Miniature SSD from China packs terabytes onto your fingertip and outperforms most MicroSD and SD cards in speed.
New Mini SSD Offers High-Speed Storage for Mobile Devices
Two new Chinese gaming portables, the GPD Win 5 and OneNetbook's OneXPlayer Super X, have incorporated a revolutionary new storage solution: the Mini SSD. This compact storage device, developed by Chinese storage company Biwin, is designed for laptops, tablets, phones, and cameras, offering capacities of 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB.
The Mini SSD is smaller than a US penny, making it an ideal solution for users seeking a practical portable storage option. It features a dedicated slot that functions like a smartphone SIM tray, allowing for easy removal with a pin. This design choice sets it apart from traditional M.2 screw mounts, making it more convenient for devices such as phones, cameras, tablets, and mini-PCs.
The Mini SSD delivers very high performance for its size, with sequential read speeds of up to 3,700 MB/s and write speeds of up to 3,400 MB/s using a PCIe 4.0 x2 interface. This speed outperforms standard MicroSD Express cards compatible with devices like the Nintendo Switch 2 (985MB/s).
However, M.2 drives still outperform the Mini SSD in raw speed, with 2230 variants approaching 8,000MB/s and 2280 models reaching up to 14,000MB/s. Full-size SD Express cards can reach 3,940MB/s, nearly matching the Mini SSD but at almost twice the physical size.
Despite its impressive speed, the Mini SSD's very small size makes it susceptible to being easily misplaced. Users are advised to handle it with care. The Mini SSD also boasts IP68 water and dust resistance, and can survive drops from up to 3 meters.
While pricing and other commercial product listings have not been revealed for the GPD Win 5, OneNetbook's OneXPlayer Super X, or Biwin's Mini SSD, they have all been announced. Biwin claims sequential read speeds of 3,700MB/s with writes of 3,400MB/s over a PCIe 4x2 connection.
The Mini SSD is not a universal standard, leaving questions about broader adoption. However, it is poised to target devices that benefit from rugged, compact, and high-speed storage, such as laptops, tablets, smartphones, cameras, and handheld gaming devices. It has already been announced with intentions to appear in certain cutting-edge gaming devices, suggesting initial adoption is underway in select markets enforcing high-performance small storage solutions.
In summary, Biwin's Mini SSD is an innovative storage solution blending the speed of NVMe SSDs with the size and ruggedness suitable for mobile and compact devices, positioning itself as a compelling alternative to slower microSD cards and less swappable M.2 SSDs.
