Seagate's Latest Hard Drive Release

Seagate is preparing to unveil its largest hard drive yet, boasting a 32 TB capacity thanks to the innovative Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) technology. This achievement comes after nearly fifteen years of eager anticipation. Seagate initially experimented with HAMR technology back in 2007. Despite the company's repeated assurances that HAMR-based drives would hit the market within a few years, these projections were continuously delayed until now.

New Exos drives, built on the Mozaic 3+ platform, have been accessible in limited quantities for specific customers. With mass production now underway, Seagate has quietly introduced the product page for its Exos M HDDs. The lineup includes a 32 TB model utilizing Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) technology and a 30 TB model employing Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR). Seagate highlights that its Exos M hard drive boasts a 3 TB per platter density. A key advancement is the compatibility of Exos M drives with existing systems, a crucial factor for widespread adoption. Previous versions of the Mozaic 3+ HDDs would necessitate new hardware, posing a significant barrier to upgrades. Specific details differentiating the Exos M from the original Mozaic 3+ drives remain somewhat unclear, as the product page offers limited technical information.

This release signifies a momentous occasion for Seagate, as they finally bring to market technology that has been in development for years. In October, competitor Western Digital introduced a 32 TB hard drive utilizing energy-assisted perpendicular magnetic recording (ePMR), while Toshiba showcased high-capacity hard drives incorporating HAMR and microwave-assisted magnetic recording (MAMR) technology.