Western Digital blows hard disk drive future wide open

Western Digital unveiled significant advancements in hard disk drive technology at its Innovation Day 2026 event, including a roadmap to 100 TB drives, new performance-boosting technologies, and a software abstraction layer for hyperscalers. The company is also introducing a 40 TB UltraSMR drive and developing HAMR technology to increase capacity. Additionally, WD is enhancing bandwidth with High Bandwidth Drive technology and dual-pivot engineering, aiming to match SSD bandwidth while maintaining cost efficiency.