Massive 8TB SD cards are set to ship 'shortly' after a two-year delay — mind-blowing storage at possibly bank-breaking prices

Remember those groundbreaking 8TB SD cards that Sandisk first unveiled back in 2024? After two long years, it appears they are ready for prime time. According to a recent report from news outlet Notebookcheck, multiple companies at Computex 2026 have reportedly confirmed that these high-capacity cards will begin shipping soon.

The upcoming 8TB SD cards conform to the SDUC (Secure Digital Ultra Capacity) standard, a category that the SD Association introduced for cards with capacities spanning from 2TB up to 128GB. Therefore, while 8TB of capacity is impressive, there's still headroom for bigger SD cards in the future. Similar to microSD Express, SDUC is an emerging standard and requires new hardware.

From a compatibility standpoint, these 8TB SDUC cards are not backward compatible with older card readers and devices. Sometimes, when new cards launch, they are backward compatible with existing hardware but run at lower speeds. However, that isn't the case for SDUC cards. They will require new card readers and devices that support them.

At the moment, there aren't any devices that support SDUC cards, so you can't use them even if Sandisk or other manufacturers started giving them away. It remains to be seen when, and by whom, the SDUC standard will be adopted. For example, the microSD Express standard was introduced in 2019 and remained dormant until the Nintendo Switch 2, which launched six years later. To date, Nintendo's handheld gaming console is the only device to have embraced microSD Express. Therefore, it will likely take some time before SDUC cards become mainstream.

According to the photograph that Notebookcheck snapped at Computex 2026, Sandisk will launch 4TB microSDUC and 8TB SDUC cards under its Ultra lineup. It's a surprising move since the Extreme Pro lineup is superior and typically offers better performance.

The Sandisk Ultra 4TB microSDUC and 8TB SDUC cards conform to the UHS-I speed class, which means a theoretical maximum read and transfer speed up to 104 MB/s. They also carry the V10 and A1 ratings, equivalent to a minimum sustained write speed of 10 MB/s. Meanwhile, the Sandisk Extreme Pro 4TB SDUC card still maintains the UHS-I certification but flaunts a V30, guaranteeing a minimum write speed of 30 MB/s.

Although several manufacturers reportedly told Notebookcheck that these 8TB SDUC cards will "hit the market shortly," they didn't provide any hints on potential launch dates or estimated MSRP. We've reached out to Sandisk for more details and will update the story when the vendor replies.

For perspective, Sandisk sells the Extreme Pro 2TB microSD card for $569.99 and the Extreme Pro 2TB SD card for $549.99, which are double what the 1TB variant costs. Assuming Sandisk follows the same pricing scheme, the manufacturer's looming 4TB microSDUC and 8TB SDUC cards could be pushing price tags close to $1,200 and $2,200, respectively.

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