Micron Launches World's First Gen 6.0 SSD With 28GB/s Speeds, Redefining Data Center Performance Standards
Micron Technology has officially unveiled the world's first PCIe Gen 6.0 SSD, the Micron 9650, marking a monumental leap forward in enterprise storage technology. This announcement comes as part of a broader product lineup aimed at next-generation data center infrastructures, including the ultra-high-capacity 6600 ION SSD and the ultra-low latency 7600 Gen 5 SSD. The announcement was made via Micron’s official investor release, underscoring the company’s ambition to lead the AI-driven data revolution.
The flagship of the launch, the Micron 9650 Gen6 SSD, delivers a staggering 28 GB/s of sequential read and 14 GB/s of sequential write speed, doubling the performance of current PCIe Gen 5.0 drives. Built on Micron’s first-to-market G9 NAND and internally developed controller and firmware, the 9650 also delivers 5.5 million IOPS random read and 900K IOPS random write, achieving up to 67% better efficiency in random reads and 25% improvement in random writes compared to previous generations. These specifications position the 9650 as the new benchmark for enterprise-grade flash storage, particularly in high-throughput and AI-accelerated environments.
“With the industry’s first PCIe Gen6 SSD, industry-leading capacities and the lowest latency mainstream SSD all powered by our first-to-market G9 NAND Micron is not just setting the pace; we are redefining the frontier of data center innovation,”
said Jeremy Werner, SVP and GM of Micron's Core Data Center Business Unit.
Complementing the 9650 is the Micron 6600 ION SSD, an enterprise solution with unprecedented 122 TB capacity in the compact E3.S form factor. Traditionally limited to 15.36 TB, this innovation pushes the envelope by allowing 2.4 Petabytes of storage in a 1U server and up to 4.42 Petabytes in a 2U server using 36 drives. The 6600 ION excels in energy efficiency as well, consuming just 1 watt per 4.9 TB, offering a 37% improvement over typical HDD configurations. A 245 TB variant is already on the roadmap for launch in 2026.
Lastly, the Micron 7600 Gen5 SSD introduces sub-1ms latency the lowest in its class making it ideal for AI inference and mixed workload environments. Available in E3.S, U.2, and E1.S form factors, the 7600 SSD caters to enterprises seeking both speed and compatibility across different system architectures.
The 9650 Gen 6.0 SSD and 7600 Gen 5.0 SSD are now shipping to Micron's enterprise clients, while the 6600 ION SSD is slated for release in Q3 2025, with both E3.S and U.2 models available. The 245 TB edition of the 6600 ION is expected in 2026, pushing density and efficiency to even greater heights.
How soon do you think PCIe Gen6 will hit consumer-grade desktops? Are we ready for this speed revolution? Drop your thoughts below.
