Storage

The OnePlus 12 will launch with the best display in the Android smartphone market on its launch - according to its maker, at least. Now, a new leak purports to confirm how big that potentially class-leading screen is going to be. The same tip may also hint at how much battery life, RAM and internal storage the smartphone can offer.

Huawei's most distinctive camera hump is now longer exclusive to the high-end P60 series, according to a new leak. It has reportedly trickled down to a new generation of the Enjoy series, slated for an imminent launch as the latest HarmonyOS smartphones soon. The 70 might be able to hang on to a 50MP main camera and generous storage options, although its SoC is said to be much more low-rent.

AGM Mobile claims to solve one of the rugged Android smartphone industry's most pressing problems by making its new H6 up to 27.27% lighter and up to 35.78% slimmer than the average IP68/IP69K/MIL-STD-810H-rated mobile device. Its display is also backed to feel just as weightless with a 90Hz refresh rate, while its main rear camera has an on-trend 50MP resolution.

The VP4000 Mini from Patriot is a new and particularly compact SSD. Despite its small dimensions, it should also impress with its high speed and should be particularly suitable for use in gaming handhelds, for example. Cooling is improved by an ultra-thin heatspreader.

The Galaxy A05 sticks with a dual rear camera hump in 2023 - nevertheless, it still packs a 50MP main shooter, and also manages to retain expandable storage for all its high-res snaps on top of that. Then again, Samsung's new ultra-budget smartphone packs an unprepossessing display and SoC combination.

RedMagic has formally introduced its industry-first flat-screen back" flagship smartphones. The new design joins other signature rarities such as integrated RGB fans, high-speed shoulder keys and class-leading screen-to-body ratios thanks to fifth-gen under-display camera (UDC) tech. The new Android smartphones have up to 24GB of RAM to go with their Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoCs for just under US$1,000.

As part of the ongoing Black Friday shopping event, Amazon is currently granting a big 20 percent discount on the 4TB model of the SanDisk Ultra 3D, which is a good choice for shoppers who are in the market for a spacious 2.5-inch SATA SSD.

RedMagic very nearly got to its next major product event without the main event leaking onto AnTuTu Benchmark. However, a device with a model number linked to one of the upcoming 9 Pro series has made it onto that database after all, achieving a top-ranking score in the process. That might have been due to its top-end specs, the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor included.

The prospect of the Samsung Galaxy A25's launch has attracted attention as the event is thought to unveil a new 5G smartphone with decent specs at a relatively low price. Now, a leaks blog purports to reveal exactly how cheap it is going to be, and how much RAM/storage the potential buyer might expect to get for their money.

Realme hypes its next top-end Android smartphone as a flagship among flagships thanks to its new Qualcomm platform and Miracle Cooling system. However, it seems to have failed its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 hype on its maiden run on a popular mobile device benchmark. Then again, subsequent testing might paint a better picture for the upcoming GT5 Pro.

The very fast PCIe 4.0 SSD from Western Digital has dropped to one of its lowest prices in months thanks to an attractive Black Friday sale on Amazon. Most notably, the spacious 4TB version of the WD Black SN850X is worth a look for storage-hungry tech enthusiasts.

TrendForce's research on the third-party SSD space has found that Kingston was its #1 brand in 2022. The company had weathered the supply storm of 2021 to remain a market leader. It attributes its success to the ability to offer both cost-effective and high-end drives for both gaming and non-gaming use-cases, and to the continuing demand for PCIe 4.0 NVMe.

Samsung's flagship T9 portable SSDs come with a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20Gbps) interface, allowing them to reach sequential read and write speeds up to 2,000 MB/s. The highest-capacity 4 TB variant can currently be had for just US$249.99, thanks to a recent price drop on Amazon US.

Corsair has launched its latest Gen 5 SSD, the Corsair MP700 PRO. Aside from bringing super-fast read and write speeds, the M.2 SSD offers a versatile cooling option. And it integrates seamlessly in systems with or without custom loops.

Unveiled earlier this year and currently the fastest solution available for smartphones and tablets, the LPDDR5T memory from SK hynix is now shipping to corporate customers. Such a client is Vivo, a brand that announced two MediaTek Dimensity 9300-powered handsets that use the new memory, namely X100 and X100 Pro.

Primarily aimed at the HPC sector, the new CopperLink internal and external cables for PCIe 5.0 / 6.0 devices are expected to launch sometime next year. PCI-SIG has not yet finished the specs, but the bandwidth provided by such cables is supposed to be similar to what Thunderbolt 5 offers.

The T5 Evo is Samsung's latest portable SSD and one that should be more robust than many of the company's other models. The T5 Evo is available in three storage capacities up to 8 TB, all for relatively attractive prices.

Samsung's latest product for the South Korean market is pitched as a business device - however, a closer look reveals that it is not just any work smartphone, but one with some of the same specs as the Galaxy S21. This ex-flagship reincarnation is also thought to join the Galaxy M series should it be released to the global market soon.

The latest and most spacious model variant of the popular 990 Pro has now hit its lowest price on Amazon as the e-commerce giant shaves 19 percent off the list price of Samsung's high-end SSD with sequential transfer speeds of up to 7,450 MB/s.

Years after the Samsung SSD T5 was replaced by the faster T7 and T9, Samsung is reviving the slower model and combining it with a more robust case, through which the external USB-C SSD is intended to achieve an interesting price-performance ratio.

Adata has presented its first external SSD in the SE920 that connects via USB 4.0, which theoretically allows for a bandwidth of 40 Gbit/s. In practice, the memory is said to be almost twice as fast as the new Samsung T9.

Released in mid-May 2023 and fully compatible with the Sony PlayStation 5 console, the 2 TB Samsung 990 PRO Heatsink edition PCIe 4.0 SSD is roughly 50% faster than the 980 PRO while being 50% more efficient. Although not highlighted as such, its current price of US$138.99 is the lowest recorded on Amazon so far.

Lenovo has been rumored to have a new Tab M-series slate in the works. Now, a device matching its description has popped up on the FCC database, thereby suggesting that a launch date for the same is soon to follow. The Tab M11 is believed to be an exceptionally cost-effective take on the OEM's latest tablet design.

Optimized for intense gaming sessions, the WD Black SN850 is a PCIe Gen4 M.2 SSD coming with a 5-year limited warranty. This SSD is fully compatible with PlayStation 5 consoles. The 2 TB version is now down to its lowest price in 30 days on Amazon, going for US$199.99 instead of US$259, but Western Digital offers it for just US$149.99.

Compatible with PCs and Macs, as well as PlayStation and Xbox consoles, the WD Black P10 Game Drive USB 3.2 external hard drive uses a portable form factor and features a resilient design. The 5 TB model is now down to an all-time low of US$87.11 on Amazon, and certainly a better deal when compared to its 2 TB and 4 TB siblings.

This design offers an additional easy to access M.2 slot for fast NVMe storage for motherboards with limited M.2 connectivity. The SSD attaches on the back of the video card and it is directly cooled by the rear GPU sink. Since the GPU only uses 8 out of 16 PCIe lanes, the SSD can access 4 of the unused lanes.

The Samsung Galaxy A15 has been said to launch as one of 2024's most affordable new smartphones. Now, it is projected to land as a more up-to-date, yet more compact, handset compared to its predecessor, although its battery capacity might remain the same. It is also thought to land alongside a slightly more premium 5G-capable variant on its debut.

The X100 is thought to launch as the vanilla variant of Vivo's next-gen Android smartphone flagship series. Nevertheless, it is also now backed to debut with a groundbreaking feature: Low Power Double Data Rate 5 Turbo (or LPDDR5T) RAM, touted to be up to 13% faster than its top-end LPDDR5X counterpart. The world-first upgrade is tipped to reach a new performance peak when combined with the new Dimensity 9300 flagship SoC from MediaTek.

Oukitel asserts that its new WP30 Pro can charge by up to 50% in just 15 minutes over USB type-C, despite the 11,000mAh capacity of its battery. That is because it is the first of its line to boast flagship-grade 120 watt (W) charging specs. The new rugged device also supports Android 13, 5G and a 120Hz refresh rate for its FHD+ display.

ORICO is currently offering a fast, external enclosure for SSDs at a greatly reduced price. The model also comes with active cooling and thus should be able to protect the installed flash memory from damage.

Lenovo has made the Xiaoxin Pad 2024 official as its latest Android tablet. The slate is touted as a thin and light device with a "high-definition eye-protecting" screen, yet is also touted at the budget end of the market with a starting price of US$150 - or even less during its introductory sales event. It has launched alongside other gadgets such as a "stress-relieving" USB stick as part of the latest Xiaoxin series event in China.

PCIe 4.0 is finally coming to microSD Express cards, doubling the maximum speed to 1,969 MB/s. The latest SD 9.1 specs are also defining four SD Express classes with minimum read/write speeds between 150 and 600 MB/s, as well as offering improved power and heat management for all types of cards.

The Redmi Note 13 series of potentially affordable new Android smartphones seems poised to go global very soon, with two of its members successfully completing FCC testing. They are the top-end Pro Plus (or Pro+) model, accompanied by what is probably the international version of the vanilla 13. Both have exhibited MIUI 14, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth and NFC in their new certifications.

Threadripper for the desktop is officially back today (October 19, 2023) with the launch of the new 7000X-series processors. They are rated for a selection of the main I/O support upgrades of their PRO counterparts, not to mention their improved TDP. AMD backs them to beat comparator Intel platforms in use-cases ranging from software development to industrial design on high-end PCs.

The Galaxy A05s is one of the newest and also cheapest Android smartphones from Samsung around. Now, it is reportedly on the way to India with a launch event scheduled for later in October 2023. Its RAM options for this country have leaked out in advance, however, which explains the attractive feature mentioned in its first official poster for its new market.

The 4TB version of the popular WD Black SN850X has received another substantial discount that results in Amazon's most affordable price yet for the spacious and super-quick M.2 SSD, which is not just compatible with most modern PCs but can also be used to expand the storage of Sony's PlayStation 5.

The Play 50 Plus is Honor's latest affordable-class Android smartphone, yet debuts with the OEM's latest design-language tweaks. It aims for a slim and sleek flat-edge look, yet packs a larger-than-average 6,000mAh battery. It goes well with a sizeable display, although it takes a spec hit to help it start at less than US$200.

The Samsung Portable SSD T9 series is now on sale, with 1TB, 2TB and 4TB options. The device has a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 interface and offers read/write speeds of up to 2,000MB/s. Other features include Dynamic Thermal Guard and management via the new Samsung Magician Software 8.0.

Acer Chromebooks have gone Plus for the first time with the series' latest 514 and 515 variants. The former has a 14-inch WUXGA display driven by a Ryzen 5 7000-series platform, whereas the latter has either 12th- or 13th-gen Intel processors for the potential to 2x the average Chrome OS productivity experience. The OEM asserts that they will deliver a workload capacity enhanced with "AI-powered Google and Adobe features".

Introduced as the first PCIe 5.0 SSD with this capacity and also the first to promise speeds of over 10,000 MB/s, the 4 TB Crucial T700 is now down to US$466.90 from US$599.99. This 22% discount brings this extreme SSD to the lowest price in 30 days on Amazon. The version with a heatsink is now US$499.99 instead of US$629.99.

Ulefone touts its Armor 24 as a rugged smartphone that doubles as its own emergency lighting system thanks to its large rear-mounted LED rated for up to 1,000 lumens of brightness. It also serves to eclipse the smartphone's very well-worn 4G/LTE-only SoC - then again, the platform drives a more or less up-to-date display and runs an Android 13-based OS.

Kioxia has announced that its latest product for smart home and mobile devices upgrades to the latest 5.1 standard for the eMMC storage of its category. The new BiCS-series memory is rated to achieve up to 2.7 times the performance of its predecessor, and is touted to be more user-friendly and to integrate better with other components.

The Galaxy A05s is thought to launch as one of Samsung's cheapest new smartphones of 2024. Now, according to a new tip, potential customers might have an idea of what to expect for their money already. That specs list now includes a well-worn 4G/LTE-only Qualcomm processor, a screen of decent resolution and an amount of RAM that could be described as moderate at best.

The 2.5-inch SATA SSD may feature cost-effective QLC NAND, but for desktop PC users who are looking for a reasonably priced flash storage solution, the 4TB version of Samsung 870 QVO is still worth consideration at a price of 5.1 cents per gigabyte.

Ready for use on PlayStation 5 consoles, the Lexar Professional NM800 PRO NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD can hit sequential read/write speeds of 7,500/6,500 MB/s. Available earlier this year for US$279.99, the 2 TB variant of this high-end SSD is now down by 51% on Amazon, so it currently goes for US$122.99.

Huawei's Mate 60 Pro is a new flagship smartphone with a display reinforced by in-house, second-gen Kunlun Glass. It was found to help the device survive a new online torture test which involved being run over by a car, among other things. Accordingly, the 60 Pro was declared to leave the Corning Gorilla Glass found on rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in the dust in terms of durability.

Compatible with PCs, Macs, as well as PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox consoles, the Lexar SL660 Blaze portable SSD targets gamers with RGB LED lighting and sequential read/write speeds up to 2,000/1,900 MB/s. Now 31% down from its list price of US$129.99, the 1 TB SL660 Blaze can be acquired for US$89.99.

The PCIe 5.0 laptop SSD solutions are expected to integrate Silicon Motion's low-power SM2508 controller that does not require active cooling and can reach 14 GB/s speeds with only 3.5 W TDP.

The handheld console storage solutions come in the M.2 2230 form factor and offer capacities between 500 GB and 2 TB. The 1 TB variant is the fastest with 5,150 MB/s sequential reads and 4,900 MB/s sequential writes, but the 2 TB offers the best endurance with a 1200 TBW rating.

With an all-time high price tag of US$699.99 in early August 2022, the WD Black SN850X PCIe SSD with 4 TB of storage space dropped to US$269.99 on Amazon in late July, this year. Now, it goes for US$299.99, which is roughly 30% less than the US$440 average (according to Camelcamelcamel, based on the last 32 price changes).