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takyon writes:

The SD Association has announced the SD 5.0 standard, which will specify memory cards with write speeds capable of recording 8K and 360°/VR video:

The SD Association, the multi-vendor consortium responsible for developing standards for Secure Digital flash memory cards, has unveiled the newest version of the Secure Digital standard, SD 5.0. The latest iteration of the standard has been released specifically to accomdate video capture, particularly the write speeds needed to record 8K (7680x4320) and 360° videos. To that end, the upcoming SD 5.0 memory cards will introduce the Video Speed Class labeling, as well as a newer protocol that takes into account new NAND flash architectures, enables higher transfer rates and supports multi-file recording.

In order to address the needs for video, the new standard will be tackling both transfer rates and the overall nature of writes with video recordings. The new standard does not introduce a new bus - the current UHS-II bus supports over 150MB/sec in full duplex mode, more than any SD card can currently handle - but rather the focus is on the cards themselves and how they behave.

In particular, the SD 5.0 standard takes into account the fact that recent, high capacity NAND flash chips feature larger block sizes (the smallest area of NAND flash memory that can be erased in a single operation) than previous-gen chips. For example, SK Hynix recently released planar MLC and TLC NAND ICs (integrated circuits) with 6 MB page and 9 MB block sizes, whereas upcoming 3D NAND flash from Intel and Micron will feature 16 MB (MLC) or even 24 MB (TLC) block sizes. Erasing a group of larger blocks takes less time than wiping out a huge number of smaller blocks, which is why larger blocks enable faster write operations, something that is needed to build memory cards for UHD video capture.

The Video Speed Class standard includes a set of 37 block sizes that range from 8 MB to 512 MB, which should be sufficient for the foreseeable future. In addition, the SD 5.0 VSC protocol supports simultaneous interleaving of eight different files, which is useful for 360° videos, multiple independent video streams, or even numerous high-quality still pictures taken at the same time.

The new standard adds new write speed classes of 60 MB/s and 90 MB/s. The fastest former class was UHS Speed Class 3, which specified a minimum of 30 MB/s write speed to allow 4K video recording. The whitepaper lists a 120 FPS frame rate for 8K video recording.

SD Association press release (PDF) and whitepaper (PDF).

Original Submission

takyon writes:

SanDisk (Western Digital) has announced a 400 GB MicroSD card for $250:

In 2015, SanDisk released the world's first 200GB microSDXC storage media using TLC flash technology. Today the company announced a successor, the Ultra MicroSDXC UHS-I, which doubles capacity to a massive 400GB housed within a card roughly the size of your finger nail.

This form factor is now the de facto standard for several classes of devices that span a wide range of product types. Most modern cell phones and tablets have standardized on microSD, and the technology has also penetrated other devices, such as drones and game consoles.

This new 400GB model can hold up to 40 hours of Full HD video and has a transfer speed of up to 100 MBps. That comes out to transferring up to 1,200 photos per minute. The card also meets the A1 App Performance Class specification built by the SD Association to ensure high random performance. The specification insists that products carrying the logo can meet or exceed 1,500 random read IOPS and 500 random write IOPS for quick loading of mobile optimized applications.

Time to update your sneakernet bandwidth calculations with this and a 787 Dreamliner.

Also at Engadget, The Verge, and PC Magazine.

Previously: Samsung Announces 256 GB MicroSD Card

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Here's a challenge: do you reckon you can fill half-a-terabyte of memory using only a smartphone?

For some people, we're sure, the answer will be along the lines of “hold my beer while I set my camera to HDR mode and snap some selfies”. So the good news is that from February, you'll be able to lay out the readies on a 512 GB microSDXC card from Integral Memory.

At a transfer rate of 80 megabytes per second, you'd need more than an hour and a half to transfer a full card's worth of data; last year's 400 GB monster from SanDisk (no longer the world's biggest little memory card) still has the edge there, claiming a 100 MB/second transfer rate.

Integral's 512GB microSDXC V10, UHS-I U1 card is fast enough to meet V10 (Video speed class 10) for capturing full HD video.

Integral has put up a web page and a Spec sheet (pdf) for it.

Now we can set them up as media hubs for all.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Version 7.0 of the SD standard finally raises the storage limit to above 2 TB, which was being rapidly approached by both full size SD cards (1 TB) and microSD cards (512 GB). It also adds an SD Express mode, which can raise speeds up to 985 MB/s, from a previous limit of 624 MB/s:

Soon you will be able to purchase new SD cards with the SD Version 7.0 specification. The new specification supports up to 985MB/s of throughput, which comes courtesy of PCIe and NVMe interfaces, and up to 128TB of capacity. That's quite the jump over the current 2TB limit.

985MB/s of throughput for a simple SD card may seem ludicrous, but higher-resolution video, VR, automotive use-cases, and IoT applications are steadily encroaching upon the performance limits of today's products.

[...] The specification has reserved space for new pins for future use, so it also provides room for forward progress (PDF). The specification also accommodates up to 1.8W of power consumption, which will help boost performance. The NVMe 1.3 protocol also brings several new features to SD cards, like Host Memory Buffer (HMB), which sets aside a small portion of system memory to boost performance, and Multi-Queue support, which improves performance during simultaneous file transfers.

Press release. Also at PetaPixel.

Previously: Western Digital Demos SD Card Using PCIe Gen 3 x1 Interface for 880 MB/s Read Speed

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Huawei's Nano Memory Cards are replacing microSD on its latest phones

Alongside the slate of new phones Huawei announced today was an interesting addition: a new type of expandable storage the company is calling Nano Memory (NM), which replaces the traditional microSD card in the newly announced Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro.

Huawei says that NM cards, which are identical in size and shape to a Nano SIM card, are 45 percent smaller than a microSD card, and come in at least a 256GB storage and 90MB/s transfer speed version that the company showed off onstage.

On the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro, the NM Card goes in one of the slots on the dual-SIM tray, with users having to choose between extra storage or a second SIM card.

The SD 5.0 standard added a 90 MB/s write speed class, intended to allow for 8K and 360° video recording.

The densest microSD cards available store 512 GB, so this 45% smaller 256 GB card could be of a comparable storage density.

Related: Samsung to Offer New Type of Flash Memory Card
Western Digital Demos SD Card Using PCIe Gen 3 x1 Interface for 880 MB/s Read Speed
SD Association Raises Max Capacity to 128 TB, Speed to 985 MB/s Using PCIe and NVMe

Original Submission

takyon writes:

SD Express will allow SD cards to reach read/write speeds of up to 985 MB/s. Now controllers for the standard are starting to appear:

Last year the SD Association published its Secure Digital 7.0 standard that defines SD Express cards. At this year's Computex, Realtek demonstrated one of the industry's first SD Express controllers for appropriate card readers. The RTS5261 chip already exists in silicon, so it is a matter of time before it is used for actual products.

[...] Realtek's RTS5261 supports everything mandated by the SD 7.0 specification and connects to hosts using a PCIe 3.0 interface. The controller can work with SDUC cards featuring capacities of up to 128 TB at sequential read/write speeds of up to 985 MB/s. Actual prototypes of SD Express cards from Western Digital/SanDisk seem to be slightly slower than that, yet still considerably faster when compared to existing SD UHS-II cards.

SD 7.1 extended Express speeds to microSD cards. Phison showed off a controller for capacities up to 512 GB:

Phison's PS5017 controller is compliant with the SD 7.1 specification, so it can be used both for SD Express and microSD Express cards. The chip supports various types of 3D TLC and 3D QLC NAND memory featuring ONFI or Toggle 2.0 interfaces, but total capacity is limited to 512 GB for some reason. Performance wise, the controller promises up to 900 MB/s sequential read speed as well as up to 500 MB/s sequential write speed, which is good enough considering types of memory that it will be used with.

It's only a matter of time before capacities hit 2 TB and above, and higher sustained read/write speeds would be appreciated.

Related: Western Digital Demos SD Card Using PCIe Gen 3 x1 Interface for 880 MB/s Read Speed
SD Association Raises Max Capacity to 128 TB, Speed to 985 MB/s Using PCIe and NVMe
Lexar Beats Others to Market with a 1 TB SD Card
Micron and SanDisk (Western Digital) Announce 1 TB MicroSD Cards (available)

Original Submission