The LTO Show Take
A 33% capacity bump that needs no new drive is an upgrade archive teams almost never get. If you already run LTO-10, the 40TB cartridges are a firmware update away — more capacity per slot with zero hardware spend. The planning takeaway is simple: don’t budget a forklift upgrade for capacity the format just handed you.
The Story
The LTO Program — the consortium of HPE, IBM, and Quantum — finalized a 40TB native specification for LTO-10, up from the generation’s original 30TB (up to 100TB compressed at 2.5:1). Because the drive’s recording technology is unchanged, existing LTO-10 drives can use the new cartridges after a firmware update. The gain comes from a new Aramid-based base film that fits thinner, longer tape in the same shell. Fujifilm began shipping the 40TB media in January 2026, with broader availability through Q1.
Source: LTO Program announcement (lto.org)
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— The LTO Show Editorial Staff