Monday, January 5th 2026
WD Black Drives Now Called SANDISK Optimus
Today at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2026), Sandisk announced Sandisk Optimus as the new name for its renowned internal SSD lineup for gamers, creators, and professionals. The new branding for this family of products reflects a focus on performance leadership, engineering excellence, and a heritage of trust in flash memory. The powerful collection of Sandisk Optimus internal storage solutions, encompasses three product lines: Sandisk Optimus, Sandisk Optimus GX, and Sandisk Optimus GX PRO.
Featuring a striking new packaging and product design inspired by the company's innovation and iconic branding, the introduction of Sandisk Optimus creates room for future growth as the company expands its offerings to support the needs of gamers, creators, and professionals. The new design is inspired by the company's pioneering brand heritage and relentless focus on delivering innovation that delights end users. While the overall look and feel of the Sandisk Optimus brand is boldly different, its product portfolio carries forward Sandisk's long-standing reputation for superior quality and reliability, characteristics that have shaped the company's longstanding legacy of flash innovation."The Sandisk Optimus brand redefines what performance means for consumer needs," said Heidi Arkinstall, VP Global Consumer Brand and Digital Marketing at Sandisk. "Our products span multiple segments and with this change we are making it easier for consumers to find the right solution for their needs."
Giving customers a more intuitive way to understand performance tiers and navigate the lineup with confidence, the Sandisk Optimus portfolio is segmented to help consumers easily identify the product they need:
The transition from the WD_BLACK and WD Blue brands to the Sandisk Optimus brand identity begins with today's announcement, with products featuring the updated branding expected to reach select retailers worldwide in the first half of 2026 for purchase, pre-order or notification.
Source:
Sandisk
Featuring a striking new packaging and product design inspired by the company's innovation and iconic branding, the introduction of Sandisk Optimus creates room for future growth as the company expands its offerings to support the needs of gamers, creators, and professionals. The new design is inspired by the company's pioneering brand heritage and relentless focus on delivering innovation that delights end users. While the overall look and feel of the Sandisk Optimus brand is boldly different, its product portfolio carries forward Sandisk's long-standing reputation for superior quality and reliability, characteristics that have shaped the company's longstanding legacy of flash innovation."The Sandisk Optimus brand redefines what performance means for consumer needs," said Heidi Arkinstall, VP Global Consumer Brand and Digital Marketing at Sandisk. "Our products span multiple segments and with this change we are making it easier for consumers to find the right solution for their needs."
Giving customers a more intuitive way to understand performance tiers and navigate the lineup with confidence, the Sandisk Optimus portfolio is segmented to help consumers easily identify the product they need:
- Sandisk Optimus product line - Designed as a benchmark performance hero, built for content creators who demand faster, smoother computing. These drives deliver the right balance of speed and affordability. Previously branded as WD Blue, including the WD Blue SN5100 NVMe SSD.
- Sandisk Optimus GX product line - Gaming without limits, designed for players who want lightning-fast load times, expanded capacity, and power efficiency. Previously branded as WD_BLACK, including the WD_BLACK SN7100 NVMe SSD.
- Sandisk Optimus GX PRO product line- The flagship of the Sandisk Optimus brand portfolio, the Sandisk Optimus GX PRO represents the pinnacle of performance. These drives are designed for developers, professionals and gamers in the pursuit of the latest technological breakthrough and uncompromising performance who are looking to build AI PCs, workstations, or high-end PCs. Sandisk Optimus GX PRO combines cutting-edge storage technologies with increased capacity. Previously branded as WD_BLACK, including the WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe SSD.
The transition from the WD_BLACK and WD Blue brands to the Sandisk Optimus brand identity begins with today's announcement, with products featuring the updated branding expected to reach select retailers worldwide in the first half of 2026 for purchase, pre-order or notification.


29 Comments on WD Black Drives Now Called SANDISK Optimus
Wd buys sandisk so they can have ssds
Wd has decently successful ssd line
Lets spin off sandisk
Sandisk confusingly keeps wd branding
Sandisk drops wd branding
Wd is right back where they started from and no real gain and now nothing to show for it
HmmmmWD40 lol
Money can't buy happies and brains. R.I.P BLACK series you will be missed.
SSD from SanDisk. It was a little confusing (especially because I still call then SunDisk). Sorting out SSDs from HDDs is logical.