Western Digital Unveils G-Drive Mobile Pro, G-Drive Pro, G-Speed Shuttle Pro Thunderbolt 3 SSDs

Western Digital on Tuesday expanded its G-Drive and G-Speed range of solid state drive (SSD) models by unveiling three new solutions featuring a Thunderbolt 3 port. Called the G-Drive Mobile Pro SSD, G-Drive Pro SSD, and G-Speed Shuttle SSD, the new models are targeted at creative professionals - designed specifically to handle demanding workflow of 4K and 8K content. The presence of Thunderbolt 3 enables the SSDs with high-speed transfer rates at up to 2800MBps. The G-Drive Mobile Pro SSD with Thunderbolt 3 will be available in the US Summer this year in 500GB capacity at $659.95 (roughly Rs. 42,800) and 1TB capacity at $1,049.95 (roughly Rs. 68,200), while the G-Drive Pro SSD will be available in May in 960GB at $1,399.95 (roughly Rs. 90,900), 1.92TB at $2,099.95 (roughly Rs. 1,36,400), 3.84TB at $4,099.95 (roughly Rs. 2,66,400), and 7.68TB at $7,599.95 (roughly Rs. 4,93,900). The G-Speed Shuttle SSD, on the other hand, will be available in the US this month in 8TB capacity at $5,099.95 (roughly Rs. 3,31,400) and 16TB at $7,599.95 (roughly Rs. 4,94,000).

In the new G-series family, the G-Drive Mobile Pro SSD model is touted to handle editing of multi-stream 8K footage at a full frame rate and quickly render projects and preview them at full resolution. The SSD is also claimed to be capable of transferring as much as a terabyte of media content in "seven minutes or less". Despite supporting high-speed data transfer speeds, the G-Drive Mobile Pro SSD prevents overheating and maintains a consistent high-performance experience using an aluminium core packaging. The build of the SSD is also shock-resistant, and the availability of the single Thunderbolt 3 port enables data transfer without requiring any external power source.

Similar to the G-Drive Mobile Pro SSD, the G-Drive Pro SSD also offers a fast data transfer experience. There are dual Thunderbolt 3 ports that can be daisy-chained to up to five additional devices. Unlike the G-Drive Mobile Pro SSD, the G-Drive Pro SSD is primarily designed for workplaces. It comes with an endurance rating of one drive write per day (DW/ D) endurance rating.

The G-Speed Shuttle SSD, on the other hand, is optimised to support multi-stream HD, 4K, 8K, VR, and VFX workflows. It is also equipped with hardware RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, 50, and eight removable SSDs preloaded and configured in RAID 5.

"When working in the field, production teams need a fast solution that can handle demanding workflows of 4K and 8K content with the ability to quickly collect that valuable footage and be able to edit on the spot. With the power of Thunderbolt 3, and transfer rates up to 2800MBps, the new G-Technology Pro SSDs offer an ultra-fast, super-reliable solution for any creative project team," said Scott Vouri, Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Western Digital, in a statement while announcing the new SSD solutions.