Introduction: 4TB SD cards
SanDisk’s Extreme Pro 4TB SD card will be fast enough to record 8K video.
This week, Western Digital is introducing the industry’s first 4 TB SD card. The device is on display at the NAB trade conference for broadcasters and content makers and will be available commercially in 2025.
Attendees will get a first look at the 4TB SD card’s entire capacity and learn more about how it will increase the creative possibilities for cameras and computers,” Western Digital said.
Understanding the Promise of 4TB SD Cards
Western Digital’s SanDisk Extreme Pro SDUC 4 TB SD card meets the Secure Digital Ultra Capacity standard (SDUC, which supports up to 128TB). The card employs the Ultra High Speed-I (UHS-I) interface and is rated for speed Class 10, therefore it can handle a minimum speed of 10 MB/s and a maximum data transfer rate of 104 MB/s when operating in UHS104 (SDR104) mode. WD’s SD card is also rated to satisfy Video Speed Class V30, which requires a minimum sequential write speed of 30 MB/s and is expected to be adequate for 8K video recording, in addition to the 4K video market that Western Digital is primarily targeting with the next card.
WD’s announcement comes six years after the SD Association, which designs SD standards, introduced the SDUC standard, which increased the maximum capacity of SD cards from 2TB to 128TB. As with many new standards, some were quick to predict that “SD cards could soon hold 128TB of storage.” However, with 4TB not scheduled to reach until 2025 (assuming no delays), “soon” even today is implausible. The 2018 standard only made such capacities possible. For the past nine years, the maximum theoretical capacity for an SD card had been 2TB, but the most capacious SD cards available for purchase at the time were 512GB.
Highlighting the Revolutionary Capacity of 4TB SD Cards
For the time being, Western Digital has not revealed what NAND is used in the SanDisk Extreme Pro SDUC 4 TB SD Card. Given the large capacity and the rather distant 2025 release date, WD may be targeting this as one of the first devices to use their upcoming BiCS 9 NAND.
Western Digital has not published the cost of the SanDisk Extreme Pro SDUC 4 TB SD card. A 1 TB SanDisk Extreme Pro card costs $140, therefore one may estimate the cost of a 4 TB SD card with cutting-edge NAND.
And, while it is not mentioned in WD’s official press release, we would be shocked if the upcoming card does not support the off-spec DDR200/DDR208 mode, which allows for faster transfer speeds than the UHS-I standard generally allows via double data rate signaling. Western Digital’s current-generation SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC 1 TB SD card already supports that mode, allowing it to achieve read speeds of up to 170 MB/s, therefore it would be odd if the company dropped it from future models. However, the catch with DDR208 remains the same: it is a proprietary mode that may only be used with a compatible host.
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NASA’s Role in Pioneering New Frontiers with 4TB SD Cards
Reiterate the possible use of 4TB SD cards in space travel, as well as NASA’s involvement in fostering innovation in this field.
Inspire readers to consider the possibilities of 4TB SD cards for furthering our understanding of the universe and opening up new vistas in space travel.
This outline offers a comprehensive framework for delving into the argument over 4TB SD cards, from its promise as a game changer in data storage to the practical obstacles and issues that must be addressed. By digging into real-world applications, addressing skeptics’ worries, and emphasizing the role of organizations such as NASA, the article may provide readers with a comprehensive knowledge of the consequences and opportunities given by this disruptive technology.
4TB SD Cards: Game Changer Perspectives
The SD Association originally released its Secure Digital Ultra Capacity (SDUC) card specs in 2018, predicting that SD cards would soon be able to store up to 128 terabytes. It’s taken a long time to get to 4TB, and Western Digital isn’t saying what type of NAND is inside the next card, so even larger capacities are probably a long way off.
Conclusion
However, Western Digital’s statement comes at a time when professional and long-term customers are seriously questioning SanDisk’s reputation for dependable storage. There are several lawsuits using SanDisk Extreme portable SSDs that allegedly fail abruptly. These apparent failures, combined with dissatisfaction with Western Digital’s slow response to reported data losses, may persuade professionals with mission-critical storage requirements to wait for another manufacturer to upgrade to 4TB.
