mSATA

mSATA

(Mini-Serial ATA) A version of the SATA interface for solid state drives (SSDs) in mobile devices. mSATA uses the same plug and socket as Mini PCI Express (mPCIe); however, the electrical signaling is different. mSATA was superseded by M.2 (see below). See Mini PCI Express and SATA.

Mobile Form Factors
The card on top is a 480GB mSATA SSD. The 960GB SSD (bottom) uses the next-generation 67-pin M.2 interface, which supports both SATA and PCI Express (SATA 3.0, USB 3.0 and four lanes of PCI Express 3.0).