Storage manufacturer KIOXIA has announced that it is now mass producing its highest capacity microSD memory card. The EXCERIA PLUS G2, a 2TB microSDXC card, uses a proprietary 3D flash memory technology (BiCS FLASH).
According to KIOXIA, it has managed to stack sixteen 1 terabit dice of 3D NAND flash memory into a microSD card while maintaining the form factor specification of less than 0.8mm thick.
EXCERIA PLUS G2 provides read speeds up to 100MB/s and write speeds up to 90MB/s. This puts it in UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) and Video Speed Class 30 (V30) categories, suitable for 4K and high-speed video recording.
To comparison, Samsung updated its PRO Plus memory card lineup in April. The updated lineup is available in microSD and SD variants, with up to 180MB/s read and 130MB/s write speeds increased by 12% and 8%, respectively, compared to outgoing models.
The company says its 2TB capacity will allow users to record over 41 hours of continuous 1080p video on a single card. This makes the card proper for action cameras, drones, and other devices requiring high-capacity removable storage.
In a blog post, Jamie Stitt, General Manager of B2C Sales & Marketing of KIOXIA Europe GmbH, says;
These new, enhanced cards can become a sought-after option by many smartphone owners, content creators, dashcam and video bloggers, and on-the-go gamers alike. We are pleased to offer extra performance and capacity through these new EXCERIA PLUS G2 2TB microSDXC cards.
In March, Western Digital and Kioxia announced the latest version of their 3D flash memory technology known as BiCS Flash. According to the companies, its high-speed NAND I/O of over 3.2Gb/s is a 60 percent improvement over the previous generation, combined with a 20 percent improvement in write performance and read latency.
The new 2TB EXCERIA PLUS G2 microSD cards will be available next quarter.