20 TB is currently the largest capacity of hard drives, with products coming from both Seagate and Western Digital. However, this number is about to increase much in the not too distant future.
According to Aroged, Western Digital is said to be aiming to launch a 30TB hard drive in the near future. This information was revealed by the company’s CEO David Goeckeler at the recent Wells Fargo TMT Conference, where he talked about the company’s plans to further increase the density of their mechanical hard drives. This product features technology like OptiNAND that is critical to the future of storage.
Last year, Seagate released a 20 TB drive based on HAMR technology. Meanwhile, last month, Western Digitial Alternatives launched its own technology-based OptiNAND, which uses flash memory to store super data. Even so, Western Digital is expected to still evaluate the pros and cons of HAMR in future drive development to increase the lifespan of the drive.
Both Seagate and Western Digital are aiming to release 30 TB drives as soon as possible. Previously, these companies promised to reach 100 TB by 2030. However, despite such a goal, the 30 TB drive is said to come true only in 2025, while next year it will be a 22 TB drive.