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Ahead-looking: Western Digital stays one of many world’s largest arduous drive producers, though it trails Seagate in adopting the newest recording applied sciences. Nevertheless, the corporate has introduced that main developments are deliberate for its HDD lineup over the following few years.
On the current Computex commerce present in Taipei, Western Digital confirmed that its first arduous drives primarily based on Warmth-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) expertise are scheduled to debut in 2027. Earlier than then, nonetheless, the San Jose – primarily based firm plans to introduce one other era of arduous drives constructed on its confirmed ePMR 2 recording platform.
WD’s preliminary HAMR lineup is anticipated to incorporate a 36TB mannequin utilizing Typical Magnetic Recording, and a 40TB mannequin leveraging Shingled Magnetic Recording. Moreover, the corporate plans to supply a 44TB drive primarily based on its proprietary UltraSMR expertise to pick companions. As most storage professionals know, SMR drives use overlapping knowledge tracks to extend capability, however they usually endure from efficiency and reliability points in comparison with CMR-based items.
Earlier than committing main sources to high-volume HAMR manufacturing, WD will proceed enhancing its ePMR 2 platform. ePMR (energy-assisted Perpendicular Magnetic Recording) will increase areal density by making use of a further electrical present to the write head. This makes the writing course of extra exact, permitting knowledge bits to be packed nearer collectively on the disk floor.
Western Digital’s 2026 roadmap features a 36TB UltraSMR drive, together with a smaller-capacity CMR unit primarily based on the ePMR 2 platform. After launching these two fashions, the corporate is anticipated to totally transition to HAMR expertise.
HAMR is a complicated storage technique that heats a tiny space of the disk simply earlier than writing knowledge. This localized heating briefly makes the fabric extra receptive to magnetic modifications, permitting for considerably larger knowledge density by storing extra bits in the identical bodily house.
Western Digital was compelled to spend money on HAMR after its different strategy, Microwave-Assisted Magnetic Recording (MAMR), didn’t ship the anticipated outcomes. In distinction, Seagate moved sooner, and it’s already sampling its first HAMR drives utilizing its proprietary Mozaic 3+ platform.
Western Digital hopes HAMR will provide a long-term path towards larger areal density in arduous drives. The corporate has set an formidable aim to fabricate 100TB HDDs by 2030 – a formidable leap, contemplating its first HAMR drives are slated to hit the market simply three years prior.
