What's Happening?
Biwin, a Chinese company, has developed a new 'Mini SSD' that could significantly impact the gaming handheld market. The Mini SSD is a small, removable storage card measuring 15 by 17 mm, capable of read speeds up to 3,700MB per second due to its two-lane PCI Express 4.0 interface. This development follows Nintendo's adoption of the microSD Express standard for the Switch 2 console, which requires performance akin to internal SSDs to run more demanding games. The Mini SSD is being supported by Chinese-made AMD-based gaming portables, such as the GPD Win 5 and OneXPlayer Super X, with capacities ranging from 500GB to 2TB.
Why It's Important?
The introduction of the Mini SSD represents a potential shift in the gaming handheld industry, offering faster and more efficient storage solutions. This could enhance the performance of gaming devices, allowing them to support more complex and resource-intensive games. The development may also influence other companies to explore similar technologies, potentially leading to broader adoption of high-speed removable storage in consumer electronics. This innovation could drive competition and innovation in the gaming sector, benefiting consumers with improved gaming experiences.
What's Next?
As Biwin's Mini SSD gains traction, it may prompt other manufacturers to develop compatible devices and expand the use of high-speed removable storage. The gaming industry could see increased collaboration between hardware and software developers to optimize game performance on these new storage solutions. Additionally, the success of the Mini SSD could lead to further advancements in storage technology, potentially impacting other sectors such as mobile computing and digital media.
