Storage giant Seagate reported profits for the last quarter, but the situation is far from ideal as overall revenue fell by almost 40% year-on-year, with a net loss of $33 million.
Despite this, the company has big plans for it hard drives, which are set to receive a massive capacity boost next year – which she hopes will make enough of a difference to help her report a profit next year.
At some point in the first half of 2023, Seagate hopes to release 22TB CMR and 24TB SMR versions of its flagship hard drive, but that’s just the beginning. The momentum will continue as the company wants to deliver even larger hard drives.
Seagate drive sizes
Seagate has already tested heat-assisted HDDs (HAMRs) with select customers and hopes to bring the second generation of these drives to market later this year.
The company’s CEO Dave Mosley explained in a conference call that a 30 TB version using this latest technology should be launched in the quarter beginning June 2023, which is slightly ahead of schedule.
Initially, HAMR hard drives will likely be the back-up of high-end hard drives, but the technology will inevitably shift to more affordable options over time.
In addition, Seagate claims that it has managed to build a 3.5-inch drive with a capacity of 5 TB, where the limits can be pushed even higher. For example, a 10-bay hard drive would be able to hold 50 TB of data – a goal the company has set itself to achieve in 2026, according to the Roadmap.
While many individuals and businesses may not be prepared to invest in such high-end (and possibly expensive) storage drives, the more welcome news may be technological advancements and potential cost reductions that result.