Each HP LTO 7 cartridge features a native storage capacity of 6TB, or up to 15TB compressed capacity. LTO 6 technology boasts faster transfer speeds of 300MB/s (native) to 700MB/s (compressed).
As with generations 5 and 6, LTO 7 features LTFS (Linear Tape File System), which makes using the tape as easy, flexible, portable and intuitive as using other removable and sharable media (such as a USB drive) with drag and drop file capability.
You will need an LTO 7 drive to read your LTO 7 media. However, the drives are "backwards compatible". Once you upgrade to an LTO 7 drive, it will still be able to read and write your LTO 6 Tape media, and read your LTO 5 tapes.