The Register reports that a federal judge has rejected Western Digital's attempt to delay payment of a $553 million patent infringement penalty, giving the storage giant just seven days to secure a bond or pay up. The ruling, issued February 11, comes as Western Digital faces mounting pressure over intellectual property disputes. To be more specific it's about SPEX Technologies' Patent No. 6,088,802, which protects security features in peripheral devices. In October 2023, a California jury ruled that several WD products, including Ultrastar and My Book drives infringed on this 1997 patent. Judge James Selna later expanded the initial $316 million verdict to include $237 million in interest charges.

Western Digital's upcoming corporate restructuring complicates the situation. The company plans to split into two separate entities by February 21—one to focus on NAND flash memory under the SanDisk brand and another to maintain the traditional hard drive business. This pending division has raised questions about how to enforce the damages, with Judge Selna mentioning his "concerns about potential corporate restructuring" because the judgment targets Western Digital Technologies Inc. SPEX has voiced concerns about the company split pointing out in legal papers their lack of insight into which new entity would pay the penalty or if either would have enough money to cover the owed amount.

During its first post-Western Digital spinoff investor day, SanDisk showed something it has been working on to tackle the AI sector. High-bandwidth flash (HBF) is a new memory architecture that combines 3D NAND flash storage with bandwidth capabilities comparable to high-bandwidth memory (HBM). The HBF design stacks 16 3D NAND BiCS8 dies using through-silicon vias, with a logic layer enabling parallel access to memory sub-arrays. This configuration achieves 8 to 16 times greater capacity per stack than current HBM implementations. A system using eight HBF stacks can provide 4 TB of VRAM to store large AI models like GPT-4 directly on GPU hardware. The architecture breaks from conventional NAND design by implementing independently accessible memory sub-arrays, moving beyond traditional multi-plane approaches. While HBF surpasses HBM's capacity specifications, it maintains higher latency than DRAM, limiting its application to specific workloads.

SanDisk has not disclosed its solution for NAND's inherent write endurance limitations, though using pSLC NAND makes it possible to balance durability and cost. The bandwidth of HBF is also unknown, as the company hasn't put out details yet. SanDisk Memory Technology Chief Alper Ilkbahar confirmed the technology targets read-intensive AI inference tasks rather than latency-sensitive applications. The company is developing HBF as an open standard, incorporating mechanical and electrical interfaces similar to HBM to simplify integration. Some challenges remain, including NAND's block-level addressing limitations and writing endurance constraints. While these factors make HBF unsuitable for gaming applications, the technology's high capacity and throughput characteristics align with AI model storage and inference requirements. SanDisk has announced plans for three generations of HBF development, indicating a long-term commitment to the technology.

TrendForce's latest research report highlights that the NAND Flash industry will continue to face dual pressure from weak demand and oversupply in 2025. In response, manufacturers including Micron, Kioxia/SanDisk, Samsung, and SK hynix/Solidigm have similar plans to cut production—a move that could accelerate industry consolidation in the long term.

TrendForce reports that NAND Flash manufacturers are primarily implementing production cuts by lowering utilization rates and delaying process upgrades. These actions are driven by three major factors:

Western Digital is kicking off the Consumer Electronics Show 2025 (CES 2025) with new SanDisk storage solutions uniquely designed for creators and gaming enthusiasts at home, in the studio and everywhere in between. Whether focusing on producing high-quality content that inspires others or saving content on storage products inspired by the fan-favorite Fortnite Peely character, the latest releases keep speed, capacity, durability and portability top of mind for those who need it most.

A Product Portfolio Dedicated to Elevating and Empowering Content Creators
Developed for creators who are looking to elevate and deliver content that speaks to the world, the SanDisk Creator Series is designed for each step in the creative process, from idea to impact. The series features a tailored, professional-grade collection of products infused with vibrant colors that celebrate creativity and individuality, including the all-new SanDisk Creator Phone SSD with MagSafe compatibility. The SanDisk Creator Series is curated to keep up with the intensity of a demanding workflow and to ignite creative potential:

Sandisk Corporation today previewed its new corporate branding and creative direction, signaling a bold debut of the company's comeback launch as a standalone Flash and memory technology innovator, planned for early 2025.

Defined by a 'Mindset of Motion', Sandisk's new creative direction represents a future forward philosophy where by creating paths and possibilities for people to go without limits, the company unites the current moment and their aspirations. This mindset brings people closer to their ambitions and creates a circle of collaboration for progress and future growth.

TrendForce's latest investigations found that the enterprise SSD market experienced significant growth in 3Q24, driven by robust demand from AI-related applications. Prices surged as suppliers struggled to keep pace with market needs, pushing overall industry revenue up by an impressive 28.6% QoQ. Demand for high-capacity models was especially strong, fueled by the arrival of NVIDIA's H-series products and sustained orders for AI training servers. As a result, the total procurement volume for enterprise SSDs rose 15% compared to the previous quarter.

Looking ahead to 4Q24, TrendForce forecasts a slowdown in enterprise SSD revenue as procurement demand begins to cool. Total procurement volume is expected to dip, with the peak buying period behind and server OEM orders being slightly revised downward. As shipment volume declines, overall industry revenue is also projected to decrease in the fourth quarter.

Western Digital announced it has released several new Flash storage solutions to help pros and consumers get ready for the holidays. Whether looking for the perfect gift, or planning a new venture in the New Year, the innovative products from its award-winning SanDisk and WD_BLACK brands reach new levels of speed, reliability, and capacity, serving a diverse set of digital storage needs.

High Performance, Super Capacity Portable SSDs
The expanded SanDisk portfolio of portable SSDs includes two offerings that feature next-generation SSD speeds and help defy the limits of durability. The new drives are perfect for pros or creators and anyone else who needs to store large amounts of data on the go in the toughest of climates.

Western Digital Corp. today announced that its PCIe Gen 5 DC SN861 E.1S enterprise-class NVMe SSDs have been certified to support the NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 rack-scale system.

The rapid rise of AI, ML, and large language models (LLMs) is creating a challenge for companies with two opposing forces. Data generation and consumption are accelerating, while organizations face pressure to quickly derive value from this data. Performance, scalability, and efficiency are essential for AI technology stacks as storage demands rise. Certified to be compatible with the GB200 NVL72 system, Western Digital's enterprise SSD addresses the growing needs of the AI market for high-speed accelerated computing combined with low latency to serve compute-intensive AI environments.

Western Digital made a significant change to the way it sells its products, which sees the SanDisk brand return to prominence. The company spun out SanDisk.com as a separate website, with product information, support, and in select regions, online retail, of all its NAND flash-based products, including SSDs, memory cards, USB flash drives, etc. Meanwhile, its main website, WesternDigital.com, now only lists out non-flash products, such as hard disk drives (HDDs), NAS, and other enterprise hardware such as rackmount DAS or NAS.

The decision splits WD's portfolio vertically, regardless of market. SanDisk now includes both client- and enterprise flash-based products, while Western Digital covers both enterprise, SMB, and client HDDs, including HDDs with gamer centric WD_Black branding. Meanwhile, the SanDisk website includes all of Western Digital's flash-based products, including SSDs and portable SSDs that retain the Western Digital brand. So, the easiest way to understand this split would be: if it has disks that spin, find them on WesternDigital.com, and if it's solid-state, find it on SanDisk.com.

Western Digital announced it has expanded its portfolio of Nintendo-licensed SanDisk microSD cards with the launch of new cards inspired by Pokémon, one of the world's most successful entertainment franchises. In partnership with The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo, Western Digital is introducing the SanDisk Pokémon Snorlax microSD Card (1 TB), the SanDisk Pokémon Gengar microSD Card (512 GB) and the SanDisk Pokémon Pikachu microSD Card (256 GB).

Built for the popular Nintendo Switch Systems, the SanDisk Pokémon microSD cards allow users to add games to their libraries instead of doing the extra work of downloading, deleting and re-downloading games to make more space. The unique design of the SanDisk Pokémon card series captures the likeness of iconic Pokémon first discovered in the Kanto region of the Pokémon world, making these cards a must have for fans across the globe.

With the explosion of digital content, people need bigger and more robust solutions to help access and preserve it all. Western Digital today is introducing a portable HDD expansion across its WD, WD_BLACK and SanDisk Professional product lineups, boasting the world's highest storage capacity in a 2.5" portable HDD. The WD My Passport portable HDD line, WD_BLACK P10 Game Drive and SanDisk Professional G-DRIVE ArmorATD will all now be available in 6 TB capacities.

"Expanding our portfolio with the world's first 2.5" 6 TB portable hard drive is an incredible technological achievement, and it enables us to continue pushing the boundaries of what's possible," said Nitin Kachhwaha, Director of Product Management at Western Digital. "Offering up to 6 TB in such a small form factor and accessible price point gives everyone - from students, gamers, professional videographers, and more—greater flexibility to create and keep even more of their essential content in one portable drive."

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) has expanded its SanDisk portfolio with the new 8 TB SanDisk Desk Drive, its highest capacity yet on an external desktop solid state drive (SSD). Featuring the speed and reliability of an SSD, this new class of drives gives content creators and business professionals an easy way to back up and access their high-resolution photos, videos and files quickly in a single, convenient location. From photo and video pros to tech enthusiasts, there are a growing number of digital creators generating massive amounts of content who need flexible high-capacity storage solutions to do more, faster.

"As digital content creation continues to soar, there is an increasing need for high-performing and high-capacity storage solutions to help manage and preserve it. Expanding our SSD portfolio is the first step in offering creators backup solutions that deliver the speed and flexibility they need to unlock their creativity," says Susan Park, Vice President, Consumer Solutions, Western Digital. "By next year, we expect to double the capacity of the SanDisk Desk Drive from 8 TB to 16 TB on a single desktop SSD."

Western Digital Corp. ("Western Digital" or "the Company") today provided an update on its previously announced plan to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies. On track for the second half of calendar year 2024, significant progress towards the completion of the separation is underway with key transactional projects including global legal entity establishment, customer and supplier contract transfers, final stage preparation for government filings, and initial executive leadership appointments for both HDD and Flash companies post-separation.

Announced on October 30, 2023, Western Digital plans to separate its HDD and Flash businesses, creating two independent, public companies with market-specific, strategic focus. The company's separation will better position each franchise to execute innovative technology and product development, capitalize on unique growth opportunities, extend respective market leadership positions, and operate more efficiently with distinct capital structures.

Western Digital today announces a lineup of new solutions from its award-winning SanDisk brand that are designed to satisfy consumers' needs for more storage both at home and on the go. In a world of pixelated memories and digitalized experiences, the need for more space remains constant. Whether documenting a child's first steps, conducting wildlife research, or backing up a carefully curated music library, these new solutions from SanDisk are built for capturing and preserving life's journeys.

"We understand that peoples' storage needs continuously evolve, from personal photos, videos and files to professional content, which is what pushes us to redefine the limits of what's possible," says Susan Park, Vice President, Consumer Solutions, Western Digital. "Our goal is to continue creating easy-to-use, trusted solutions that people rely on today and tomorrow, and we hope the solutions we are launching today inspire people to keep creating."

Western Digital today introduces new solutions from its SanDisk brand and SanDisk Professional line ahead of IBC2023, further enriching its ecosystem of digital content storage solutions for the broadcasting, media and entertainment industry. These pro-grade products, which include two new desktop hard drive solutions and a memory card, offer the quality and dependability required for production-level video workflows without compromising the premium design.

"It is exciting to see Western Digital continue to expand its Thunderbolt offerings, which provide the higher-end capabilities and reliability that the media and entertainment industry needs," said Jason Ziller, General Manager, Client Connectivity Division, Intel Corporation. "By utilizing the power of our Thunderbolt technology, enterprise-class hard drives and multi-device connectivity solutions support prosumers and creative professionals, and their increasingly complex demands and innovative use cases."

Over the past few months there have been reports of issues with SanDisk portable SSDs and Western Digital released a firmware update in May that was meant to prevent the drives from "unexpectedly disconnect from a computer". However, it appears that this firmware update didn't solve the problem and Western Digital is now being taken to court over drives not just having disconnect issues, but also randomly failing. The court case is expected to become a class action suit, as the plaintiff claims that the issue of failing drives affect tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people in the USA.

The models included in the complaint includes the SanDisk Extreme Pro, Extreme Portable, Extreme Pro Portable and WD My Passport SSD. A further firmware update was released in July, which is said to have made the issues even worse, with data being lost on drives or being inaccessible to drive owners. In some cases the drives go into read only mode, but sometimes this means that the drives become inaccessible to the OS, which in turn also means dataloss to the user. Time will tell how this plays out, but it's not looking great for Western Digital, but it wouldn't be the first time a storage device maker has been taken to court over failing products.

Western Digital has expanded its portfolio of Nintendo-licensed SanDisk microSD cards with the release of its highest capacity card yet, a 1 TB SanDisk microSD card for Nintendo Switch systems. In partnership with Nintendo, this supersized offering provides the highest capacity in the lineup of officially licensed SanDisk microSD cards, giving Nintendo Switch players even more space to take their favorite games on the go.

The new 1 TB card bears the Hylian Crest, inspired by The Legend of Zelda, and has been tested and approved for use with all Nintendo Switch systems. With the new capacity nearly doubling the amount of storage previously offered in the range of Nintendo-licensed SanDisk microSD cards, players will be able to expand their digital game library and store their favorite titles in one place. The Legend of Zelda fans in particular can rest assured that they can have the space they need to take on the exciting new chapter in the franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Western Digital Corp today announced it has expanded its SanDisk Professional line of premium storage solutions with the new PRO-G40 SSD that supports dual-mode compatibility with both Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2 Gen 2 interfaces. Inspired by the way people create and share data today, this new drive is the company's most rugged offering to date with a high-level IP68 rating, allowing professionals to immerse themselves in the action wherever their work or vision takes them.

"The nature of my work is unpredictable and as a result I must be incredibly flexible and versatile. I share the same expectations for every piece of equipment that I use from capture to archive which is why the SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 drive will immediately be a crucial part of my workflow," said Andy Handcock, action, portrait and reportage photographer, and PRO-TEAM ambassador. "I need storage solutions that are lightweight, compact, rugged, and insanely fast. This checks all the boxes for me. The PRO-G40 SSD can easily withstand the rigors of travel and location work while doing so with a minimal footprint. Thanks to SanDisk Professional products like these, workflow is one less thing I need to stress about which frees me to focus more on the creative. That is paramount."

Western Digital Corp., an industry-leading provider of storage technologies and solutions, today announced a new partnership with Epic Games and Nintendo to deliver the first officially licensed Fortnite SanDisk microSDXC card for Nintendo Switch. The exclusive Fortnite branded memory card for Nintendo Switch is designed to provide players with consistent and reliable storage as they drop into Fortnite, no matter how they play. The card has also been tested and approved for use with all Nintendo Switch Systems and is backed by a limited lifetime warranty to give gamers the peace of mind needed to land in command.

Inspired by the epic Skull Trooper (128 GB) and legendary Cuddle Team Leader (256 GB) Outfits, the exterior design of the cards pay homage to some of the most rare and popular Outfits in the game. As a bonus, fans who purchase the card will receive a code to redeem the rare Angular Flow Wrap, sure to mesmerize any squadmate.

Western Digital Corp. (Nasdaq: WDC) today announced that contamination of certain material used in its manufacturing processes has occurred and is affecting production operations at both its Yokkaichi and Kitakami joint venture, flash fabrication facilities. Western Digital's current assessment of the impact is a reduction of its flash availability of at least 6.5 exabytes. The company is working closely with its joint venture partner, Kioxia, to implement necessary measures that will restore the facilities to normal operational status as quickly as possible.

Western Digital creates environments for data to thrive. As a leader in data infrastructure, the company is driving the innovation needed to help customers capture, preserve, access and transform an ever-increasing diversity of data. Everywhere data lives, from advanced data centers to mobile sensors to personal devices, our industry-leading solutions deliver the possibilities of data. Our data-centric solutions are comprised of the Western Digital, G-Technology, SanDisk, and WD brands.

KIOXIA and Western Digital are in talks to merge, creating a behemoth in the data storage industry. This would be KIOXIA's first big corporate move after being spun off from Toshiba Corporation as its flash memory business. The combination—if it goes through—would essentially see the merger of three distinct brands—KIOXIA, Western Digital, and SanDisk; with KIOXIA and SanDisk bringing together market-leading expertise in flash memory; and Western Digital bringing in "warm" and cold storage solutions, such as hard drives. 5G is expected to create an explosion in data, and the merged trans-Pacific entity could more effectively address it. A deal worth $20 billion could be struck by mid-September, if the merger talks succeed. KIOXIA is declining to comment on the story, as it prepares its IPO that includes shares from Toshiba and Bain Capital. Shares of Western Digital, meanwhile, are trading up.

At its Flash Perspective event today, Western Digital unveiled the new SanDisk Professional brand of premium storage solutions for content creators and professionals. From producing the latest blockbuster film to capturing the moment at a destination wedding to managing business-critical content, the powerful SanDisk Professional portfolio is designed to deliver scalable, high-performance, reliable solutions across industries globally.

Professional content is in constant motion. Content that's captured or created needs to be saved, transferred, off-loaded, shared and archived. SanDisk Professional offers a range of purpose-built tools to harmonize every step of that process. "As a professional photographer and filmmaker, my livelihood depends on how I get the job done. There is no room for error. I need the most advanced, reliable and trusted equipment out in the field," said Lucas Gilman, adventure photographer and filmmaker. "For years I've relied on SanDisk and G-Technology solutions because they enable me to focus on the moment with confidence that my creativity won't be interrupted, and without concern about whether or not they can keep up with my technical needs."

Built for consumers who are searching for a stylish and reliable solution to share content across their compatible devices, including iPhone devices and Mac computers, Western Digital announced today the company's first flash drive with dual Lightning and USB Type-C connectors, the SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe. With both Lightning and USB Type-C connectors and an all-metal casing, the SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe provides a sleek way for users to seamlessly access and move files between iPhone, iPad Pro, Mac and other USB Type-C devices, including Android phones.

Western Digital resolves the hassle of moving files between devices with different connectors with the new SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe. This new flash drive comes with two connectors, which enables a quick move of files, eliminating the need to email content from one device to another in order to upload or save.1 Once files are on the drive, they can be transferred using the high-speed USB 3.0 connector to a USB Type-C-compatible computer. Consumers who want a heightened sense of privacy can password-protect their files and photos with the iXpand Drive app. The app can also be used to free up space on an iPhone or to automatically back up photos, videos, documents and contacts without the hassle of a slow internet connection.2 The drive is available in 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB, allowing more space for photos, videos and games.

Western Digital has teamed up with Respawn Entertainment to create an Apex Legends -themed memory card for the Nintendo Switch, offering gamers and contenders across the Outlands expanded storage solutions just in time for the universally acclaimed battle royale game to drop into the Nintendo eShop next month.

Featuring the distinctive Apex Legends insignia, players can squad up and battle for glory with the microSDXC card which offers up to 128 GB of expanded storage. Whether it's existing fans who want to ready themselves to jump into the action, or new players looking to compete in the Apex Games for the first time, this microSDXC card ensures any gamer is equipped with the additional space they need to take on more adventures or challenges on their Nintendo Switch system.

SanDisk Corporation, a Japanese corporation of Western Digital Corporation, changed its organization from the current corporation to a limited liability company on January 1, 2021. SanDisk has decided to change its name to Western Digital. This will change the new trade name to Western Digital GK. New trade name: Western Digital Limited Liability Company, English name: Western Digital GK, Scheduled change date: January 1, 2021.

Western Digital offers NAND flash memory products and HDDs (hard disk drives) at the top level of multiple brand products such as WD and SanDisk brands, from consumers to enterprises and large-scale data centers. We provide total storage solutions developed and mass-produced at. Among them, SanDisk Co., Ltd. has been in charge of the flash memory business, but with this change of trade name, it has become clearer that it is a Western Digital Group, making quicker decisions than ever before, and domestic customers and We aim to create a corporate structure that can further contribute to our business partners.Update 10:27 UTC: Western Digital reached out to us and clarified that this organizational change only pertains to the Japanese entity of Western Digital changing its name from SanDisk Corporation to Western Digital GK. SanDisk Corporation (the Japanese entity) is 100% a subsidiary of Western Digital Corporation. Globally, there have been no changes announced for the SanDisk brand, and existing SanDisk products will continue to carry the brand.