- Micron 3610 NVMe SSD delivers the world’s only 4TB capacity in a single-sided M.2 2230
- Random read and write performance scales proportionally to disk capacity.
- Stamina increases with size
At CES 2026, Micron unveiled the NVMe 3610 PCIe Gen5 SSD, a QLC-based drive for mainstream OEM PCs and laptops.
This launch came weeks after Micron announced in December 2025 that it would discontinue its Crucial Consumer-SSD brand to focus on the enterprise and AI markets.
According to Micron, this is the world’s first Gen5 G9 QLC client SSD, supporting PCIe Gen5 and NVMe 2.0 in multiple M.2 form factors.
Upgrading read and write speed
This device features a 2230 single-sided compact form factor that supports 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB storage capacity, allowing it to accommodate a range of ultra-slim laptops.
Micron claims that sequential read speeds improve by up to 57% and sequential writes increase by 45% compared to Gen4 QLC drives.
The Micron 3610 NVMe SSD reportedly achieves sequential read speeds of up to 11,000 MB/s, but write speeds vary depending on storage capacity.
While the 1TB model achieves write speeds of 7,200MB/s, the 2TB and 4TB variants clock around 9,300MB/s.
The device’s random read and write performance increases with capacity, reaching 850 KIOPS read and 1,500 KIOPS write at 1TB, and up to 1,500 KIOPS read and 1,600 KIOPS write on larger capacities.
Its typical read latency is 50ms, while write latency remains at 12ms, contributing to responsive multitasking, smooth media workflows, and faster app launches.
This level of performance, combined with AI-friendly speed, would allow AI models with several billion parameters to load in less than three seconds.
The 3610’s endurance scales with capacity, with the 1TB, 2TB and 4TB models rated at 400 TBW, 800 TBW and 1,600 TBW respectively, while all drives share a mean time to failure of two million hours.
The drive integrates Micron G9 QLC NAND and supports AES 256-bit hardware encryption.
It also offers power outage protection, host-controlled thermal management, block sanitization, cryptographic erasure, and TCG Opal 2.02 and Pyrite 2.01 compliance.
Using Micron’s AWT technology, the device maintains consistent performance during prolonged workloads.
Benchmark results for the Micron 3610 NVMe SSD were positive, with PCMark 10 scores increasing by up to 30% and 3DMark results increasing by approximately 20%.
Performance per watt would be improved by 10% over Gen4 QLC and 43% over Gen4 TLC, gains achieved without additional power consumption, suggesting the drive can improve system responsiveness for mainstream computing workloads.
Despite its benchmark improvements, the 3610’s use of QLC NAND and a DRAM-less architecture can limit sustainable performance under heavy workloads.
This makes alternative Gen5 TLC drives potentially more suitable for users requiring consistent high performance during prolonged operations.
“The 3610 SSD combines industry-leading PCIe Gen 5 technology, Micron’s most advanced G9 QLC NAND and a sleek single-sided design to deliver premium performance, capacity and power efficiency,” said Mark Montierth, senior vice president and general manager of Micron’s Mobile and Customer business unit.
“The 3610 will enable ultra-thin devices that will meet the growing demands for on-device AI, immersive streaming and performance-demanding workloads. »
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