Toshiba launches "world's fastest" microSD cards

Toshiba is upping the ante in the microSD card department, launching new 

high-end cards that they're calling the 

"world's fastest". Using the new UHS-II SD card specification, these microSD

 cards are designed for 4K video recording,

 giving cameras too small for a full-sized SD cards the storage speed they 

need.

The cards will be available in 32 GB and 64 GB capacities, the former 

packing maximum transfer rates of 260 MB/s during

 read and 240 MB/s during write, and the latter with 145 MB/s read speeds

 and 130 MB/s write speeds. Toshiba claims the

 32 GB model is eight times faster than the company's existing 32 GB 

UHS-I microSD card, which is a pretty significant 

improvement.

These new microSD cards are rated for UHS Speed Class 3, indicating

 minimum write speeds of 30 MB/s, which makes the 

small form factor storage suitable for sustained 4K video capture for the

 first time. The UHS-II specification supports

 theoretical maximum transfer rates of 312 MB/s, so Toshiba isn't reaching

 the speed barrier just yet.

One of the most interesting aspects of UHS-II class microSD cards is the

 physical interface it uses. To achieve such

 high speeds, an extra row of eight pins is required below the standard set

of pins, meaning that to achieve the full 

capabilities of the cards, you'll need a device that's UHS-II compliant.

 Chucking one of these microSDs into a non-UHS-II

 device will see it run at typical SD speeds well below what the cards are 

capable of.

Toshiba are shipping samples of these new microSD cards to other 

manufacturers at the moment, but it shouldn't be too 

long before they're widely available, likely at a high price point.........