Sandisk today unveiled “SANDISK Optimus” at CES 2026 as the new brand name for its popular consumer-grade internal SSDs made for gamers, creators, and professionals. Previously, these storage devices were part of the WD Black and WD Blue lineups.
This development only makes sense considering that Sandisk parted from Western Digital earlier last year as a new company of non-platter storage.
Tip
In March 2025, Western Digital (WD) split off Sandisk (a slight name change from “SanDisk”) as a separate company. The move means WD retains all hard platter-based products, including those with “SanDisk” in their model names. Similarly, Sandisk takes over all NAND-based products—SSDs, memory cards, and so on—including those bearing the “WD” in their model names.
The new branding will make it less confusing for consumers and help Sandisk take full ownership of its products. It also signals the complete separation between the two storage companies.
SANDISK Optimus: Three product lines in one brand
According to Sandisk, the new SANDISK Optimus family includes three product lines:
- SANDISK Optimus: This new lineup replaces the mainstream internal SSDs, previously branded WD Blue, that strike a balance between performance and affordability. The latest member, the WD Blue SN5100, will now be known as the SANDISK Optimus 5100.
- SANDISK Optimus GX: This lineup is for mid-tier internal SSDs for gamers, previously represented by the WD Black SN7xxx, such as WD Black SN7100 (now known as SANDISK Optimus GX 7100).
- SANDISK Optimus GX PRO: This lineup is for top-tier non-compromising internal drives, previously represented by the WD Black SN8xxx lineup, such as the WD Black SN8100 (now SANDISK Optimus GX PRO 8100) or WD Black SN850X (now SANDISK Optimus GX PRO 850X). Sandisk says this new family “combines cutting-edge storage technologies with increased capacity.”
Sandisk told me that this name change won’t affect existing drives that bear the old branding in terms of performance, features, pricing, or warranty. The new name will be applied to models still in production, such as those mentioned above, as well as to future drives.
It’s worth noting that Western Digital launched the WD Black brand in August 2019, with many models released since, encompassing internal and portable drives (both hard drive- and SSD-based). Additionally, Western Digital offered other portable SSD options, including the My Passport SSD, first launched in mid-2017.
For now, Sandisk told me it had no plan for existing WD-branded portable SSDs. It seems that these drives will not get a name change and will simply be discontinued. If so, that would also make sense, considering Sandisk has its own portable SSDs, with the latest being the Creator series that was first announced a year ago at CES 2025.
SANDISK Optimus GX 7100M: First new SSD of the new name
Together with this name change, Sandisk also announced its first drive of the new brand, the SANDISK Optimus GX 7100M.
As the name suggests, this is a variant of the SANDISK Optimus GX 7100 (formerly WD Black SN7100) that was also first announced at CES 2025. However, the “M” in the model name indicates the drive is designed for mobile applications.
Sandisk says that the new Optimus GX 7100M NVMe SSD is “purpose-built for handheld gaming consoles and thin-and-light laptops.” The new drive features PCIe 4.0, with read and write speeds up to 7,250 MB/s, and up to 2TB of storage. Most interestingly, it’s the first Sandisk internal drive that features the compact 2230 design, similar to the Crucial P310, though you can install it in the place of a standard 2280 drive via an extension adapter.
The table below shows the full hardware specification for the new Optimus GX 7100M NVMe SSD.
SANDISK Optimus GX 7100M: Hardware specifications
 | |
|---|---|
| Name | SANDISK Optimus GX 7100M |
| Capacities (model) | 1TB (SDSP71100TAT) 2TB (SDSP71200TAT) |
| Heatsink Version | Yes |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe 2.0 (compatible with PCIe 4.0/3.0) |
| Design | M.2 (2230) |
| Controller | undisclosed |
| NAND Flash Memory | Sandisk TLC 3D CBA NAND |
| SLC Cache | Sandisk nCache 4.0 |
| Security | TCG Pyrite 2.01, ATA Security passthrough over NVMe |
| Sequential Read (up to) | 7,250MB/s |
| Sequential Write (up to) | 6,900MB/s |
| Random Read (IOPS) | 1M IOPS |
| Random Write (IOPS) | 1.3M IOPS |
| Endurance (Terabyte Written) | 600 TBW for each 1TB |
| MTTF | 1.75M Hours |
| Software | Sandisk Dashboard |
| Max Power Draw (active) | Read: 3.5W (1TB), 3.7W (2TB) Write: 3.8W (1TB), 4.0W (2TB) |
| Operating Temperature | 32ºF to 185ºF (0ºC to 85ºC) |
| Release Date | May 13, 2025 |
| US Price | TBD |
| Warranty | 5 years |
Availability
Sandisk says products featuring the new SANDISK Optimus branding, including the new SANDISK Optimus GX 7100M, will begin to roll out to retailers in the first half of 2026. However, the transition in identity from the WD BLACK and WD Blue brands to the new SANDISK Optimus brand begins immediately.
Soon, you won’t be able to find NVMe SSDs with “WD” in their model names. Looking for one to keep as a souvenir? The top five below will help.
Top 5 Sandisk internal NVMe SSDs
 |  |  |  |  | |
| Name | Sandisk WD Black SN8100’s Rating | Sandisk WD Blue SN5100’s Rating | WD Black SN850X’s Rating | WD Blue SN5000’s Rating | WD Black SN770’s Rating |
| Price | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rating | |||||
| Description | |||||
| Statistics | |||||
| Buy this product |
Comments are subject to approval, redaction, or removal. You're in the no-nonsense zone and that applies BOTH ways.
It's generally faster to get answers via site/page search. Your question/comment is one of many Dong Knows Tech receives daily.
Thank you!
(•) If you have subscription-related issues or represent a company/product mentioned here, please use the contact page or a PR channel.