The fastest portable SSD Ive used is also the smallest (and its not even close)

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Samsung’s portable SSD T9 is one of the fastest and most durable external SSDs I’ve used, designed for professional creators who need reliably speedy transfer speeds and an ultraportable build for both PCs and Macs.

The T9 is available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB configurations, and is compact, measuring just half an inch thick. It’s coated in a rubberized material that’s durable enough to be tossed around, while supporting 256-bit encryption and advertised read and write speeds of up to 2,000MB/s. These speeds are fast enough for advanced use cases, such as running games directly from the drive.

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The SSD comes loaded with Samsung’s Magician app, which is full of utilities related to managing the SSD, including at-a-glance statistics like available space, operating temps, and a “Drive health” meter that shows a holistic assessment of the device’s abilities based on metrics such as power cycles and data units written.

You don’t need to use Samsung’s app; however, the drive is ready to go out of the box, a simple plug-and-play device that comes with its own USB-A and USB-C cables. This is a nice touch that adds to the overall premium impression.

With support for the USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 standard, the drive can achieve sustained read and write speeds of up to 20 Gbps, with thermal monitoring ensuring optimal performance. In fact, the drive generates very little heat, even under heavy workloads.

In terms of storage, you can choose from 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB, with prices ranging from $139 to $399 on the high end. The T9 is firmly positioned at the high end for professionals and content creators who require blazing speeds and extensive portability. It supports exFAT file formatting, making it highly compatible out of the box for both Windows, MacOS, and Android.

Just keep in mind that reaching these top speeds depends on a system with a USB-C port that can achieve those speeds in the first place. The drive is certainly compatible with older devices or ones that simply don’t operate at these speeds, and will revert to the max speeds possible based on the hardware.

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The cable you use also matters. Don’t just use one of the random USB-C cables in your desk drawer; they’re not all created equal. Luckily, the T9 comes with both a USB-C and USB-A cable of its own, and I’d recommend using those to ensure the fastest transfer speeds.

It also supports 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption, which means that the drive’s contents are automatically encrypted, rather than relying on software.

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Physically, the T9 SSD couldn’t have a simpler design: it features a single port on the side, accompanied by a status light and a robust outer casing. There are no buttons, display, or meters, which contribute to its streamlined, bag-ready use case.

Although it’s not explicitly dust- or waterproof, the drive’s protective coating provides it with sufficient durability to withstand a drop or fall (remember when dropping an external hard drive meant your data got erased?). I would just keep it away from open bodies of water.

In my testing of the drive’s performance in Windows using CrystalDiskMark, I achieved read and write speeds that closely matched Samsung’s numbers, indicating that it’s working as advertised. In real-world performance, this translates to processing massive files in a matter of seconds. I transferred a 2GB folder of images from my laptop to the device in about four seconds.

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If you’re a creator, you can expect this drive to easily handle 4K video projects, large files of RAW photo files with metadata, or large game files like a dream, with reliably fast file transfers as long as you’re working on hardware that can keep up.

ZDNET’s buying advice

Samsung’s T9 Portable SSD is slim and extremely portable, boasting blazing transfer speeds. Offered in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB versions, it’s flexible enough for a variety of use cases, but especially geared to mobile content creators who need to swap and store large media files on the go in seconds.

It’s not exactly cheap, but it’s not unreasonable, either. At the time of this writing, for example, the 4TB version is on sale on Amazon for $329, which is a great deal for an SSD that is future-proofed to last several years.