This Chinese company just unveiled an SSD almost as small as a SIM card

Biwin, a digital storage technology company based out of Shenzhen, China, has unveiled an all-new data format which it dubs Mini SSD. What sets this solution apart from its contemporaries is its size: at 0.59 x 0.67 x 0.06-inches (15.0mm × 17.0mm × 1.4mm), the format is roughly half the size of a Euro coin, similar in size to a microSD card, and only just slightly larger than a Nano SIM card.

Internally, Mini SSD is powered by PCIe Gen4X2 and NVMe 1.4 storage technologies, making for a performant system that can theoretically far outcompete the likes of SD or even the newer SD Express format. Raw transfer speed numbers are quoted at 3,700 MB/s and 3,400 MB/s for read and write, respectively.

“Biwin Mini SSD, with its exceptional speed and storage space, offers a new innovative solution for industries that require high speed, high performance, and high durability storage to handle mission-critical workloads at scale,” says Biwin in a recent press release.

According to Biwin, Mini SSD units will be available in capacities ranging from 512 GB up to 2TB, with an in-built IP68 water and dust resistance rating at the specification level. The company also boasts of 3-meter drop resistance and advanced thermal management features. Uniquely, the format is designed to be inserted into devices via a SIM card-style tray, complete with a dedicated ejection button. By contrast, most small-format SSDs on the market today rely on an M.2 screw mount system.

Could Mini SSD be the future?

The tech is certainly a good fit for mobile electronics

On the surface, a new storage technology that promises full PCIe SSD transfer speeds in something as small as a Micro SD card is incredibly promising. In today’s mobile-first computing world, the ability to expand internal storage capacity without sacrificing on speediness is something I can get behind. I also appreciate the insertion and ejection method employed by Biwin, which streamlines the experience and ensures a safe stowing location for the unit itself.

That being said, there are still several variables that could make or break Mini SSD’s success on the market. Pricing is yet to be confirmed, and it’s unclear whether the format will be made an open standard or if it’ll remain proprietary and license-based. If the latter is true, I can picture the majority of tech brands shunning the format altogether — remember the PS Vita Memory Card format, anyone?

For the time being, two Chinese consumer tech products have been announced with native support for Mini SSD — the GPD Win 5 gaming handheld and the OneNetbook OneXPlayer Super X PC. I’ll be curious to see whether Mini SSD can potentially overtake the up-and-coming Micro SD Express storage format in the gaming space, though I’m personally placing my bets on the SD Association for the time being.