In most new SSDs, the next-gen flash is just a die shrink of the previous generation. The nanoscale features are smaller, enabling higher bit densities, but the technology is fundamentally the same. The flash memory in the 850 Pro is on a whole other level—32 of them, actually. While traditional NAND sticks to a planar layout, the 850 Pro's V-NAND extends into three dimensions by stacking multiple flash layers on top of one another.
V-NAND is designed to avoid some of the constraints associated with shrinking NAND lithography to ever-smaller process nodes. Samsung claims V-NAND offers higher performance and longer endurance than typical flash, too. Naturally, the 850 Pro follows suit. This baby is billed as not just the fastest SATA drive around, but also the most durable. To underscore that claim, Samsung has given it a 10-year warranty.