The end of hard drives?

I just saw some news about scientists finally hitting a breakthrough with holographic 3d data storage. Apparently they found a way to use light to store files in three dimensions instead of just flat on a disk or chip. People online r already calling it the end of hard drives and SSDs.

Credits: Amazon
It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie but they say it could hold way more data in a tiny space than anything we have now. Imagine having like a small crystal that holds every movie ever made lol. The street gossip on the tech blogs is that big companies r already trying to buy up the patents so they can control it.

Credits: ChatGpt

What’s realy interesting is the material they are using. Some reports say they are using a special type of polymer, while others claim it is fused quartz that can withstand heat and cold much better than our current plastic and metal drives. This means your data could technically last for thousands of years without degrading. I heard some university researchers in the uk even managed to write and rewrite data thousands of times without the crystal cracking or losing quality.
​If this hits the mainstream, we might see the end of "cloud" subscription fees because you could just keep everything you ever created in your pocket. The big tech giants probably hate this idea because they want us to keep paying for monthly storage space. I saw a video explaining how the lasers actually work to pinpoint data at different depths in the glass, which is how they get so much info in there.

Credits: ChatGpt

I wonder if this will actually be affordable or if its just going to be for big data centers for a long time. My current phone always runs out of space so i hope they bring this to mobile devices soon. Its crazy how fast things r changing. One day we are using usb sticks and the next day its literal light beams storing our photos. What do u guys think? Is this the future or just another hyped up tech dream that wont happen for 20 years.

References:
ScienceDaily: Breakthrough in 3D Light Storage (March 2026)

Optica Journal: Multidimensional Holographic Data Storage

HoloMem: 3D HoloDrive Technology and Tape Library Integration

What do u guys think? Is this the future or just another hyped up tech dream that wont happen for 20 years.