Your next SD card could have 128 TB of space

The SD Association behind SD card standards says its latest update is paving the way for a new generation of SD cards with a whopping 128 terabytes of space. — dpa

The SD Association, the organisation that sets the standards for memory cards, is now previewing its latest development at the Mobile World Congress Asia in Shanghai: the SD Express, a format that could lead to a world of new opportunities for memory cards – and it may be just around the corner.

SD Express will enhance transfer speeds up to 985 megabytes per second through the PCIe interface and, significantly, the format will be able to increase storage capacity up to a whopping 128 terabytes.

Previously, the maximum storage capacity available in memory cards was 2 TB with the SDXC, released back in 2010, although this size of card is still rare to find.

The new 128 TB memory cards will be called SD Ultra Capacity (SDUC), but there is no word yet when they could become available.

Consumers still pay upwards of US$100 (RM404) for 256 GB SD cards, so we can expect 128 TB cards to cost a pretty penny whenever they do arrive.

Regardless, this announcement is a big deal and means that soon, memory cards will be able to be used for devices and applications that move large amounts of data at high speeds, for example for mobile phones, gaming systems or cameras.

The Mobile World Congress in Shanghai is the biggest mobile event in Asia and takes place until June 29. — dpa