Samsung g Portable SSD

IT’S BEEN A WHILE since I’ve seen an impressive piece of portable tech. And where was it likely to have come from other than the behemoth that is Samsung? Finally, we’re witness to the latest generation of T-series portable SSDs. The T5 is the first USB 3.1 drive we’ve seen in the office, and it’s a belter.

Taking advantage of that USB 3.1 standard, coming with both a USB Type-C to Type-C cable, and a Type-C to Type-A cable, it packs speeds upward of 470MB/s for both read and writes in CrystalDiskMark, and the random 4Ks aren’t resting on their laurels either, with 30MB/s read and 70MB/s write.

It’s the form factor that blew us away most, though. As ever with the T5 series, it’s gorgeous. With a soft-touch metallic finish, a rounded unibody (sorry, we just had to), and the subtle Samsung branding on the top, it fits nicely into the palm, measuring three inches in length, and two-and-a-bit across. It’s just a nice thing, despite its lackluster function.

The 1TB and 2TB variants come in black, with 500GB/250GB variants in a low-key blue. Samsung also includes AES 256-bit hardware encryption, for those who need it, thanks to the included software, which operates on Mac, Windows, and Android, but not iOS.

All in all, it’s a beautiful piece of hardware, well worthy of any amateur photographer, videographer, or anyone who just needs to transfer a buttload of data on the move. $530 (for 1TB), www.samsung.com