Samsung Electronics has begun mass producing the industry's first 4-bit (QLC, quad-level cell) 4-terabyte (TB) SATA solid-state drive (SSD) for consumers. Based on 1-terabit (Tb) V-NAND with performance equivalent to the company's 3-bit design, Samsung's QLC SSD is expected to bring a new level of efficiency to consumer SSDs, Samsung said. With its new 1Tb 4-bit V-NAND chip, Samsung will be able to efficiently produce a 128GB memory card for smartphones that will lead the charge toward higher capacities for high-performance memory storage. Typically, as data stored within a memory cell increases from three bits to four, the chip capacity per unit area would rise and the electrical charge (used to determine information from a sensor) would decrease by as much as 50% making it considerably more difficult to maintain a device's desired performance and speed. However, Samsung said its 4-bit 4TB QLC SATA SSD maintains its performance levels at the same level as a 3-bit SSD, by using a 3-bit SSD controller and TurboWrite technology, while increasing drive capacity through the use of 32 chips, all based on 64-layer fourth-generation 1Tb V-NAND. The 4-bit QLC SSD enables a sequential read speed of 540 MB/s and a sequential write speed of 520 MB/s, and comes with a three-year warranty. Samsung plans to introduce several 4-bit consumer SSDs later in 2018 with 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities in the widely used 2.5-inch form factor.

Apple has updated its 9.7-inch iPad with support for Apple Pencil plus increased performance, starting at US$329. The new 9.7-inch iPad and Apple Pencil give users the ability to be creative and productive, from sketching ideas and jotting down handwritten notes to marking up screenshots. The new iPad features a Retina display, the A10 Fusion chip and advanced sensors that help deliver immersive augmented reality (AR). The new iPad's A10 Fusion chip is constructed with 64-bit desktop-class architecture, delivering 40% faster CPU and 50% faster graphics performance for multitasking and graphics-intensive apps, according to Apple. The front- and rear-facing cameras offer low-light performance and HD video recording for document scanning, moviemaking and FaceTime calls.

Samsung Electronics has introduced the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+. They are designed with a new dual aperture lens that powers a low light camera, super slow-mo video capabilities and personalized AR emoji. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ deliver an enhanced entertainment experience with stereo speakers tuned by AKG, immersive audio with Dolby AtmosR and a refined edge-to-edge Infinity Display 1 - a key staple in Samsung's design heritage, according to the vendor. In addition, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ will come with the new SmartThings app, which unites Samsung's existing IoT services into one single, smart experience. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be available starting on March 16, 2018 in select markets.