Remember back when solid state drives (SSDs) were an expensive upgrade for your computer? Well, we’re well past that, as flash memory has become the norm. They’re a lot cheaper than they used to be, and they offer incredible performance boosts, even on older systems. Even better, portable SSDs are only getting faster and more affordable as well. Case in point: The just-announced Samsung T5.
We knew the T5 was coming, and Samsung finally unveiled it on Tuesday. Whether you’re familiar with the T1 and T3 that preceded it, you should be excited to see the new model come to town, especially if you’re looking for more portable storage.
These portable SSDs measure just 74 x 57.3 x 10.5mm and weigh just 51 grams. They come in various sizes, starting at 250GB and going all the way up to 2TB.
When it comes to performance, the Samsung T5 is even faster than the T3, packing brand new 64-layer V-NAND technology. That will get you speeds of up to 540MB/s as long as both devices support USB 3.1 and UASP modes. The Samsung T3 offers speeds of up to 450MB/s.
The T5 drives also come with USB-C connectors and support 256-bit hardware data encryption. Samsung apps for PC, Mac, and Android should out with transfers and security management.
Pricing starts at $129.99 for the 250GB version, and each drive comes with USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to USB-A adapters in the box. Samsung says the drives will be available globally starting August 15th. Prices go up to $199.99, $299.99, and $799.99 for 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB versions, respectively.
That also means you should expect to see deals on Samsung’s older T3 model going forward, so keep an eye out on Amazon for T3 listings. Currently, 500GB T3 versions sell for $199.99, while the 250 model costs $149.38.
