Western Digital shows off world’s first 8 TB 20 Gbps portable SSD at CES 2020

(Image credit: Future)

Western Digital brought a ton of goodies to Vegas this year, including an incredibly fast portable SSD. This pocket-sized SanDisk prototype delivers 20 Gbps transfer speeds and 8 TB of storage. This is pretty intense considering some of the best portable SSDs out there are just breaking 500 Mbps. The prototype’s speed is made possible through a USB SuperSpeed interface, better known as USB 3.2. No word on when (or if) we’ll see this particular unit go up for sale, but an interesting look at what’s possible. 

Western Digital didn’t stop there. They also showed off the world’s first 1 TB thumb drive. It has both USB Type-A and Type-C plugs, so you can easily bounce files between your tablet, phone, and PC. With that much storage, you should be able to handle big video files with ease. Expect to see this one on store shelves later this quarter. 

The WD_Black lineup of hard drives also got the SuperSpeed USB treatment. The P50 Game Drive SSD also delivers 20 Gbps transfer speeds. Licensed Xbox WD_Black hard drives now offer upwards of 12 TB of storage, in addition including two months of Game Pass Ultimate. With that much room, you’d never have to worry about running out of space again. 

(Image credit: Future)

Finally, WD was showing off ibi, a friendly drive for managing your photos. It collects photos from the cloud, lets you organize them via your phone, securely share them to friends and family, and stream your content to smart TVs in the home. 

Overall, it was clearly a busy CES for WD. There’s a lot to look forward to from them in 2020!