Group test: Portable SSDs
Pocket your data in a stylish way, without breaking the bank
SSDs offer quicker transfer speeds, lower latency and greater resistance to physical shock
When it comes to a lightweight, reliable way to carry around your data, solid state drives (SSDs) are the way to go. SSDs are lightning fast and come in a range of storage capacities depending on your budget. The five SSDs in this group test all cost under £130 for 500GB of storage.
First things first, when it comes to archival storage (over decades or longer), SSDs aren’t the best option. This is because NAND flash-based drives tend to leak storage if left for long periods without power. DRAM-based drives come with either an internal battery, or an AC/DC adapter to avoid this problem, but are not as portable as a result. Since they use flash memory, NANDbased SSDs are great for temporary storage, though. They offer quicker transfer speeds, lower latency, silent running and greater resistance to physical shock.
While files on SSDs are less prone to hacking than data stored in the cloud, it’s easy to lose an SSD. Leave it somewhere, and your data could be in danger. Lock the drive with a password, and store it as safely as possible when not in use.
The SSDs on test are all small, lightweight and wired. Apart from the Seagate One Touch (which comes with USB-A), all other SSDs on test come with USB-C as standard, but offer a USB-C to USB-A cable in the box as well. This should enable you to connect these devices to most machines, from the iPad Pro to a 2015 MacBook Pro, and Windows laptops as well.
Performance (read/write speed) of the drives will vary based on a number of conditions. Extremes in temperature can slow things down, as can the number of files being copied and their sizes. Read/write speeds to a portable SSD also tend to be faster on newer machines that come with an SSD built in, as opposed to a hard disk drive (HDD), which uses spinning disks to read and write data.