In context: Samsung sells TechSpot’s favourite portable SSD (the T7), which not too long ago acquired a successor that whereas costly, gives a formidable velocity enhance. A brand new upcoming choice appears to change velocity for capability. Uniquely roomy for its dimension, it might show worthwhile in particular conditions.
German laptop outlet WinFuture has obtained pictures of the packaging for an unannounced Samsung portable solid-state drive, which boasts a most storage choice of 8TB. Although a launch date is unsure, the packaging design, full with a 2023 copyright marker, suggests a possible launch earlier than year-end.
Named the T5 Evo, this pocket-sized SSD seems to be just like the corporate’s well-regarded T7 Shield or its not too long ago launched Samsung T9. However, whereas these and different ultra-portable SSDs max out at 4TB, the T5 Evo gives an 8TB variant.
The listed costs for the brand new product are steep – $189.99 for 2TB and $349.99 for 4TB. These don’t appear aggressive when contemplating that the T7 Shield and T9 provide 4TB for roughly $230 and $299, respectively. Moreover, the T5 Evo is restricted by a USB 3.2 Gen 1 interface, capping its most learn/write speeds at 460MB/s – considerably slower than the T7 Shield’s 1GB/s and the T9’s 2GB/s.
Additionally, the unannounced SSD’s sturdiness is considerably missing, withstanding falls from solely as much as two meters, whereas the T7 Shield can deal with three.
Nevertheless, for these in want of an 8TB SSD that matches in a jean pocket, the T5 Evo could be the solely choice. Weighing simply 102 grams and with dimensions of 95 x 40 x 17 millimeters, it aligns with the dimensions of Samsung’s different portable SSDs. Considering this, the very best storage tier’s value of $655.99, which is roughly 8 cents per gigabyte, does not appear that horrible.
A delicate but doubtlessly important characteristic that the T7 Shield and T9 lack is the T5 Evo’s metallic ring, which facilitates attachment to hooks or strings – just like the rings discovered on Western Digital’s standard SanDisk portable SSDs. However, WD’s current points with their Extreme Pro mannequin, resulting in a class-action lawsuit resulting from excessive failure charges, could drive shoppers in the direction of Samsung’s choices.
As anticipated, the T5 Evo is suitable with working programs together with and past Windows 7, macOS 10.10, and Android 5.1. Like Samsung’s different drives, it is additionally prone to help sport consoles, which means the forthcoming 8TB variant ought to accommodate a considerable assortment of 100GB video games.