SanDisk’s 'Industrial' SD cards can withstand extreme temperatures
They can work in temperatures ranging from -40°F to 185°F for extended periods of time.
Western Digital is working on a new line of SanDisk memory cards that can withstand a wide range of temperatures, from the extremely hot to the extremely cold, AnandTech reports. The lineup includes an Automotive SD meant for vehicles like cars and drones and three Industrial cards -- Industrial SD, Industrial microSD and Industrial XI -- intended for more mainstream industrial applications.
And extreme is no exaggeration here. The Industrial SD and Industrial microSD cards can work for extended periods of time at temperatures ranging from -13°F to 185°F while the Industrial XI and Automotive SD cards can withstand temperatures between -40°F and 185°F. Those are temperatures that most people won't find themselves in very often, if ever, but if they can work in extreme heat and cold, they should definitely work just fine in the more mild temperatures experienced by most of the population.
The cards' read and write speeds are also pretty decent (80MB/s and 50MB/s) and they incorporate a Health Status Monitor that will allow manufacturers to check in on card usage and performance levels. They're also designed with a number of features meant to protect data.
AnandTech reports that SanDisk has distributed samples of the Industrial SD, microSD and Automotive SD cards to manufacturers around the world and samples of the Industrial XI cards will be released sometime this month.
