WD bets big on handheld PCs with new SSD

Western Digital is looking to launch itself into the handheld PC conversation with an SSD specifically designed for the likes of the MSI Claw and ROG Ally.

The new WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD is available in two sizes (1TB and 2TB) and comes with a 5-year warranty. The drive comes with speeds of up to 5,150Mbps. That performance is further enhanced by a slew of both generic and gaming-oriented features like PCIE Gen 4.0, WD’s nCache 4.0 and Microsoft DirectStorage support.

Pointing to data by Gartner suggesting that the handheld gaming console market is primed to grow to reach 14.8M by 2027, Western Digital’s vice president of client SSDs Eric Spanneut said that this trend called for new and innovative storage solutions designed to cater to this needs of this emerging segment of the PC market.

“The new WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD boosts available storage up to 2TB and is specifically designed to handle the peak performance of demanding games for handheld gaming PCs,” he said.

Compared to other SSD solutions, the new WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD promises to be a path towards faster game installations and level loads.

In Australia, pricing for the WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD starts at $239 for the 1TB and $439 for the 2TB model. The drive is available from this week through JB Hi-Fi.