Toshiba is gearing up to release cutting-edge 30TB+ hard drives next year, marking its push towards the forefront of the market with pioneering technologies.
The company is set to introduce these high-capacity hard drives using groundbreaking magnetic recording technologies, specifically Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) and Microwave Assisted Magnetic Recording (MAMR).
One of the technologies, HAMR, incorporates a near-field laser to heat the disk material, significantly improving writing capabilities. Despite some skepticism surrounding HAMR’s readiness, quality, reliability, and compatibility, major drive manufacturers are adopting it, with Seagate reporting successful test results with its HAMR-equipped drives.
Yo MAMR!
Toshiba’s achievement of a 32TB drive capacity utilizing a combination of HAMR and Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) technologies showcases the company’s technical prowess. Meanwhile, MAMR, Toshiba’s other technology, utilizes microwaves to enhance magnetic recording abilities and has been in production since 2021, yielding drives with a capacity of 31TB through a synergy of technologies.
Larry Martinez-Palomo, Toshiba’s Vice President and Head of Storage Products Division, emphasized the company’s commitment to advancing high-capacity HDDs through both HAMR and MAMR technologies, with mass production of HAMR-based drives expected post-validation. In the interim, Toshiba will continue to meet market demands with MAMR-driven storage devices.
Looking ahead, Toshiba is on track to ship test HAMR HDDs, offering capacities ranging from 28 to 30TB, in 2025, signaling a promising future in the storage technology landscape.
