Under its SanDisk brand, Western Digital today introduced a new SanDisk Professional PRO-BLADE Modular SSD Ecosystem, which is aimed at creators who need fast portable storage devices that are capable of holding terabytes of data.
The system includes the PRO-BLADE SSD mag, the PRO-BLADE Portable SSD enclosure, and the PRO-BLADE Desktop SSD enclosure. The PRO-BLADE SSD mag is an NVMe SSD mag that comes in sizes that include 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB, with prices ranging from $180 to $600. The PRO-BLADE SSD mags offer three meter drop protection and 4,000 lbs crush resistance.
SanDisk's Pro-BLADE Transport Portable USB-C SSD enclosure holds one of the PRO-BLADE mags for on-the-go usage. It supports read/write speeds of up to 2000MB/s over USB-C, and it's simple to swap between mags when using the enclosure with a USB-C compatible camera. The SSD enclosure is priced at $70, and there are also bundles that include one of the PRO-BLADE mags priced starting at $240.
For desktop workstations, SanDisk is also introducing the Thunderbolt 3 PRO-BLADE Station Desktop SSD enclosure, which is able to accommodate four PRO-BLADE SSD mags. As it has a 40Gb/s Thunderbolt interface, the PRO-BLADE Station supports faster transfer speeds than the portable SSD enclosure. According to SanDisk, the PRO-BLADE Station and PRO-BLADE SSDs allow for real-time 4K/8K/12K editing and super fast copying.
The PRO-BLADE SSDs and portable SSD enclosure will be available in June 2022, while the desktop enclosure is set to be introduced in the fall.
Western Digital also introduced faster speeds for the SanDisk Extreme Pro memory card lineup, with support for up to 200MB/s. Western Digital says that these are the fastest UHS-I SD and microSD memory cards in the world, with the updated cards set to ship in June, with pricing that starts at $20.
