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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- Samsung's T9 SSD comes with capacities of up to 4TB, starting astatine $139 and ranging up to $399.
- It offers blazing-fast transportation speeds up to 2,000MB/s, stays cool, and is astir arsenic portable arsenic you tin get.
- It's not precisely cheap, and the rubberized physique attracts particulate and lint.
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Samsung's portable SSD T9 is 1 of the fastest and astir durable outer SSDs I've used, designed for nonrecreational creators who request reliably speedy transportation speeds and an ultraportable physique for some PCs and Macs.
The T9 is disposable successful 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB configurations, and is compact, measuring conscionable fractional an inch thick. It's coated successful a rubberized worldly that's durable capable to beryllium tossed around, portion supporting 256-bit encryption and advertised work and constitute speeds of up to 2,000MB/s. These speeds are accelerated capable for precocious usage cases, specified arsenic moving games straight from the drive.
Also: The world's smallest 1TB SSD thrust is the question instrumentality I didn't cognize I needed
The SSD comes loaded with Samsung's Magician app, which is afloat of utilities related to managing the SSD, including at-a-glance statistic similar disposable space, operating temps, and a "Drive health" metre that shows a holistic appraisal of the device's abilities based connected metrics specified arsenic powerfulness cycles and information units written.
You don't request to usage Samsung's app; however, the thrust is acceptable to spell retired of the box, a elemental plug-and-play instrumentality that comes with its ain USB-A and USB-C cables. This is simply a bully interaction that adds to the wide premium impression.
With enactment for the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 standard, the thrust tin execute sustained work and constitute speeds of up to 20 Gbps, with thermal monitoring ensuring optimal performance. In fact, the thrust generates precise small heat, adjacent nether dense workloads.
In presumption of storage, you tin take from 1TB, 2TB, oregon 4TB, with prices ranging from $139 to $399 connected the precocious end. The T9 is firmly positioned astatine the precocious extremity for professionals and contented creators who necessitate blazing speeds and extended portability. It supports exFAT record formatting, making it highly compatible retired of the container for some Windows, MacOS, and Android.
Just support successful caput that reaching these apical speeds depends connected a strategy with a USB-C larboard that tin execute those speeds successful the archetypal place. The thrust is surely compatible with older devices oregon ones that simply don't run astatine these speeds, and volition revert to the max speeds imaginable based connected the hardware.
Also: I traveled with 1 of the astir unafraid SSDs ever - and ne'er felt much relaxed
The cablegram you usage besides matters. Don't conscionable usage 1 of the random USB-C cables successful your table drawer; they're not each created equal. Luckily, the T9 comes with some a USB-C and USB-A cablegram of its own, and I'd urge utilizing those to guarantee the fastest transportation speeds.
It besides supports 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption, which means that the drive's contents are automatically encrypted, alternatively than relying connected software.
Also: The champion M.2 SSDs of 2025: Expert tested and reviewed
Physically, the T9 SSD couldn't person a simpler design: it features a azygous larboard connected the side, accompanied by a presumption airy and a robust outer casing. There are nary buttons, display, oregon meters, which lend to its streamlined, bag-ready usage case.
Although it's not explicitly dust- oregon waterproof, the drive's protective coating provides it with capable durability to withstand a driblet oregon autumn (remember erstwhile dropping an outer hard thrust meant your information got erased?). I would conscionable support it distant from unfastened bodies of water.
In my investigating of the drive's show successful Windows utilizing CrystalDiskMark, I achieved work and constitute speeds that intimately matched Samsung's numbers, indicating that it's moving arsenic advertised. In real-world performance, this translates to processing monolithic files successful a substance of seconds. I transferred a 2GB folder of images from my laptop to the instrumentality successful astir 4 seconds.
If you're a creator, you tin expect this thrust to easy grip 4K video projects, ample files of RAW photograph files with metadata, oregon ample crippled files similar a dream, with reliably accelerated record transfers arsenic agelong arsenic you're moving connected hardware that tin support up.
ZDNET's buying advice
Samsung's T9 Portable SSD is slim and highly portable, boasting blazing transportation speeds. Offered successful 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB versions, it's flexible capable for a assortment of usage cases, but particularly geared to mobile contented creators who request to swap and store ample media files connected the spell successful seconds.
It's not precisely cheap, but it's not unreasonable, either. At the clip of this writing, for example, the 4TB mentation is connected merchantability connected Amazon for $329, which is simply a large woody for an SSD that is future-proofed to past respective years.
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