Toshiba MG10 vs MG11: What Changed Between the Two Generations, and What Did Not

Toshiba MG10 vs MG11: what the two overviews change

Both overviews describe a 10-disk helium-sealed design, so the generations share a basic layout. The changes are in the details Toshiba prints. The MG10 SATA overview, from September 2022, describes a 20 TB CMR drive offered at 20, 18 and 16 TB. The MG11 overview, Rev. 00 from August 2024, names Toshiba's 2nd generation FC-MAMR technology and offers 24 TB plus 22, 20, 18, 16 and 14 TB, in both SAS and SATA, with SIE and SED options.

The buffer is the plainest step: 512 MiB on MG10, 1 GiB on MG11, both in Toshiba's own units. Sustained transfer moves by 13 MiB/s at the sizes the two share, from 268 to 281 MiB/s, and the MG11's larger models go further, to 285 MiB/s at 22 TB and 295 MiB/s at 24 TB. The interface label on the model tables moves from SATA-3.3 to SATA-3.5a; we have not found a Toshiba document that says what that label changes for a buyer.

MG10 vs MG11: what did not change

Several rows stay put. Both overviews print acoustics as 20 dB at idle and 32 dB at seek, typical sound power, so the MG11 is not quieter than the MG10 on Toshiba's figures. The MG10 overview gives an MTTF of 2,500,000 hours with a 0.35% AFR and a rated annual workload of 550 TB per year, and the MG11 overview matches both. Toshiba Europe's MG Series page gives the series a 5-year limited warranty, with its warranty and reliability commitments resting on annual workload not exceeding 550 TB.

If you are replacing an MG10 in an array with an MG11, those rows say the newer drive is rated for the same work and quoted at the same noise. What changes is the buffer, the transfer figure and the capacity range. The MG11 overview also states 7200 rpm on both of its interfaces.

Toshiba MG10 vs MG11 power by capacity

Toshiba prints power as merged cells that cover more than one capacity. On the MG10 overview the 20 TB model has its own cell, while the 18 TB and 16 TB models share one. On the MG11 overview the 24, 22 and 20 TB models share a cell, the 18 TB has its own, and the 16 TB and 14 TB share one. The table follows those groupings.

Matched size by size on SATA, the generations are close at 18 TB and 20 TB: idle differs by 0.01 W and 0.03 W, and at 18 TB the MG11's working figure is slightly higher, 7.89 W against 7.86 W. The clear gain is at 16 TB, where the MG11 idles at 3.66 W against the MG10's 4.17 W and works at 7.41 W against 7.86 W. On the MG11, the SAS models draw more than the SATA models in every capacity group, so if your system takes either, SATA is the lower-power choice on paper.

MG10 vs MG11 in Backblaze's fleet: why the numbers are not a verdict

Backblaze publishes failure data for its own data-centre drives, and its Q2 2026 report includes MG10ACA20TE and MG11ACA24TE. They are not a matched pair: MG10ACA20TE is a 20 TB drive and MG11ACA24TE a 24 TB drive, and the MG11 sample's average age is 5.8 months against 12.1 months for the MG10.

The MG11's lower quarterly figure comes from a younger, smaller sample at a different capacity, in one company's operating conditions, over a single quarter. That is worth knowing and not enough to say the MG11 is the more reliable generation. Both overviews rate the drives at the same MTTF; one quarter of fleet data neither confirms nor overturns that.

Toshiba MG10 vs MG11 prices on Amazon.co.uk

New rows on Amazon.co.uk, pounds sterling inc VAT. The block below sets the generations at each size; a dash means that generation has no in-stock row at that size right now.

The MG10 table takes every drive tagged MG10, so it can include smaller MG10-family models below 16 TB and MG10F rows such as MG10AFA22TE, a separate series. Match each row's part number to the MG10ACA and MG11ACA numbers above before reading the figures across. Recording technology prints only where a document names the part number.

MG10 or MG11: which to buy

• Same size, same price: the MG11 gives a larger buffer and a higher transfer figure for the same rated workload, MTTF and quoted noise.
• At 16 TB the MG11 also prints lower power, 3.66 W idle against 4.17 W.
• Need 22 TB or 24 TB in an MG11ACA model, or SAS: the MG11 overview lists them; the MG10 overview covers SATA at 16 TB to 20 TB only.
• At 18 TB and 20 TB, power is not a reason to choose either.

Each generation has its own UK page at Toshiba MG10 and Toshiba MG11, with the wider range on the Toshiba MG series. Both generations against Seagate are set out on Toshiba MG vs Exos.