Western Digital’s 218-layer BiCS8 3D NAND is well-represented in a wide range of client and enterprise platforms, including WD’s upcoming Gen 5 client SSDs and 128TB data center SSDs. On the external storage side, the company showed off four different products: for card-based storage, a 4TB microSDUC and an 8TB SDUC at UHS-I speeds, and on the portable SSD side, we had two 16TB drives. One will be the externally powered SanDisk Desk Drive, and the other will be the SanDisk Extreme Pro enclosure with a lanyard hole in the enclosure.
All of them use BiCS8 QLC NAND, although I overheard talk at the booth (as I was saying goodbye) that they shouldn’t disclose the use of QLC in these products. The 4TB microSDUC and 8TB SDUC cards are designed for UHS-I speeds. They are sold under the SanDisk Ultra brand.
The SanDisk Desk Drive is an external SSD with an 18W power supply that has been on the market for a few months now. Initially launched in capacities up to 8TB, Western Digital promised a 16TB version before the end of the year. It looks like the product will hit retail soon. It should be noted that this drive uses TLC for the SKUs that are currently on the market, so it seems unlikely that the 16TB version will be QLC. The devices (at least up to the 8TB capacity) ship with two SN850XE drives. Given the recent introduction of the 8TB SN850X, an “E” version with modified firmware will likely be present in the 16TB Desk Drive.
The 16TB SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD was a technology demonstration. It is by far the highest performing bus-powered portable SSD yet at the show. Given the imminent launch of the 16TB Desk Drive, it is only a matter of time before a technology demonstration of the bus-powered version becomes a reality at retail.
