It’s true that toughness is somewhat imbedded in an SSD drive, due to its nature, i.e. it contains no moving/mechanical parts, unlike an old-school hard-disk drive. And as SSD prices are getting lower by the day, HDDs are slowly becoming extinct.

However, when it comes to storage only, the HDD is still king in terms of value for money, because if you take a look at the price tag, this 2 TB SSD drive is pretty expensive compared to a 2 TB external HDD. Yet, being a solid-state drive, it’s way more resistant to shocks, even compared to the best external hard drive, especially if you’ll throw it inside your camera bag and forget about it.

Finally, if you want to learn more about the differences between an external hard drive, an SSD and a flash drive, go read this article.

Specs

• Internal or External Internal
• Interface (Computer Side): USB Type-A or Type-C
• Capacity (Tested): 2 TB
• Bus Type: PCI Express 3.0 x4
• NVMe Support: Yes
• Rated Maximum Sequential Read: 2000 MBps
• Rated Maximum Sequential Write: 2000 MBps
• Warranty Length: 5 years

Design

As we already told you, this portable SSD from SanDisk features a tough design, being an excellent choice for both Mac and PC users looking for a solid external storage solution. Keep in mind that if 2 TB are not enough, there’s also a 4 GB version available (crazy expensive though), featuring the same tough design and blazing fast transfer speeds.

Speaking of toughness, the Extreme Pro has a rock-solid rubberized chassis, which makes it incredibly grippy, and an aluminum body featuring a loop at the top, so you can secure it using a carrying clip (provided in the retail box).

What’s really important though is the SSD’s IP55 rating, which means it’s both dust and water-resistant. This rating makes the SSD ideal for people who require data transfers rapidly during filming/photo shoots “in the wild” so to speak, as this SSD is tougher than a coffin nail. The only “soft spot” is the USB Type C port located at the bottom, because, strangely enough, SanDisk decided to not cover it in any way, shape or form.

So, if your SSD gets wet, falls into water or whatever, do make sure that USB Type C port is squeaky clean and dry before you connect anything to it. Truth be told, it would have been nice from SanDisk to put something there, like a removable cover to protect this port, but maybe we’ll see that with the next “facelift”, who knows.

It’s also worth mentioning that the SSD’s silicone sheath allows it to survive a drop from 6.5 ft, and that’s great for “rough and ready” scenarios. Arguably, this is one of the best consumer-grade drives out there, even if the SSD is still vulnerable to fine dust.

Final word on “toughness”: do not confuse IP55 to IP68; the latter rating means the device is impermeable to dust and can survive a drop in water. This SanDisk SSD lacks a port cover, so never dunk it in water, “aight”?

Before we move to the next segment, it’s nice to see that the SSD comes with 2 cables in the retail package, one with USB type C on both ends, and one with USB type A for more general compatibility.

Performance

This is where the fun begins: the Extreme Pro SSD stands at the apex of SanDisk’s Extreme line of solid-state drives, which means it’s designed to please hardcore users, like photographers, video editors, animators etc., i.e. people who are ready and willing to take full advantage of the SSD’s very latest USB 3.2 standard to move big chunks of data instantly, or almost.

Before we forget, if you’re planning to use this SSD for your Xbox, please go read this article, you’ll thank us later.

Now, since we’re dealing with a high-end SSD, it’s no wonder that the Extreme Pro Portable SSD really shines in terms of ridiculous speeds in regard to fast data transfer, even for a solid-state drive. If you’re using a Thunderbolt 3 port, you’ll experience the best performance out of this drive, as the Extreme Pro Portable is rated at 1,050 MB/s, which means over 900 MB/s in real life.

When it comes to transferring big chunks of data, this baby can copy huge files while hardly breaking a sweat, and that’s mostly due to its forged aluminum chassis, which works like a radiator, allowing it to dissipate data quickly and efficiently. The point being, this SSD will stay cool even under heavy loads, with consistent writing speeds in excess of 900 MB/s even if we’re talking large files (300 GB or more).

Another argument for buying this beast is that it features USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, i.e. the latest and fastest USB protocol on the market. Sometimes called SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps (the blue SS ports in your desktop), this protocol offers blazing-fast transfer speeds of up to 2,000MBps for both read and write.

Security

This is another strong selling point for the SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable, as the SSD comes with Windows and macOS Security software bundles, which allow you to set a password and provide 256-bit AES hardware encryption, i.e. this is a tough nut to crack even for government agencies looking to steal your cat pics.

To make it really simple, the 256-bit AES hardware encryption thing is widely regarded as the gold standard for consumer-drive data encryption. You must also learn that the Extreme Pro Portable comes with a solid 5-year manufacturer’s warranty, which is kind of “long-term” security for peace of mind.

Final word

If you made it this far, we bet you’re already sold on this baby. The tl;dr version is that the SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable is a high-performance solid-state drive aimed at multimedia creators and videographers, as it can transfer 4K/8K video in a jiffy if your computer supports USB 3.2 Gen 2×2.

The 500 GB version we are going to review here costs just a tad over one hundred bucks, reads up to 1,050 MB/s, writes up to 1 000 MB/s and comes backed by Samsung’s legendary quality control and 3 years manufacturer’s warranty.

On top of that, the SSD is made of aluminum and it’s shock-resistant, being able to support drops from 6ft. The shock resistance thing is specific to SSDs, which are by design resistant to shocks, even compared to the best external hard drive, as they have no moving parts.

Moreover, if you want to learn more about the differences between an external hard drive, an SSD and a flash drive, go read this article. And before we proceed with the review, keep in mind that if you’re planning to use this SSD for your Xbox, please go read this article, you’ll thank us later.

Specs

• Capacity: 500GB, 1TB and 2TB
• Interface: USB 3.2 Gen 2 ( backward compatible with USB 3.0 and 2.0)
• Texture: Aluminium
• Operating Temperature: 5–35°C
• System requirements: Windows 7 or higher
• Mac OS X 10.10 or higher or Android Lollipop (version 5.1) or higher
• Accessories: USB-A to USB-C and USB-C to USB-C cables, Quick start guide
• Color: Silver/Black
• Dimensions: ( L x W x H ): 85 x 57 x 8mm
• Weight: 58g
• Warranty: 3 years

What is it

To describe it succinctly, the Samsung T7 Touch Portable is the pinnacle of Korean know-how in SSD technology, boasting industry-leading data safety features and lightning fast data transfer speeds, while keeping everything very palatable price-wise for a top shelf portable SSD.

For what it costs, it doesn’t get any better in terms of value for money, so if you’re really decided to buy a portable SSD of this capacity and you’re happy with the price, you can stop reading and just click “buy it now”. That would be the tl;dr version of the review.

To give you a little bit of context, the T7 is the logical successor of the highly popular T5. The T7 is available in two flavors: the vanilla T7, and the Touch T7, which features a fingerprint sensor, hence the Touch thing, which complements Samsung’s Portable SSD Plus 1.0 software and AES 256-bit hardware encryption.

Needless to say, if you’re not a state-backed hacking group, it would be nearly impossible to break this bastard, i.e. to recover data from the device if you don’t have the “digit” to go with your SSD. As far as secure, innovative and simple to use portable SSDs go, this one runs with the best, as it has both the looks (sleek styling) and the performance, not to mention hardware encryption.

It’s worth mentioning that the T7 Touch is bus-powered, which means this portable SSD is capable of delivering exceptional speeds over the USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface.

Design

Dimension-wise, the T7 Touch measures 85 x 57 x 8.0 mm and weighs 58 grams, featuring an elegant yet tough aluminum unibody construction. The SSD fits perfectly in the palm of your hand and it’s very easy to carry around in your pocket or wherever. The LED square will deliver a cool blue light when it lights up, and it’s designed to keep you up to date with what’s going on at a glance.

There are 2 cables delivered with the SSD, and each of them can be connected to the USB Type-C port. Overall, this SSD is a straightforward device, with a clean and ergonomic design, which is both useful and pleasant to the eye.

Hardware

The hardware department is Samsung’s specialty. Unlike other SSD manufacturers, Samsung have it all made in-house, i.e. the controller, the NAND memory and the software is all made by Samsung. Since there’s no third party involved, everything runs buttery smooth and there are zero issues with quality control; that’s why Samsung SSDs are arguably the best in the world.

Now, the main difference between the older-gen T5 and the T7 is that the latter has an NVMe SSD behind the USB 3.2 Gen 2 bridge, for improved performance compared to older SATA technology. According to industry insiders, the T7 Touch uses 6th gen 136-layer V-NAND (92L TLC V-NAND), compared to the T5’s 64-layer V-NAND, a “Pablo” NAND flash controller, and it interfaces with an ASMedia ASM2362 chip, which is a USB 3.2 Gen2-to-NVMe bridge chip for connection to the host.

The SSD comes preformatted from factory as exFAT, which means it’s 100 percent compatible with basically any computer (Apple, PC), as well as gaming consoles, smartphones, smart TVs and anything in between.

The drive also contains the Samsung Portable SSD Plus software, which is required to enable its fingerprint sensor and to set-up your desired level of security. You can also download the app version of the software to use it with your smartphone, if your smartphone comes with a USB Type C port obviously. The setup process with regard to the SSD’s fingerprint capabilities is just as easy as doing it on your smartphone.

Keep in mind that for the fingerprint sensor to work, the SSD must be connected at all times to an USB port. The T7 Touch features S.M.A.R.T. data reporting and comes with TRIM support, so you can safely monitor your SSD health status.

The AES 256-bit hardware encryption is definitely aimed at security-conscious users as well as business users who want an extra level of security for their data. The fingerprint scanner is also a very nice touch for corporate security types, as it streamlines the encryption authentication process, i.e. entering a password is no longer required, and, what’s very cool about it, the scanner works to unlock SSD, regardless if the supporting software is installed on the host or not, making unlocking easy on any device.

The T7 Touch can store up to four different fingerprints, so the SSD can be safely used in a shared environment. It’s also worth mentioning that the drive comes with Samsung’s proprietary Dynamic Thermal Guard technology, which works by minimizing heat generation to keep the SSD at optimum operating temperatures.

On top of that, the drive used Encapsulated Phase Change Material in its construction, which absorbs excess heat from the components and releases it slowly to shield it against overheating.

Accessories

The T7 touch ships with 2 USB cables, 1x USB Type-C to Type-C and 1x USB Type-C to USB Type-A. Each cable measures 45 cm/18 inches, which is a nice touch, as they’re long enough to avoid dangling the SSD from a rear/front port.

Bottom line

The T7 Touch is a great choice for both “civilian” and corporate use, as it strikes the right balance between speed, security, pricing and portability, which is rare nowadays. Even if there’s no Mil-Spec/IP rating, at this price and considering the brand, nobody really cares.