“Why are external hard drives so big when the iPhone can fit 512GB along with other components in a thin package?”

Posted on by Fred Langa

A classic hard drive is a complex mechanical assemblage consisting of a circuit board, one or more spinning platters, a spindle, a hub, bearings, several read/write heads on actuating arms, at least two electric motors, and miscellaneous wiring, connectors, and other parts. (Examples.)

A disassembled IBM hard drive. For more photos and related text, click to Gough’s Tech Zone; https://goughlui.com/2013/03/01/hard-drive-disassembly-the-ibm-deathstar/

In contrast, a SATA SSD contains just air and a circuit board.

Here’s a full-sized PC SSD I disassembled a few years back — a circuit board in a box, with room to spare. The black spacer is literally used to keep the board from flopping around inside the mostly-empty case.

Smartphone SSDs are even smaller; often just a single chip or two right on the mainboard.

However: You pay for that compactness. Smartphone memory is more expensive than PC SSDs; and PC SSDs are usually more expensive than classic hard drives.

Compact or cheap: pick one!

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