Western Digital Is Preparing To Release 44TB HAMR Disks in 2026

Western Digital has announced its ambitious plans to release next-generation hard disk drives based on thermomagnetic recording (HAMR) technology. The company plans to introduce a 44-terabyte HDD to the market as early as 2026. This breakthrough will be an important step in the development of storage technology, opening up new opportunities for cloud services and data centers, which require increasingly high-capacity and reliable solutions.

New technologies

At the heart of the new drives is Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) technology, which significantly increases the density of data written to magnetic platters.

HAMR uses short-term heating of the disk surface with a laser just before a bit of information is written. This overcomes the physical limitations of traditional technologies and allows more data to be placed in the same area. Western Digital plans to release two versions of the first HAMR disks: a 36TB capacity using conventional magnetic recording (CMR) and a 44TB capacity with UltraSMR enhanced “shingled” magnetic recording.

The new technologies will include not only HAMR, but also OptiNAND, a technology that provides more platters and mechanical improvements. These two technologies could create hard disks with several times the capacity of current versions.

Affordability and prospects

The first samples of Western Digital's HAMR disks will be available as early as late 2026. The company expects that by that time cloud data center vendors will have conducted the necessary testing and approved the new drives. Mass production and shipments are scheduled for the first half of 2027.