Best External SSDs for Laptops

Portable SSDs : On the go Companion

In recent times digital media such as smartphones , tablets, watches etc. has revoultionised the way we consume content in the internet. As a result the demand for content creators is at all time high. The reason why many people choose best external ssds for laptops is because of its speed and durability. Among all the digital media videos and photos occupy a major share in social media and accross internet. In recent times laptops are coming with with little storage and it is not sufficient to store most of the content. So to store more media without upgrading the internal storage we require best portable ssds that we can carry anywhere. In this article I have discussed some of the best external ssds availble in the market right now. These external ssds come with fast transfer speeds and compact size.

Benefits of having Portable SSDs

A solid-state drive (SSD) is a new generation storage device. SSDs used flash memory system-based technology while HDDs used a mechanical system. Laptops having internal ssds are very power efficient and does not need powerbanks to keep their batteries charged up. This makes SSDs faster than traditional HDDs. Due to the increasing quality of video and photo editing raw media files take up lot of internal storage. Because of this we require a good qualiyt external ssd to store our media files. Portable ssds also have other benefits as well as discussed below :

• Provides the ability to transfer and store media on the go
• Extremely portable and easy to carry
• High transfer and read speeds
• Can also be used to install operating systems
• Run heavy applications directly from external ssd
• Produces no noise because of solid built in parts
• They are shock and drop resistant
• Produces less heat while using
• They are durable and reliable for longer periods
• They are faster and power efficent
• Portable come in many sizes and form factors
• Easy to upgrade
• Energy efficient

Top 5 External SSDs for Laptops

1. Seagate One Touch SSD

About the Brand

Seagate Technology Holdings plc, an Irish public limited company, is an American data storage company. Seagate is considered as world leader in making storage devices and other computing tech. Their SSDs are portable and can be used in wide variety of applications. The company also makes cloud storage solutions for its customers. The One Touch SSD from Seagate is the latest offering from the company in the budget and compact product segment. In addition to that the company also offers free 2 month trial of Adobe CC Photography and 1 year of Mylio Create Suite.

Best features of Seagate : One Touch SSD ( Special Edition )

• It comes with 500 GB flash storage.
• It has read speed of 400 Megabytes Per Second.
• Compatible with both laptop and desktop.
• One Touch SSD Special Edition comes with mini USB 3.0 and supports fast transfer speeds.
• The body is very lightweight ( weighs only 65 grams ), sleek design and also includes collection of camo colours to choose from.
• The SSD provides on the go durability and space for must have content.
• Includes high-speed, portable ssd for streaming stored videos directly to laptop.
• Supports seamless photo scrolling, and backing up content on the go.
• Includes a USB cable that works seamlessly with both Windows and Mac laptops.
• Enjoy long-term peace of mind with the included three-year limited warranty.
• One Touch SSD is small enough to tuck away in a wallet, shirt pocket, or bag.
• Transfer photos faster and stream videos directly from drive to laptop with SSD-boosted speeds of up to 400MB/s.
• Equipped with Sync Plus software, One Touch SSD is a USB 3.0 drive offering continuous backup while plugged in.
• Durable and dependable external ssd lets you access the content whenever you need it at blazing fast speeds.
• Mylio Create subscription lets you organize photos into a life calendar. It also offers easy protection, editing, sharing, and syncing across multiple devices.
• Seagate One Touch portable ssd also comes with Adobe Creative Cloud Photography which includes powerful and easy-to-use interface.
• The drive also ships with the Seagate Toolkit software, which is handy for syncing data to the drive.

Pricing and Verdict

Seagate knows that consumer interest in portable SSDs is growing, and so its portfolio has also expanded. Seagate is definitely focusing on design with this model. There’s a distinctive textured fabric panel on the top, and a cloth tab with the Seagate logo on one side. Seagate One Touch SSD’s main selling point is its continuos auto back up functionality and the ability to fit perfectly in sleeves and pockets. The product is also priced quite well around 7,000 INR on Amazon for the 500 GB model. Overall it will be a good purchase at this price point because of the features it comes with and tiny form factor.

2. SanDisk Extreme Portable SSDs

About the Brand

SanDisk is a multinational corporation that designs, develops, manufactures, and markets data storage solutions. In addition, the company offers digital media players under the Sansa brand; wireless media and flash drive products under the SanDisk Connect brand; and memory wafers and components. The company was acquired by Western Digital in 2016. Sandisk is famous for its unique product designs and providing good features at a reasonable price. The company is trying to launch new products at different price points and cutting edge technology for its customers. Sandisk portable ssds come with a durable build quality and attractive design. SanDisk also upgraded the security significantly.

Best features of Sandisk Extreme Portable SSDs

• It has built in storage of 500 GB.
• It is rated with IP 55 water and dust resistance.
• The SSD has a read and write speed of upto 1050MB/s and 1000 MB/s respectively.
• USB Type C and Type A ports makes it easy to start and keep working in almost any situation.
• NVMe portable ssd is super fast for creating amazing content or capturing incredible footage.
• It comes with 5 years limited warrenty and also durable silicon shell for protecting the body.
• Sandisk extreme ssds are trusted by professional photographers world wide to handle their best shots and footage.
• It also includes 256 bit AES encryption to protect your content.
• It is extremely light weight ( only 63 grams ) and also easy to carry.
• Designed to work with both Windows and Mac.
•  The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD delivers high-performance and capacity in a smaller form factor.

Pricing and Verdict

Overall its a very good product from Sandisk. It is very compact and can fit in any pockets. It can be puchased from Amazon for around 7700 INR. Sandisk ssds are very durable and it can store all types of media formats like photos or videos. The read and write speeds are outstanding and it delivers crazy fast performance. Large files can be transferred instantly. This level of performance is because of the cutting edge technology the company has used over the past years with it new releases. These particular portable ssds from Sandisk is a good value for money. Anybody can use this product as their external storage.

3. Samsung T7 Touch SSD

About the Brand

The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. Samsung was one of the first companies to launch and promote portable SSDs in India. Its previous model, the SSD T5, is something of a default recommendation. It’s fast, reasonably priced, and widely available.Being the world’s biggest manufacturers of SSD flash memory, the company is also usually early to market with innovations.Portable SSDs are starting to become commoditised, which means that other than external design, there’s very little differentiating each brand from the next.

Best features of Samsung T7 Touch Portable SSDs

• It gives solid Performance of up to 1,050 MB/s, and also 9.5x faster than external HDD.
• The USB 3.2 Gen 2 supports file transfer speeds of upto 10 Gbps.
• Shock resistant internal frame lets the T7 Touch withstand falls from up to 2 meters.
• The ssd comes with built in fingerprint security for safer storage.
• The ssd also supports 256 bit AES hardware level encryption.
• USB Type C to C and USB Type C to A cables are also included in the box for better connectivity.
• Samsung T7 Portable SSDs Touch gives you speed and security in a palm-sized package.
• The embedded PCIe NVMe technology facilitates sequential read/write operations for quick transfers.
• The device is extremely durable and safe to use.
• The T7 Touch is compatible with PC, Mac, Android devices, gaming consoles so you can access your files anytime and anywhere.
• The T7 Touch comes with management software for getting latest updates of the firmware. It also helps your setup password and fingerprint for the device.
• Firmware updates require pc or mac and internet connection.
• It is extremely light weight and is only 58 Grams.
• Light and pocket-sized ssd both delivers fast speeds and safeguards data for an easy way to store and transfer large files.
• Transfer massive files within seconds with the incredible speed of USB 3.2 Gen 2 on the T7.
•  The T7’s advanced thermal solution keeps SSD at an optimal temperature even at fast speeds.
• The T7 gives you a range of options so you can find your perfect match.
• The solid aluminum unibody construction fits comfortably in the palm of your hand.

Pricing and Verdict

The Samsung T7 touch looks very promising because of its innovative and security features. The read and write speeds are also very fast compared to other portable ssds. It also comes with solid build quality and compact body size so it is very easy to carry and store. It is available in Amazon for around 9,000 INR. Samsung branded products have very solid build quality and also stay durable for many years. The customer support of Samsung is very good. Overall this portable ssd from Samsung will be a good value product for the price you are paying.

4. Western Digital SSD

About the Brand

Western Digital Corporation is an American computer hard disk drive manufacturer and data storage company, headquartered in San Jose, California. It designs, manufactures and sells data technology products, including storage devices, data center systems and cloud storage services.Western Digital has long been at the forefront of game changing innovations. From the invention of the first hard drive to recent advancements in 3D NAND the journey of innovation continues to inspire for many coming years.

Best features of Western Digital Elements portable ssds

• The new portable SSD comes with a pocket-sized design.
• The Western Digital Elements SE features write speeds up to 400MBps and with up to 2TB storage capacity.
• This ssd can be used for multimedia, personal or business purposes also because of its compact form factor.
• It is compatible with laptops, gaming consoles , desktops and television also.
• Seamlessly integrate the drive into your workflow with plug-and-play functionality that’s ready to use right out of the box.
• It also comes with a 3 year limited warranty.
• Get affordable performance in a pocket-size design for your on-the-go lifestyle.
• It gives upto 3X the speed of a portable HDD.
• Extremely fast ssd let you move large files fast so you can get more done in your day.
• A compact design and drop resistance up to 2 meters make this the perfect drive no matter where you are.
• WD Elements SSD puts you in control of your content across laptop, desktop and other devices so you can improve your workflow.
• The durable and dependable WD Elements SSD continues the renowned storage legacy of Western Digital.
• Its a ready to use product and it requires no formatting.
• It comes with a USB 3.0 connectivity and can be used with both Mac and Windows systems.

Pricing and Verdict

The Western Digital Elements ssd comes with a base storage of 1TB and is priced around 9,000 INR on Amazon. It also comes with a plug-and-play feature that is said to seamless connect the portable SSD to any computer without having to install any additional software. Due to its sleek body design and light weight it can fit in easily in pockets and bags. Overall it is very good product and can easily serve you as an extra storage device for storing and using your files on the go accross different devices.

5. Samsung T5 SSD

About the Brand

Samsung is a South Korean company that is one of the world’s largest producers of electronic devices. Samsung specializes in the production of a wide variety of consumer and industry electronics including appliances, digital media devices, semiconductors ,memory chips, and integrated systems. It has become one of the most-recognizable names in technology and produces about a fifth of South Korea’s total exports. The Samsung Portable SSD T5 elevates data transfer speeds to the next level and unleashes a new experience in external storage.

Benefits of Samsung T5 portable ssds

• With a compact and durable design and password protection, the T5 is truly easy to carry and stores data securely.
• Samsung V-NAND flash memory and a USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface, the T5 provides transfer speeds of up to 540 MB/s.
• Delivers upto 4.9x faster performance than external ssds.
• Transfers and backups of large data files will be much quicker and faster.
• The top to bottom metal design and rounded unibody fits comfortably in the palm of your hand.
• The SSD comes in two different colours – an alluring blue for 250 GB and 500 GB models, and a deep black for 1 TB and 2 TB models.
• The password protection feature comes with advanced AES – 256 bit encryption to keep your files safe.
• It is extremely durable and can handle drops upto 2 meters.
• It also comes with a standard 3 year limited warranty.
• USB Type-C™ to C cable and USB Type-C to A cables enables seamless connectivity without the hassle of purchasing additional adapters.
• The Portable SSD T5 gives you easy access to all your data so you can complete tasks quickly and on the go.

Pricing and Verdict

The T5 ssd comes in 3 diffrent storage options 500 GB, 1 TB and 2TB variants. The 500 GB model would be sufficent for many people under normal use cases. It can be purchased from Amazon for around 5000 INR. It is extremely portable and light weight to carry. Samsung ssds offer a great built quality and attractive design to suit your needs. The T5 SSD is one of best external ssds with an affordable price tag.