Western Digital today unveiled five new external storage devices, all based on its latest 26TB “enterprise-class Ultrastar 7200 RPM HDDs for high performance, reliability and fast read/write speeds.”
These new devices are massive in storage space, yet more significant is that they are the first following the company’s decision to jettison its NAND flash memory business to SanDisk, its former sub-brand. In more ways than one, these new external hard drives are Western Digital’s first salvo in its re-commitment to platter-based storage.
Western Digital vs. SanDisk: A brief history
Ten years ago, Western Digital, often known as WD, was a giant in platter-based digital storage, namely the hard drive, as it still is today. Over the years, it consolidated its position by buying other smaller companies, such as G-Drive, which became one of its G-product lines, such as G-Drive, G-RAID, etc. (It’s rival, Seagate, did the same by acquiring LaCie and others.)
In late 2015, during the boom of NAND flash memory—the type of storage used inside solid-state drives (SSDs) and memory cards—the company acquired SanDisk, which was at the time a big name in this much faster type of digital storage device, for $19 billion. The deal officially closed in 2016.
Since then, WD has produced its own SSD lineups. Examples are the WD Blue series of internal SSDs (both SATA and NVMe) and the WD My Passport SSDs (a spinoff of its WD My Passport Hard Drive), which have been household names for years. In 2019, WD created an all-new WD_BLACK portfolio for gamers with many internal SSDs and portable SSDs that have been considerable successes.
All the while, SanDisk, as a sub-brand, continued to make its own competing devices, such as the SanDisk Extreme portable SSDs and others. The truth is, in terms of SSDs, WD and SanDisk essentially used the same internal components. They are just branded differently.
This internal competition confused customers—the My Passport SSD and SanDisk Extreme portable SSDS, for example, are so similar. Addtionally, there were significant restructurings, which might have played a role in quality-related controversies, where the said devices would randomly cause data loss. The issue was so bad and so widespread between 2022 and 2023 that I had to put the below advisory in the reviews.
As it happened, on October 30, 2024, WD announced that it would focus on its platter-based storage root by separating itself from SanDisk, which would operate as an independent entity.
And over the ups and downs, it’s the right call. After all, while SSDs are super-fast, hard drives are where it’s at in terms of serious storage—RAID can overcome the slow performance. That plus the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), which requires lots and lots of storage space, only accelerated the process.
Still, after years of mingling, splitting off SanDisk proved time-consuming. (During CES 2025, SanDisk and WD still shared the same booth, though the latter had little to show as new products and the SN7100 would be the last WD SSD you’ll find on the market.) It wasn’t until late February (2025) that the move was deemed completed.
Just last week, on March 5, WD provided an update on its previously announced plan to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies. With that, WD is back to what it used to be: a hard drive company.
That brings us to its latest offering in platter-based digital storage for consumers: the new massive external hard drives.
New external storage devices by the factor of 26TB
As mentioned, the new external storage devices are all based on WD’s 26TB enterprise-class HDDs. As a result, 26TB is the lowest storage capacity among them.
It’s worth noting that the internal hard drive itself features 7200 RPM (its platters spin at 7200 revolutions per minute), which is generally the fastest speed for consumer-grade hard drives. In any case, their data transfer rate is limited by the current SATA-3 standard, which has a ceiling speed of 6Gbps (750MB/s).
While that’s relatively modest compared to solid-state drives, the performance can be improved via RAID and there’s no consumer-grade SSD that can deliver 26TB of storage space.
That said, here are the new HHD-based external storage devices WD announced today and their costs. All of them are the G-Drive family:
- 208TB G-RAID SHUTTLE 8 (U.S. MSRP $8,199.99) – A transportable eight-bay hardware RAID solution designed for massive storage and seamless backup consolidation—whether on location or in the studio. Supporting versatile RAID configurations (0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, 60) and delivering blazing transfer speeds of up to 1700MB/s read and 1500MB/s write in default RAID 5, this solution combines power, flexibility, and efficiency for demanding workflows. The solution includes eight removable enterprise-class HDDs and can be daisy-chained with up to five additional devices for maximum connectivity and efficiency.
- 104TB G-RAID SHUTTLE 4 (U.S. MSRP $4,499.99) – A compact and transportable four-bay hardware RAID solution built for real-time video editing and super-fast data access. Supports multi-stream 4K, 8K and VR workflows. Preconfigured in RAID 5 for optimal performance and redundancy, it also supports versatile RAID 0, 1, and 10 setups, making it the ideal solution for demanding creative workflows. Can be daisy-chained with up to five additional devices. Includes four removable enterprise-class HDDs.
- 52TB G-RAID PROJECT 2 (U.S. MSRP $1,699.99) – Delivers high-performance storage with two enterprise-grade Ultrastar hard drives for rapid data access and sustained transfer speeds. Pre-configured with RAID 0 for optimal performance, this system ensures fast data transfer in high-speed scenarios. Compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C (10Gbps), this 52TB G-RAID PROJECT 2 two-bay drive enables quick data transfers and daisy-chaining for connecting multiple devices.
- 26TB G-DRIVE PROJECT (U.S. MSRP $999.99) – Compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C (10Gbps), the 26TB G-DRIVE PROJECT is designed to backup and protect valuable project work. Additionally, the 26TB G-DRIVE PROJECT features a SanDisk Professional PRO-BLADE SSD Mag slot, enabling modular SSD performance that enhances workflows with fast, efficient file sharing and seamless editing across devices.
- 26TB G-DRIVE (U.S. MSRP $649.99) – The G-DRIVE delivers ultra-reliable storage with a USB-C (10Gbps) interface for fast backups and efficient workflows. It features speeds up to 260MB/s read and 270MB/s write. Now available in 26TB capacity, the stackable, anodized all-aluminum enclosure includes anchor points for attaching to a DIT cart, mounting plate, or other gear from your production needs.
Of the five above, the most interesting is the #4 that features a SanDisk Professional PRO-BLADE SSD Mag slot, which was first announced in May 2022 and allows prosumers to quickly backup or copy their SSD Mag onto the platter-based storage. Most importantly, it shows how things can get complicated in a plot.
Additionally, Western Digital also annoyed the massive 26TB version of its WD RED Pro NAS, one of the most popular HDDs for NAS servers. At the suggested retail cost of $569.99 apiece, the new drive is not cheap, but it makes the existing lower-capacity variants less expensive. That’s never a bad thing.
Availability and the final thoughts
Western Digital says the new 26TB WD RED Pro NAS hard drive and the G-Drive/G-RAID external storage devices are now. You’ll find them at regular retail stores.
In any split, things can get complicated, and it will take a while before consumers get accustomed to the fact that WD means hard drives and SanDisk means NAND flash memory (a.k.a. SSDs). However, unlike the divorce of your best friends, you can use both. At the same time. Together. Just make sure you pick the right one for your needs.
In the meantime, per WD, your current WD and SanDisk storage devices, HDDs or SSDs, will function as expected. If you’re looking for crazily capacious storage options, WD is the name you want to remember, and by that, it means include G-Drive or G-RAID, too.
