This 40TB hard drive will not be the last ePMR-based product from the company, as Western Digital intends to keep using the technology for at least a couple of years before HAMR-powered solutions will take over when HDD capacities hit 60TB. Yet, these next-generation ePMR drives will be 'leveraging HAMR innovations without increasing power consumption.' While Western Digital yet has to disclose what it means, we assume that the company intends to use a unified platform for ePMR and HAMR drives with next-generation media that uses iron platinum (FePt), which allows to achieve much higher areal densities — think 2.5 Tb/inch 2 – 3.5 Tb/inch 2 — than is possible today.
"The result is unprecedented flexibility," a statement by Western Digital reads. "Hyperscalers and enterprises can adopt either technology on their own timelines with predictable capacity planning and seamless scaling – no forced technology transitions, no infrastructure disruptions, just continuous and accelerating capacity growth built on architecture they already trust."
For now, Western Digital does not disclose the capacity of its first HAMR drives, but it is safe to say that they will succeed its 40TB UltraSMR hard drive in 2027. Also, it looks like the company plans to advance its HAMR-based offerings at a high pace with plans to offer 100TB HAMD hard drives by 2029, essentially moving from 40TB in 2026 to 100TB in less than three years.
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/hdds/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/hdds/western-digital-unveils-massive-40tb-hdd-that-records-data-using-lasers-plans-100tb-hamr-hard-drives-by-2029#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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