Intel's next-gen laptop hybrid SSD is almost here

The hybrid laptops deserve.

What you need to know

• Intel has announced a hybrid SSD.
• It combines NAND and Optane technology onto a single device.
• It will be widely available to OEMs in June.

Intel has announced a new memory and storage hybrid solution for laptops, entitled "Intel Optane memory H20 with solid state storage." It's a name that, while not exactly easy to roll off the tongue, is aggressively functional in getting the point across — it's an SSD-memory stick fusion.

It's slated to have two different capacities out of the gate:

• 32GB Intel Optane Memory + 512GB Storage
• 32GB Intel Optane Memory + 1TB Storage

Here's how Intel describes it: "By combining the best attributes of Intel Optane technology and Intel QLC 3D NAND technology, Intel Optane memory H20 brings together two revolutionary memory and storage technologies on a single M.2 2280 form factor device."

You can see the full announcement post and associated documents on Intel's site.

Intel mentions it'll be available to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) starting June 20. As this is a laptop component, don't expect a large consumer market for this, hence the lack of a price tag in the press release. It's being targeted at and optimized for notebooks, small form factor desktops, and all-in-one (AiO) PCs.

This isn't the only neat technology-related development Intel's cooked up in recent memory. Intel Labs recently redefined what photorealism means for real-time synthetic imagery generation (which includes video game graphics). Check out what the company did to Grand Theft Auto V with its research.