Asus has successfully created a new mounting system for M.2 SSD which no longer requires a screw for installation. In place of the screw is a plastic latch that allows the SSD to be held in securely by simply flipping the latch around with your thumb.
🤯 pic.twitter.com/VaOz7YqG2GFebruary 8, 2021
If you've dealt with tiny M.2 screws before, you will know how easy it is to lose them, be it inside your case, on a carpeted floor, or just in the collection of accessories that come with the board. Asus' little invention, a piece of notched plastic that sits on a screw on the anchor side of the M.2 slot, fixes that problem since you don't have to deal with removing and replacing any screws whatsoever. The plastic latch never needs to be removed from the motherboard, although time will tell how well the plastic holds up over repeated use.
The new M.2 mounting system will be coming to Asus Z590 series motherboards in the near future, once Rocket Lake supported processors arrive. Hopefully, this new mounting system will expand to AMD platforms, and perhaps will even be sold separately as an upgrade for current M.2-capable boards.