CFexpress is a standard for removable media cards proposed by the CompactFlash Association. The standard uses PCIe 3.0 interface with 1 to 4 lanes where 1 GB/s data can be provided per lane. NVM Express is also supported to provide low overhead and latency. There are multiple form factors that feature different PCIe lane counts. One of the goals is to unify the ecosystem of removable storage by being compatible with standards already widely adopted, such as PCIe and NVMe. There already is a wide range of controllers, software and devices that uses these standards, accelerating adoption.
History
On 7 September 2016, the CompactFlash Association announced CFexpress. The specification would be based on the PCI Express interface and NVM Express protocol. On 18 April 2017 the CompactFlash Association published the CFexpress 1.0 specification. Version 1.0 will use the XQD form-factor with two PCIe 3.0 lanes for speeds up to 2 GB/s. NVMe 1.2 is used for low-latency access, low overhead and highly parallel access. On 13 June 2017, Delkin introduced the first CFexpress cards based on the CFexpress 1.0 specification. In February 2018, they released benchmarks, with sample units introduced in the second quarter of 2018, and production scheduled for the third quarter. The CFexpress 2.0 standard was announced on 28 February 2019. It features two new card formats, with the existing cards designated as "type B". The NVM Express protocol was upgraded to 1.3. In the future, there are plans to increase the speed further by adopting PCIe 4.0.
Comparison
Compatible devices
Cards
Delkin
On 13 June 2017, Delkin introduced the first CFexpress cards, which were on the CFexpress 1.0 specification. The cards have a XQD form factor and use two PCIe 3.0 lanes. They come in 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB capacities. More details on Delkin's CFexpress cards were revealed in February 2018. The cards should be able to be read from and written to with respectively up to 1.6 GB/s and up to 1.0 GB/s benchmarked with CrystalDiskMark 5.2.1. Sample units will be available in Q2 2018 and production is scheduled for Q3 2018.
ProGrade Digital
ProGrade Digital announced it would begin production and sale of CFexpress cards in 2018 with the Type-B form-factor. The 1 TB CFexpress card that ProGrade Digital showed at the Spring NAB show in 2018 demonstrated 1,400 Mbit/s read speed and over 700 Mbit/s burst write speed. This demonstration was performed using a Thunderbolt 3 CFexpress/XQD reader on a MacBook Pro computer.
Apacer
On 11 December 2018, Apacer announced its first CFexpress card, the PV130-CFX.
Wise Advanced
On 7 April 2019, Wise Advanced announced it was producing CFexpress cards with 512GB, 256GB, and 128GB capacities, as well as a CFexpress Card Reader, all using CFexpress Type B.
Readers
BLACKJET TX-1CXQ
Parts
On October 2, 2017, Rego Electronics announced CFexpress host connectors and card cardkits, parts that manufacturers can use for their CFexpress devices and cards.
Client devices
As of October 2017, there were no CFexpress client devices released. However, in late October 2017 a Lexar employee stated to Nikon Rumors:
CFExpress is essentially the next revision of XQD, and there should be full backward compatibility with XQD, and that getting D4/D5/500/D850’s to work with CFE cards should be a simple software patch.
On 23 August 2018, Nikon announced their new mirrorless cameras, the Z6 and Z7. At launch they only supported XQD cards, but a later firmware update enabled support for CFexpress. On 13 February 2019, Nikon further confirmed that CFexpress support via a firmware update will also be coming to the D5, D850 and D500. On 16 December 2019, Nikon released firmware version 2.20 for the Z6 and Z7, adding support for CFExpress. On 28 August 2018, Phase One announced the XF IQ4 camera system. Like the Nikon cameras, future support for CFexpress was added in a later firmware update. On 24 October 2019, Canon announced the development of the EOS-1D X Mark III with dual CFexpress slots. The camera was officially released on 6 January 2020, with availability set for February. On 12 February 2020, Nikon announced the Nikon D6, which uses dual CFexpress slots. On 20 April 2020, Canon announced that the EOS R5, a hybrid mirrorless camera, will support CFexpress and SD UHS-II. On 28 July 2020, Sony announced the α7S III, a mirrorless camera that will support dual CFexpress and SD cards.
