I was wondering about this too, and I think it’s for cost-cutting on the lowest-margin products in the range. SMR is going to reduce platter size and quality r

I was wondering about this too, and I think it’s for cost-cutting on the lowest-margin products in the range. SMR is going to reduce platter size and quality requirements for a given size in GB (because the data is packed more densely). A given capacity can require fewer platters/sides, or a blemished platter can now be used where it couldn’t previously.