– SanDisk will launch new SDUC cards up to 8 TB, including Ultra and Extreme Pro series.
– These cards require new, dedicated SD card readers, as existing ones are incompatible.
– Card readers supporting all three standards (UHS-II, SDUC, SD Express) are expected this year.
– Pricing and specific release dates remain unannounced, but the cards are confirmed to be coming soon.
New SanDisk SD Cards Coming With Up to 8TB
Unlike its spun-off corporate counterpart Western Digital, SanDisk wasn’t at Computex exactly, but they was still their in a sense with a new product. This is because at the SD Association booth, a poster showed new SD and microSD cards with 4 to 8 TB, which are set to hit the market shortly, as several companies at the booth confirmed to us on-site. The capacity’s are huge compared to what we have now.
Previous Announcements and New Plans
This isn’t the first time they announced it. SanDisk already announced a SDUC card back in 2024, which however never actually launched. It was originally planned for 2025 but acording to current information, the 8 TB barrier will now be broken right out of the gate instead. SanDisk is accordingly planning SDUC cards both in its Ultra series and its high-speed Extreme series, so you have options depending on you’re speed needs.
Series Details and Capacities
The Ultra series is set to be available as both a microSDUC and a regular SDUC card. The latter is going to max out at 8 TB for the biggest size. The microSDUC card will presumably hit the market with 4 TB which is still a ton of space. The Extreme Pro series, on the other hand, is announced with a SDUC card in the 4 TB tier. Compared to the initial announcement, nothing has changed with this card, though a detailed spec sheet is still missing for it.
Reader Compatibility Issues
SDUC cards strictly require new SD card readers to work properly. As things stand, even brand-new SD Express card readers can not handle SDUC cards at all. This also applies to SanDisk’s Pro Reader, which is currently sold out anyway, and that is likely an indicator of new card readers coming soon. However, that was already known beforehand because the SD standard split in a sense in the past timeline.
UHS-II, SDUC, and SD Express were mutually exclusive in the past, but it is expected that this year, for the first time, there will be card readers that support all three standards together in one single device. Corresponding solutions were on display at Computex. Incidentally, SanDisk reacted only late to several inquiries regarding the new cards, as well as the missing SD Express reader, saying “At the current time, we cannot make a statement on this,” was there general response.
Pricing and Release Status
Thus, there is no information on pricing or specific availability at this moment. Nevertheless, the release of the cards can be considered a done deal, because several employees from different companies at the SD Association booth confirmed to us that the cards will be coming soon. We just have to wait for more news from SanDisk and other manufacturers.