On March 31, 2026, Toshiba made a significant announcement regarding the launch of its latest M12 series nearline mechanical hard drives. These drives are meticulously crafted to cater to the demanding needs of large-scale data centers. Employing a helium-filled, 11-disk architecture, the series substitutes traditional aluminum substrates with superior glass substrates. Additionally, it incorporates cutting-edge Flux Controlled-Microwave Assisted Magnetic Recording (FC-MAMR) technology. The SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) variant of this series offers storage capacities spanning from 30TB to an impressive 34TB, with samples already having been dispatched to customers. It delivers a remarkable maximum sustained transfer rate of 282MiB/s, marking an approximate 8% enhancement over its predecessor, while simultaneously achieving an 18% reduction in power consumption per terabyte. Designed for uninterrupted 24/7 operation, these drives boast an annual workload capacity of 550TB and an impressive mean time between failures (MTBF) of up to 2.5 million hours. As for the CMR (Conventional Magnetic Recording) version, samples are anticipated to be shipped in the third quarter of 2026, featuring a maximum capacity of 28TB.