- Seagate silently wraps 40TB HAMR units, establishing the rhythm for the next storage
- MOZAIC HAMR TECH CRAMS 4TB per tray, promising mass increases in storage efficiency
- The expansion of the data center will dictate how quickly these units of 40 TB record reach the main current
In the recent Conference of Investors and Analysts in Seagate, the company revealed that it has delivered limited units of its new 40TB hard drives based on its Mozaic Hamr platform.
These 40 TB units use heat -assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) to achieve 4 TB per source in ten dishes, marking a change towards the Seagate 4+ 4+ platform.
While these are not yet widely available, large -scale production is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2026 after extensive customer rating tests.
Large -scale production to start next year
“We have already sent limited samples of 40 Terabyte Engineering to our client. We plan to start the next quarter, and we will continue with QUALS to 2026, where we will bring a wide part of our client base to the Mozaic 4 platform,” said Dr. John Morris, Cto de Seagate.
The preparation of the volume will depend on how data centers integrate and validate the units. However, the objective is to move a significant participation of the Seagate Exabites to HAMR -based units, which promise greater capacity and efficiency of the data center.
As the CEO explained, Dr. Dave Mosley, “10 albums would take him to 40 terabytes … This offers better efficiencies in the data center. At the fleet level, this is how our customers think.”
Seagate’s long -term plan implies implementing even higher capabilities, including 44 TB units for 2027 and 50TB units by 2028.
The delay of its original projection of 2017 for 50 TB units by 2026 underlines the complexities of climbing Hamr technology. However, the development of 40TB still places Seagate in the race to offer the largest HDD in the market.
Rival companies are following different strategies. Western Digital (WD) continues to expand the capacity through EPMR and Optinand, reserving HAMR for its own 40TB launch expected at the end of 2026.
“Other companies have begun to adopt HAMR with HDD of 30 TB, but we believe that HAMR’s true potential begins in 40TB. Until then, we will continue using technologies such as Optinand and Ultrasmr to increase the capacity of existing HDDs of up to 40 TB,” said Kimihiko Nishio, WD sales manager in Japan.
Toshiba, another key player, has been developing his technologies, such as microwave -assisted magnetic recording (MAMR).
The company aims to launch its first 35TB HDD based on HAMR before 2026. Toshiba’s strategy implies Mamr with future HAMR implementations to achieve these capabilities.
These units will not attract average consumers looking for HDD faster or even the best HDD for home use, their development is closely linked to the cyber armed career driven by AI.
The first seagate shipments of 40 TB units suggest a technical leadership in the race to develop the largest HDD, but the path to commercial reality is winding, and the caution posture of competitors implies that the challenges are considerable.
