Mobile World Congress: Western Digital Launching 400GB SanDisk Extreme UHS-I microSDXC Card

As mobile content and applications grow increasingly sophisticated, Western Digital Corporation (WDC) is transforming the mobile experience with mobile solutions designed to enable consumers to better capture, share and enjoy rich content on their devices.

At Mobile World Congress, the company released a fast UHS-I flash memory card, the 400GB ⁽¹⁾ SanDisk Extreme UHS-I microSDXC card, and demonstrating the future of flash memory card technology with PCIe-enabled cards, designed to deliver the performance required for the next wave of data and content-intensive applications.

Whether it’s exploring a new world in an immersive virtual reality app, or capturing 4K footage on a smartphone or drone, consumers can count on the company to deliver more robust mobile flash memory technology that offers them a premium experience on their favorite device.

The company’s 400GB SanDisk Extreme UHS-I microSD card is designed to help consumers move their high-quality content faster. At 160MB/s ^(*), this card is more than 50% faster than current SanDisk Extreme UHS-I microSD cards. The card is able to reach this speed by leveraging the company’s proprietary technology. The card will also feature the A2 specification to help launch and load apps at blazing speeds.

“Consumers expect an increasingly better mobile experience, and with our 3D NAND technology, we are pushing the boundaries of innovation to enable them to create and enjoy more rich content on their devices. Our expertise in flash memory and microSD card electronics enables us to achieve unmatched performance. The breakthrough SanDisk microSD card is evidence of Western Digital’s commitment to delivering more advanced solutions that enable data to thrive,” said Jim Welsh, SVP and GM, client solutions, Western Digital.

The company is also showcased a new platform to enable the future of flash memory cards with a demonstration of its PCIe-enabled SD card. In anticipation of the next generation of high-performance mobile computing requirements, implementing PCIe technology will deliver the ability to read data files faster than today’s platform. Through the firm’s portfolio, this technology can now be demonstrated to boost the performance of SD cards. These speeds are for high-resolution content applications such as super-slow-motion video, RAW continuous burst mode and 8K video capture and playback. PCIe has traditionally been reserved for use in high-performance data center systems, where the single-lane PCIe Gen 3.0 standard specifications denote capabilities of achieving speeds of up to 985MB/s. ⁽²⁾

At Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, Spain, the company demonstrated UHS-I microSD card and PCIe-enabled flash memory card technology, as well as its PC SN720 and PC SN520 SSDs designed for responsive, always-connected user experiences on converged mobility devices.

^(*) Up to 160MB/s read speed; up to 90MB/s write speed. Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending upon host device interface, usage conditions and other factors. MB=1,000,000 bytes.
⁽¹⁾ 1GB=1,000,000,000 bytes. Actual user storage less.
⁽²⁾ Source: PCI-SIG specifications converted from listed 8GT/s bit rate. Results may vary based on host device, app type and other factors.