Don't get too excited though folks - it's only a prototype at this stage, though you might be able to buy one in 2023
(Image credit: Kioxia, Future)
Not so long ago to get 2 terabytes of storage you'd need a thumping-great 3.5-inch mechanical hard disk drive. But now the Japanese company Kioxia Corporation claim to have produced a working prototype of a 2TB microSDXC card. To put that in context, even full-size SD cards aren't yet available in a 2TB capacity, currently topping out at 1TB. Though Kioxia have apparently only confirmed the card's "basic operation", it's nonetheless incredible that so much storage could be packed into a sliver of plastic the size of a thumb nail.
A 2TB microSD card fulfils the SD Association's maximum theoretical storage capacity for the microSDXC format, but up to now no manufacturer has been able to produce an actual working 2TB card. Kioxia's attempt is a UHS-I card, so won't be the fastest performer, but the highest capacity SD and microSD cards rarely set any speed records. The card uses Kioxia's "3D flash memory 'BiCS FLASH' and a controller developed in-house". Utilising "thin-chip multi-layered packaging technology, 16 1-terabit (128-GB) flash memory chips are stacked inside a microSD memory card package with a maximum chip mounting thickness of 0.8mm."
The prospect of full-size 2TB SD cards has been talked about for some time, but no cards seem to have materialised for purchase. We'd wager that 2TB microSD cards could well be similarly elusive, as while great in theory, the cost would likely be at least double that of a 1TB card (or possibly slightly more) making them a tough sell unless you really must have that much storage capacity on a single card. Nevertheless, Kioxia says Fujitsu allegedly plans to begin mass production of a 2TB microSD card in 2023. If so, it'll be good news for drone, action camera and camera phone users who want to shoot high resolution / high bitrate video without worrying about storage capacity.
Ben is the Imaging Labs manager, responsible for all the testing on Digital Camera World and across the entire photography portfolio at Future. Whether he's in the lab testing the sharpness of new lenses, the resolution of the latest image sensors, the zoom range of monster bridge cameras or even the latest camera phones, Ben is our go-to guy for technical insight. He's also the team's man-at-arms when it comes to camera bags, filters, memory cards, and all manner of camera accessories – his lab is a bit like the Batcave of photography! With years of experience trialling and testing kit, he's a human encyclopedia of benchmarks when it comes to recommending the best buys.
