Apple has Disabled TLC Memory

Due to a high reported rate of functional defects, Apple has decided to stop using TLC NAND flash memory technology in their iPhone 6 devices. According to insiders talking to IThome, on November the 6th Apple decided to deactivate all TLC NAND flash technology, believed by them to be plaguing their 64GB iPhone 6 and 128 GB iPhone 6 Plus models with defects directly due to the nature of the flash memory chip.

This chip is manufactured by Anobit, commonly known for their SSD manufacturing facilities. Anobit was acquired by Apple in 2011 and utilized to create their TLC NAND solid-state flash memory.

Why did Apple choose TLC NAND if it’s so unreliable? It’s cheaper and reads/writes data faster than SLC and MLC equivalents. Apple’s future plans have now been based around MLC NAND memory, including it’s announced iOS8.1.1 update alongside their 100,000 units sold in South Korea and Taiwan alone.

Reportedly, not all latest-gen iPhones have TLC NAND installed. MLC NAND is located within the 16 GB iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and some 64 GB editions, however all 128GB models have been released with TLC NAND hardware.

The apparent adoption of TLC NAND is due to cost saving constraints for the 128 GB edition of Apples latest release, so we may expect a higher sale price once MLC NAND has taken over. So, if your iPhone has been performing a little slower out of the blue – it’s possibly not the apps your running or your 40 open Google Chrome tabs; it could be because Apple has disabled your TLC NAND.

Rightfully so, many users are outraged. A growing number of Korean customers have been spamming Apples online community portals asking for their slowing iPhones to be replaced for free – we think it to be rightfully so.

Image courtesy of IThome