It looks pretty much like an FPGA
But they've removed the programable part and hard-code it with a single metal layer mask during fabrication. It should be quick and comparatively cheap to spin new designs, but won't be as fast as a true ASIC.
Seagate has invested in a bespoke chip designer that can whack new interfaces to the hard disk giant's products. The silicon slinger is privately-held eASIC, which was tapped up for its "expertise in fast time-to-market, low-cost and low-power" custom chip knowhow, we're told. The draw for Seagate seems to be the ability to …
I've 'boat anchors' surrounding me--boxes of dead Seagate drives with the occasional Samsung and WD drive sprinkled in for good measure.
The angst and time lost recovering data from these reliably unreliable drives has been enormous.
Seagate, in any product form, has been off my shopping list for some considerable time now. I fail to see how this announcement will change that.