Western Digital pushes the boundaries of HDD technology with record-breaking 32TB Ultrastar drive

Western Digital just rolled out its latest high-capacity HDD offering: the Ultrastar DC HC690, a 32TB hard drive that now holds the record for the biggest capacity using shingled magnetic recording (SMR) tech. This new model bumps up storage from the company’s previous 28TB version, pushing the limits of how much data you can squeeze into one drive.

The HC690 uses Western Digital’s energy-assisted perpendicular magnetic recording (ePMR) tech, something they’ve been rolling with since 2020 to boost storage capacity. On top of that, they’ve added in their newer UltraSMR tech, which makes it possible to fit 11 disks inside—one of the key reasons for the extra space.

But there’s a slight trade-off with performance. Here’s how the numbers look:

• HC690: 257 MB/s
• Previous 28TB model: 265 MB/s

That’s about a three percent drop in speed, which might slightly slow things down during heavy-duty reading or writing tasks.

Western Digital also launched the 26TB Ultrastar DC HC590, built with conventional magnetic recording (CMR). It replaces the older 24TB HC580, but this one also takes a small hit in performance:

• HC590: 288 MB/s
• Previous 24TB model: 298 MB/s

Western Digital also offer a WD Gold version of the 26TB drive for those looking for a more enterprise-focused option.

Western Digital is still the leader in storage capacity, but other companies are catching up fast. Toshiba has already hit 32TB with heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) and 31TB using microwave-assisted recording (MAMR). Meanwhile, Seagate is experimenting with multi-level HAMR, aiming for a massive 120TB (or more) hard drive by 2030.