Intel has a new storage technology called Optane, touted to be the fastest storage technology to date. Unfortunately, the technology wasn't ready when Apple was about to launch the MacBook Pro.

Intel, in partnership with Micron, developed Optane, which is a new Solid State Drive (SSD) technology powered by 3D XPoint technology. It is said that the technology is 1,000 times faster than NAND used in today's SSDs. The architecture of these chips uses three-dimensional stacking, eliminating the need for transistors that allows faster communication than the speediest SSDs today, according to Recode.

Optane's transistor-less and stackable design makes it possible and allows 3D XPoint to pack 10 times more capacity than DRAM with the same footprint, which makes it cheaper to manufacture. Another plus to this design is that it is so fast that traditional NANDs speed is measured in microseconds, whereas 3D XPoint measure theirs in nanoseconds, which makes it ideal for high-performance SSD storage across a PCIe NVMe interface, according to Intel.

When it was first introduced in 2015, a lot of people was excited that it might come to the MacBook since it would be compatible with NVMe, which is already being used in today's Mac's. Apple has a reputation of using the latest technologies into their products, such as the case when they used Thunderbolt and new processor tech from Intel.

Though new Optane-based drivers are due for shipping by the end of this year, they won't make it into any products until next year, according to the same report. Though Apple might have Octane in mind when they redesigned the MacBook Pro, it could be incorporated into the company's upcoming models.

The new Optane could be a game-changer, according to pundits who first got excited when it was introduced back in 2015.

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Topics Intel, MacBook Pro