New
#40
In the early days of SSDs the longer life and reliability was largely an unrealized potential. That is a common situation with new technology. It takes time for manufacturers to understand the new technology and develop manufacturing techniques. In the early days such knowledge simply did not exist. The development of conventional drives was a long and difficult process.
At the present time quality SSDs will usually outlast conventional drives. They are also faster, consume less power, and have better resistance to physical shocks. That latter is particularly important in laptops. The only serious issue at present is that they are still rather expensive in the larger sizes. That will change, as is already happening, with a larger market share and as better manufacturing techniques are developed. Conventional drives were very expensive when first introduced.
There is little doubt that some form of SSD will eventually completely replace conventional drives. But we aren't there yet.