSD with a different form factor is larger. Samsung has presented BM1773 as data-center hardware, and exact mechanical specifications and regional availability were not published in the cited announcements.

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BM1773 and PM1763 compared

Comparison point BM1773 PM1763
Product position Capacity-focused V9 QLC enterprise SSD Performance-focused PCIe 6.0 enterprise SSD
Published capacity information 16TB to 256TB (GMIF2026 report, 2026) 16TB configuration cited for published speed figures (Samsung Electronics, 2026)
Interface Not stated in the GMIF2026 report (2026) PCIe 6.0
Primary workload Shared AI and server storage High-throughput AI and HPC servers
Published performance Not stated in the GMIF2026 report (2026) 28,400MB/s sequential read and 21,900MB/s sequential write for the 16TB configuration (Samsung Electronics, 2026)
Power and cooling requirements Not stated in the GMIF2026 report (2026) Not stated in the Samsung Electronics announcement (2026)
Form factor Not stated in the GMIF2026 report (2026) Not stated in the Samsung Electronics announcement (2026)
Availability and shipping Not stated in the GMIF2026 report (2026) Not stated in the Samsung Electronics announcement (2026)
Total cost of ownership inputs Pricing, endurance and power data were not stated in the GMIF2026 report (2026) Pricing, endurance and power data were not stated in the Samsung Electronics announcement (2026)

For infrastructure planning, the distinction is practical: choose a capacity tier when the bottleneck is dataset residency and shared storage, and evaluate the PM1763 when latency and sustained bandwidth between storage and compute are the limiting factors. A procurement decision still requires the missing endurance, thermal, form-factor, service-life and price information.

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What “400-plus-layer V-NAND” means

V10 BV-NAND stacks more word lines

Samsung’s V10 BV-NAND architecture exceeds 400 layers or word lines. In a 3D NAND device, stacking more word lines increases the number of storage cells that can be built vertically in a given footprint. More layers can raise density, but manufacturing very tall structures creates alignment and etching challenges.

HARC Merge and wafer bonding

Samsung says V10 uses advanced three-stack HARC (High Aspect Ratio) Merge technology to build the tall structure. It also uses wafer bonding: the memory-cell wafer and the wafer carrying peripheral circuits are manufactured separately and then bonded vertically. Separating those processes is intended to improve how each wafer is optimized before assembly.

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  • EXCELLENCE IN PERFORMANCE: Enjoy professional level SSD performance which maximizes the SATA interface limit to 560 530 MB/s sequential speeds,* accelerates write speeds and maintains long term high performance with a larger variable buffer
  • INDUSTRY-DEFINING RELIABILITY: Meet the demands of every task — from everyday computing to 8K video processing, with up to 600 TBW** under a 5-year limited warranty***
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Reported V10 gains

  • Bit density is reported as 58% higher than the previous generation.
  • I/O exceeds 4.8Gbps, with more than a 33% improvement over the previous generation.

These are Samsung’s 2026 figures for the V10 architecture. They describe NAND technology-level improvements, not a promised BM1773 drive speed or a direct benchmark of a finished server system.

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What zNAND-O is for

A developing architecture for edge AI

Samsung’s FMS announcement describes zNAND-O as a next-generation high-performance NAND solution built on V-NAND. It is being developed in four-layer and eight-layer versions, with short data paths, high space efficiency, improved I/O performance and low latency aimed at edge and on-device AI.

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The GMIF2026 report says zNAND-O can be co-packaged with a microprocessor unit through UCIe. That type of close integration is intended for systems that process data locally—such as an edge appliance or embedded AI device—instead of sending every request to a distant server.

Interpreting the event-reported figures

The GMIF2026 report attributes two headline comparisons to zNAND-O: 10-times DRAM bit density, and seven-times NAND read bandwidth and read-energy efficiency. Those numbers should be treated as event-report claims until Samsung publishes a product datasheet defining the baseline, test conditions, capacity and workload. zNAND-O remains a development technology in the cited FMS announcement, not a broadly available retail SSD.

What buyers should verify before planning a deployment

  • Interface and platform support: Confirm the host connector, PCIe generation, lane configuration and firmware requirements for the exact drive model.
  • Thermals: Obtain active-cooling requirements, sustained-write power and throttling limits; capacity or peak-bandwidth claims alone do not size a server’s cooling system.
  • Endurance: Request the drive’s workload rating, write-cycles or total-bytes-written specification and warranty terms.
  • Physical integration: Verify the form factor, service access and whether the system can accommodate the drive’s power and airflow needs.
  • Commercial timing: Confirm regional qualification, orderability, pricing and shipping dates directly with Samsung or an authorized enterprise channel.

None of the cited 2026 announcements confirms consumer retail availability, Amazon inventory, pricing, exact form factors, endurance ratings or delivery dates for BM1773, PM1763 or zNAND-O.

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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

AI hardwareBM1773Enterprise-SSDPCIe 6.0PM1763SamsungV-NANDzNAND-O

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