The Chinese manufacturer Biwin already has its Mini SSD: 3 times faster than a MicroSD Express in a smaller size
The Chinese manufacturer Biwin is ready to launch its first Mini SSDs, also known as an "1517" SSD due to its dimensions of 15 x 17 x 1.4 mm in thickness. We are looking at a new type of high-capacity, high-speed storage, all in an ultra-compact format. This ultra-compact format was showcased at Embedded World 2025, emphasizing its focus on mobility and embedded systems. It seems that implementation in the market will now begin.
Another quite interesting aspect is the durability of the Mini SSDs. They boast an IP68 certification (dust and water resistance) and protection against drops of up to 3 meters. Therefore, it is ideal for mobile devices, action cameras, or demanding environments. This is why the console we saw yesterday, the GPD Win 5, is the first portable console to support Mini SSDs and showcases the use of Biwin's model. Furthermore, its LGA packaging technology, which integrates the controller and NAND memory into a land grid array, enhances durability against impacts or vibrations.
We are talking about the Mini SSD shown by Biwin being smaller than a Mini-SIM card (15 x 25 mm vs 15 x 17 mm) used in smartphones for mobile coverage. It is not much larger than the Micro-SIM card (12 x 15). In addition, it offers speeds up to 3 times higher than a microSD Express card used by the Nintendo Switch 2, as well as being available in large capacities. For now, specifically, with up to 2 TB of storage.
The Biwin Mini SSD uses a PCI-Express 4.0 x2 interface under the NVMe 1.4 protocol. In terms of performance, it boasts sequential read speeds of up to 3,700 MB/s and write speeds of up to 3,400 MB/s. For context, the microSD Express used by the Switch 2 uses the PCIe 3.1 interface with the NVMe 1.3 protocol.
The big difference is that it offers a theoretical maximum speed of 985 MB/s. This means a performance increase of three times. And more when we talk about real performance, since the microSD Express offers sustained performance around 400 to 800 MB/s in reading and 200 to 600 MB/s in writing compared to the 3,000 MB/s of Biwin's Mini SSD.
