SD storage cards have been improving over time, especially with the introduction of UFS, which has significantly increased their speed. However, overall, they still remain relatively slow. Now, the SD Association (SDA) is preparing a revolutionary transformation to turn them into mini SSDs.
In fact, this plan was disclosed by the SDA during the flash memory summit in early August this year, but it went unnoticed until now when a conference document was leaked, revealing this little secret.
According to SDA’s vision, the next generation of SD cards will introduce PCI-E and NVMe standards, which are essential elements of today’s mid-to-high-end SSDs. This means that SD cards aim to reach SSD levels, and the new storage card is temporarily referred to as the “SD-PCIe Card.”
The SDA has not disclosed any specific metrics, but it can be imagined that it is unlikely to reach the levels of today’s high-end SSDs; however, it should at least be comparable to mainstream products. Moreover, don’t forget that PCI-E and NVMe have strong scalability, paving the way for future SD cards to continue improving.
Even more exciting is that this new type of SD card will not change the physical specifications and electrical performance, remaining fully backward compatible, allowing current devices to continue supporting them.
Currently, the PCI-E/NVMe SD card technology is in preliminary discussions, and SD is also inviting industry participation.
