- Conner returns at CES 2026 with moveable storage as an alternative of exhausting drives
- The previous HDD pioneer now targets cellular customers with SSD primarily based merchandise
- An extended absent storage identify exams whether or not legacy manufacturers nonetheless matter
A well-recognized identify from the early days of non-public computing has resurfaced unexpectedly at CES 2026.
Conner, as soon as a defining pressure in PC storage, is returning, albeit with a really completely different set of merchandise.
Conner Peripherals was based in 1986 and have become one of many higher recognized storage corporations of the late Eighties and early Nineties. Its work on compact exhausting drives helped set up the three.5-inch format as the usual for desktop PCs.
Who is likely to be subsequent?
The corporate later pale from view because the exhausting drive trade consolidated and flash storage grew in reputation. For a few years, the Conner identify was largely absent from client {hardware}.
The Conner at CES 2026 introduced a lineup targeted on not on conventional exhausting drives however reasonably moveable digital storage.
The merchandise it confirmed are aimed primarily at cellular customers reasonably than desktop methods.
The vary contains small exterior drives designed for smartphone backups, pocket sized moveable SSDs, and hybrid units that mix storage with battery charging.
Some fashions additionally combine card readers, permitting customers to develop storage utilizing MicroSD playing cards.
The agency’s focus now seems to be on comfort and portability reasonably than uncooked capability.
“Conner helped outline the early period of non-public storage, and we’re thrilled to deliver that legacy again to life,” mentioned Jaci Jin, CEO of Conner. “As digital content material expands and mobility turns into important, our mission stays the identical as what Conner’s was many years in the past: ship reliable, forward-thinking storage options that empower individuals to guard and handle their information effortlessly.”
Alongside its CES 2026 look, the corporate plans to introduce some merchandise by way of crowdfunding platforms, suggesting an preliminary concentrate on early adopters and creators, reasonably than a direct return to mass market distribution.
How the agency’s return might be obtained stays to be seen. The storage market is crowded, competitors is intense, and the Conner model will probably be unfamiliar to many trendy consumers.
Nonetheless, it does elevate some enjoyable questions on whether or not different lengthy dormant storage manufacturers may try related revivals.
Names equivalent to Maxtor, Iomega, and SyQuest as soon as outlined client storage, and it’s exhausting to not be inquisitive about what a contemporary reboot of any of these would possibly appear like.
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