At its recent Innovation Day 2026 event, Western Digital introduced two groundbreaking technologies designed to enhance the performance of hard disk drives (HDDs): high bandwidth drive technology (HBDT) and dual pivot technology (DPT).
HBDT allows for simultaneous reading and writing from multiple heads across various tracks, effectively doubling the bandwidth of standard HDDs without increasing power consumption. DPT introduces an additional set of independently operating actuators on a distinct pivot, which can enhance sequential I/O performance by up to two times within a 3.5-inch drive.
Previous dual actuator designs compromised on capacity and required significant software adjustments for customers. In contrast, DPT promotes closer spacing between disks, allowing for more platters per drive and, consequently, greater overall capacity.
Western Digital envisions combining HBDT and DPT within a single unit, potentially achieving a throughput of 1.2GB/s—four times the current bandwidth of around 300MB/s—without increasing power usage. Reed Martin, a senior project manager, emphasized that this advancement would maintain the throughput-per-terabyte ratio as storage capacities grow, ensuring future 100TB drives operate similarly to today’s 26TB models in terms of access speed.
However, these improvements are specifically applicable to SATA-based hard disk drives. Currently, SATA interfaces impose a throughput ceiling of about 550MB/s, which limits performance compared to PCI Express designs, typically favored by enterprises for frequently accessed data.
In addition to performance enhancements, Western Digital is focusing on significantly increasing HDD capacities, aiming for a 100TB hard drive employing heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology by 2029. The company anticipates launching 40TB drives within the year and projects reaching 60TB in the coming years through another technology called energy-assisted perpendicular magnetic recording (ePMR).
Furthermore, Western Digital is expanding its Platforms business to bring hyperscale storage efficiency to a wider audience. This initiative includes developing a smart software layer with an open API, expected to be available by 2027, which will enable companies managing over 200 petabytes to achieve the same storage efficiency enjoyed by current hyperscalers.
Irving Tan, CEO of Western Digital, highlighted the company’s commitment to innovation and executing strategies to meet the growing demand for enhanced storage capacity and performance, particularly in the context of evolving AI requirements.
