Home Consumer WD Reveals New microSD Cards & New NVMe SSDs At MWC

WD Reveals New microSD Cards & New NVMe SSDs At MWC

by Adam Armstrong

Today at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018, Western Digital revealed new mobile and computing solutions aimed at maximizing performance. These products include the 400GB SanDisk Extreme UHS-I microSDXCT card (that WD is calling the world’s fastest UHS-I memory card) and new NVMe SSDs with a new NVMe storage architecture. WD will be demoing their new PCIe-enabled SD Card as well.


Today at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018, Western Digital revealed new mobile and computing solutions aimed at maximizing performance. These products include the 400GB SanDisk Extreme UHS-I microSDXCT card (that WD is calling the world’s fastest UHS-I memory card) and new NVMe SSDs with a new NVMe storage architecture. WD will be demoing their new PCIe-enabled SD Card as well.

Mobile capacity needs are increasing along with the need for the mobile storage to perform faster. Technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality, and 4K video (on both smart mobile devices as well as drones) are just some of the drivers behind this need. To meet these customers needs, WD introduced the 400GB SanDisk Extreme UHS-I microSDXCT card. WD claims that the new card can hit speeds of 160MB/s and features the A2 specification.

On the SSD front, customers have similar needs centering around performance and capacity both for computing and for IoT. WD is introducing two new NVMe M.2 SSDs that are powered by new storage architecture that it states is scalable for implementations such as IoT, edge computing, and mobile computing systems. The drives come with new firmware and controller architecture geared toward performance and scalability benefits. The drives include the edge performance PC SN720 with capacities of 2TB and performances of 3.4GB/s read and 2.8GB/s write and the PC SN520 aimed at IoT with capacity of 512GB and smaller M.2 form factors.

WD PC SN720 key specifications:

  • Capacity: 256GB | 512GB | 1TB | 2TB
  • Performance
    • Sequential Read up to (MB/s): 3,000 | 3,400 | 3,400 | TBD
    • Sequential Write up to (MB/s): 1,600 | 2,400 | 2,800 | TBD
    • Random Read up to (IOPS): 225K | 400K | 500K | TBD
    • Random Write up to (IOPS): 185K | 330K | 400K | TBD
  • Endurance (TBW): 200 | 300| 400 | 500
  • Power
    • Peak Power (10μs) (A): 2.8 (TBD for 2TB)
    • Avg. Active Power (mW): 110 | 110 | 140 | TBD
    • Low Power (PS3) (mW): 70 | 70 | 100 | TBD
    • Sleep (PS4) (mW): 2.5
    • Supply Voltage (V / ±5%): 3.3
  • MTTF: 1.752 million hours
  • Environmental
    • Operating Temperature: 32°F to 158°F (0°C to 70°C)
    • Non-operating Temperature: -67°F to 185°F (-55°C to 85°C)
    • Operating Vibration: 5 gRMS, 10-2000 Hz, 3 axes
    • Non-operating Vibration: 4.9 gRMS, 7-800 Hz, 3 axes
    • Shock: 1,500G @0.5ms half sine, 3 pulses per face
  • Certifications: FCC, UL, TUV, KCC, BSMI, VCCI, C-Tick
  • Limited Warranty: 5-year
  • Physical
    • Width: 22mm ±0.15mm
    • Length: 2280: 80mm ±0.15mm
    • Thickness (max): 2.38mm
    • Weight: 7.5g ±1g

WD PC SN520 key specifications:

  • Capacity: 128GB | 256GB | 512GB
  • Performance
    • Sequential Read up to (MB/s): 1,500 | 1,700 | 1,700
    • Sequential Write up to (MB/s): 800 | 1,300 | 1,400
    • Random Read up to (IOPS): 95K | 220K | 270K
    • Random Write up to (IOPS): 90K | 175K | 280K
  • Endurance (TBW): 100 | 200| 300
  • Power
    • Peak Power (10μs) (A): 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.8
    • Avg. Active Power (mW): 75
    • Low Power (PS3) (mW): 25
    • Sleep (PS4) (mW): 2.5
    • Supply Voltage (V / ±5%): 3.3
  • MTTF: 1.752 million hours
  • Environmental
    • Operating Temperature: 32°F to 158°F (0°C to 70°C)
    • Non-operating Temperature: -67°F to 185°F (-55°C to 85°C)
    • Operating Vibration: 5 gRMS, 10-2000 Hz, 3 axes
    • Non-operating Vibration: 4.9 gRMS, 7-800 Hz, 3 axes
    • Shock: 1,500G @0.5ms half sine, 3 pulses per face
  • Certifications: FCC, UL, TUV, KCC, BSMI, VCCI, C-Tick
  • Limited Warranty: 5-year
  • Physical
    • Width: 22mm ±0.15mm
    • Length: 2230: 30mm ±0.15mm 2242: 42mm ±0.15mm 2280: 80mm ±0.15mm
    • Thickness (max): 2.38mm
    • Weight: 7.5g ±1g

WD will also be demoing new SD card technology and MWC. The company is showcasing its PCIE-enabled SD card. This new technology is for use cases such as super-slow-motion video, RAW continuous burst mode, and 8K video capture and playback.

WD is at Mobile World Congress, Fira Gran Via Exhibition Center in Barcelona, Spain, Hall 3, stand number 3K33.

400GB SanDisk Extreme UHS-I microSDXCT card

WD PC SN720

WD PC SN520

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