Recently, I shared a photo of a 2TB M.2 drive with my dad, who reminisced about working with a Burroughs 5700 mainframe that had a 2MB drive the size of two washing machines. Little did he know that next Christmas, he might receive an SSD with storage 8 million times greater.
Western Digital, which owns SanDisk, has announced a series of groundbreaking storage products ahead of the FMS 2024 industry trade show. On the consumer front, SanDisk is set to release MicroSD cards with up to 4TB capacity and SD cards reaching a staggering 8TB. These cards will offer speeds up to 10MB/s, making them ideal for devices like the Steam Deck and high-resolution cameras.
Additionally, Western Digital is working on a 16TB version of the SanDisk Desk Drive, doubling the capacity of the current largest external SSD from the company. A portable SSD with a similar 16TB capacity is also in development, likely in a form factor similar to the Extreme Portable SSD.
While the exact release dates and pricing are still unknown, these innovations are expected to become available in 2025. For now, it’s wise to start saving—current 8TB SanDisk Desk Drives are priced around $700.
