Samsung is allegedly preparing at least two new SSDs to compete for a spot on the list of best SSDs. SamMobile has unearthed the 990 Evo Plus and 9100 Pro SSDs in the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service (KIPRIS) database. As ever with leaks and rumors, take the news with a pinch of salt.
Samsung often releases improved versions of its launched SSDs. For example, the company launched the 970 Evo and, subsequently, the 970 Evo Plus. Therefore, the 990 Evo Plus is likely the upgraded variant of the already-released 990 Evo. We expect the 990 Evo Plus to retain many of the original's traits, such as the M.2 2280 form factor and the hybrid support for the PCIe 4.0 x4 and PCIe 5.0 x2 interfaces. The objective of the 990 Plus is to help Samsung stay competitive in the SSD market and somewhat bridge the performance gap between the 990 Evo and the 990 Pro.
The 990 Evo offers sequential read and write speeds up to 5,000 MB/s and 4,200 MB/s, respectively. On the contrary, the 990 Pro's sequential performance is rated for 7,450 MB/s reads and 6,900 MB/s writes. There is ample headroom for a 990 Evo Plus to fit in between the two without product cannibalization. To achieve the feat, Samsung will logically have to outfit the 990 Evo Plus with faster NAND to provide a significant upgrade to the regular 990 Evo; otherwise, there won't be any plus with the 990 Evo Plus.
We could also see a capacity upgrade on the 990 Evo Plus. The jump from the 970 Evo to the 970 Evo Plus brought along the 2TB SKU. The current 990 Evo maxes out at 2TB, so there's a possibility that the 990 Evo Plus might arrive in the 4TB flavor, effectively putting it on the same level as the 990 Pro in terms of density.
On the other hand, the 9100 Pro is a complete mystery to us. It could be a new SSD line-up or just a fancy name for a next-generation Samsung SSD controller. Given the "Pro" moniker, it could be a high-end drive that caters to enthusiasts or professionals.
It's the first time we've seen Samsung use a four-digit number terminology, which doesn't match the brand's current line-ups. Samsung's consumer SSDs typically have three-digit numbers (970, 980, 990), while the portable SSDs carry the "T" prefix. If we go deeper into Samsung's product stack, the enterprise and data center SSDs carry the "PM" prefix. Regarding mundane stuff like USB pen drives or memory cards, Samsung often uses names like Bar Plus, Fit Plus, Pro Plus, Pro Endurance, etc.
We can only hope that the 9100 Pro is Samsung's foray into the PCIe 5.0 SSD world. Samsung is probably the only brand that hasn't released a PCIe 5.0 SSD. While the 990 Pro is a strong competitor, many enthusiasts have longed for a faster drive from Samsung. While SSD controller makers, such as Phison, Innogrit, or Silicon Motion, are one-upping each other to see who puts out the fastest PCIe 5.0 controller, we could use another competitor on the market, given Samsung's in-house controller reputation.
