Given the speeds of MicroSD cards (around 985 MB/s) and their susceptibility to go corrupt just when you need them the most, major smartphone manufacturers have stopped providing dedicated slots on their devices to insert one. On the other end of the spectrum, there are M.2 storage sticks for your PCs, but they can be bulky to carry around. A Shenzhen-based company has seemingly come up with a hardware innovation to overcome this issue in both digital worlds – your smartphone and PC.
Biwin, a digital storage technology veteran, has come up with an innovative data format hardware called Mini SSD that is just the size of a microSD card. Don’t let the small size of 15.0mm × 17.0mm × 1.4mm let you believe there is any compromise on the data transfer speeds. The storage solution has read speeds of 3,700 MB/s and 3,400 MB/s for write speeds, respectively. In their press release, Biwin claims that the Mini SSD offers “a new innovative solution for industries that require high speed, high performance, and high durability storage to handle mission-critical workloads at scale.”
Designer: Biwin
This storage drive, the size of a SIM card, is significantly smaller than a typical M.2 2230 drive, used in most portable PCs. Those fast r/w speeds are possible courtesy of the PCIe 4×2 interface, which is pretty close to what an M.2 SSD can achieve. Technology-wise, this is possible via the advanced LGA (Land Grid Array) packaging, which has integrated controller and flash memory modules. This saves space and explains the tiny frame of the innovative hardware. The Mini SSD is built to last in any kind of conditions with an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, along with advanced thermal management. It has also been tested for accidental falls from a height of three meters.
The catch here is that the Biwin Mini SSD is a brand-new standard that manufacturers will have to adopt to have any chance of long-term success. Two major Chinese gaming portables have already shown trust in the technology with announcements at ChinaJoy week regarding their upcoming gadgets. The GPD Strix Halo handheld and the OneNotebook OneXPLayer Super X Hybrid laptop/tablet will have this new standard. The Mini SSD will come in 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities for now. It’ll be interesting to see how the drive handles the real-life testing loads and temperatures on these two devices. If it does well, there is a strong case that other handheld makers, in particular, would fancy loading this innovative SSD on their future devices.
Biwin has not yet revealed the pricing or the wider market availability of the hardware. If you were already thinking this could be a great hardware addition for your flagship smartphones, then you’ll have to hold your horses, as the tech has to prove its mettle before becoming the new phone memory storage standard.
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