On this day in 1972, two IBM engineers were officially granted a patent for the first disketu. It was a US patent number 3668658A. It is registered under the name cover of a magnetic recording discdescribing a rotating magnetic medium housed within a protective sheath that simultaneously cleaned and protected its surface.
These first floppy disks had a huge diameter of 8 inches (about 20.3 cm)but the capacity of everything 80 kilobytes (KB). Unlike rigid plastic disks from 3.5 inches (about 8.9 cm) which today’s generations recognize exclusively as Save icon, these first ones were really completely flexible (from where the English name comes from floppy disk).
Based on the publication date of the patent, floppy disks officially celebrate theirs today 54th birthday. However, the history of this portable media began in 1967 as part of an IBM project Minnow. The goal was to develop a flexible Mylar disk coated with a magnetic material that would replace bulky punch cards and magnetic tapes. IBM planned then that the device itself (drive) costs less than $200, and the media itself less than $5.
Evolution of capacities and formats
Although the first 8-inch floppy disks were put into production in 1971 (a few months before the official patent), the technology advanced rapidly.
Shutterstock / BenchmarkHere are some key stages of progress:
- 1977. (Apple II): Steve Wozniak is developing an advanced recording system (GCR) for new floppy disks from 5.25 inches (about 13.3 cm). This increased the capacity to 140 KB (then the standard was 90 KB)
- 1978. (Tandon): The first double-sided drive (DSDD) was introduced, which allowed storage of up to 360 KB on 5.25-inch floppy disks.
- 1984. (IBM i Apple): IBM donates high-density 1.2 MB format on a 5.25 inch format. At the same time, Apple launches the original Macintosh with Sony hard 3.5-inch 400 KB floppy disks
- 1986 (Gold Standard): IBM perfects the pocket format and sets the legendary standard of 1.44 MB on a 3.5-inch diskettewhich marked the next two decades of computing.
Peak and technological oblivion
Floppy disks had an amazing lifespan by technological standards. At the height of its popularity during the nineties, more than 5 billion floppy disks were sold annually worldwide.
It was Apple again who started the revolution and the change of trends. In 1998, he shocked the IT public with the launch of the first iMac computer that did not have a built-in diskette reader at all. Apple started pushing the new CD-ROM and USB standard.
Where the floppy disk “lives” in 2026
Today, in the year 2026, floppy disks are just a distant nostalgia for most of us. However, from time to time the media discover amazing systems that modern technology has forgotten. Thus, floppy disks are still used to maintain the subway system in San Francisco, in certain prisons in New Jersey, and even within certain systems of the German Navy, recalls Tom’s Hardware.