What is a defining characteristic of a hard disk drive (HDD)?

A defining characteristic of a hard disk drive (HDD) is that it uses a spinning platter and a mechanical arm for data access. This design involves magnetic disks that spin at high speeds, allowing read/write heads on a mechanical arm to move across the surface of the platters to access data. This physical motion and mechanical interaction are what differentiate HDDs from other storage types, such as solid-state drives (SSDs), which rely on flash memory and have no moving parts.

The reliance on spinning platters and mechanics is crucial to how data is stored and retrieved in an HDD, giving it a unique set of performance characteristics compared to other storage solutions. While HDDs can offer large storage capacities at a lower cost, they may also have slower read/write speeds and are more susceptible to physical damage due to their mechanical components.