Samsung T9 SSD assessment: Subsequent-generation transportable storage

Samsung’s newest addition to its transportable SSD lineup is the T9 which has loads of drop safety and newfound velocity enhancements — not less than for some customers.

The Samsung T9 transportable SSD has launched with a black rubber exterior and a compact measurement to go wherever. It’s sooner, in some conditions than the T7 SSD it succeeds, and boasts three meters of drop safety and IP65 resistance.

Samsung T9 SSD assessment: Better of each worlds

The predecessor to the T9, Samsung’s T7, got here in a number of completely different flavors.

You can go for the T7 Contact which was a fingerprint-protected mannequin that helped safe your knowledge with biometrics. Maybe you valued sturdiness most and will decide up the T7 Defend with its rubberized outer coating.

If neither of these had been for you, there after all was the vanilla T7 that had a glossy anodized metallic physique on the most reasonably priced value.

When releasing the T9, Samsung determined to omit the opposite kinds and debut the bottom T9 with an identical rugged exterior to the T7 Defend. There isn’t any naked aluminum model nor a fingerprint-protected model.

Heck, Samsung is not even bringing the T9 to market with any colours. The black we examined is the one coloration choice right here at launch.

That is slightly troublesome with the black coloration, it makes its mud attraction much more obvious. Whereas the T7 Defend had a easy rubber exterior, the T9 is textured.

The feel does add much more grip however causes mud to stay to it like loopy. Taking pictures the embedded video took twice as lengthy simply attempting to maintain all the little items of mud off the drive.

If there have been coloration choices, the mud in all probability would not be as noticeable, similar to with a crimson or blue.

In any other case, one finish of the SSD has a USB-C port, which has been upgraded right here for the T9, and a mini LED standing gentle. The opposite finish is strong and matte black with some regulatory printing.

Within the field, Samsung consists of each a USB-C to USB-C and a USB-C to USB-A cable.

Samsung T9 SSD assessment: Testing these new speeds

With its USB-C port, the Samsung T9 SSD works with units throughout the board. Join it along with your Mac, PC, Android cellphone, iPad, and even the brand new iPhone 15.

It comes pre-formatted as an ExFAT drive although you’ll be able to reformat it to another in the event you so select. Oftentimes, we’ll reformat ours as APFS, particularly if utilizing it as a Time Machine backup.

For testing, we left it inventory with the ExFAT formatting and didn’t apply any password or encryption on the info. All testing was executed on our M2 Max 16-inch MacBook Professional.

Samsung says the brand new drive makes use of USB 3.2 2×2 with promised speeds of as much as 2000 MBps. We tried a number of completely different file transfers and tried them each on the T9, and the older T7.

We began with a 1.44GB file — the most recent episode of the HomeKit Insider podcast — and it took two and a half seconds to finish on each drives.

Then we stepped issues up, shifting to a 6.78GB film file. This time it took 7.86 seconds on the T9 and the T7 was almost similar.

To complete issues off, we moved to a a lot bigger 162GB compressed folder. This one took seven minutes and 28 seconds on the T7 however the T9 took solely two minutes and 55 seconds.

It begs the query as to why the T7 was simply as quick beginning however turned a lot slower after we obtained to the bigger file.

Whereas that is sophisticated, the Mac does not absolutely help the 20 gigabits per second throughput on USB 3.2 2×2, so the velocity within the T9 on Mac is basically coming from the bigger cache.

Once you get above a roughly 225GB switch measurement, although, the T9 will begin to decelerate because the cache fills, and it hits the slower TLC flash media.

The T9 has a couple of 170GB cache whereas the older T7 has a 50GB cache. Any recordsdata below that 225GB or so will switch at the most effective velocity potential which varies relying on a lot of small recordsdata, or one massive file, on the T9.

In use, the T7 has the identical velocity because the T9 on the Mac till its 50 GB cache is full.

So that you can perceive, think about a one-gallon tank is filling and draining water on the identical time. However it’s filling sooner than it’s draining.

As soon as the tank is full it may solely fill on the identical fee as it’s draining at. That is roughly the way it works with a file switch.

At first, the info can fly, however as soon as the tank fills — or the cache is crammed — it has to decelerate. Within the case of the T9, it has to drop right down to the slower TLC media.

In case you solely switch small recordsdata, lower than 50GB or so, there will not be any velocity advantages on the T9. It’s possible you’ll as properly get the extra reasonably priced T7.

For customers who’re recurrently transferring bigger recordsdata above 50GB, the T9 will see velocity advantages. However it, too, can be restricted for even bigger recordsdata.

When or if Apple absolutely helps USB 3.2 2×2, there can be bigger advantages to the T9.

Samsung T9 SSD assessment: Do you have to purchase the most recent SSD?

Traditionally, we have been blissful customers of Samsung’s T-series of transportable SSDs for years and are excited in regards to the new T9. With our video manufacturing, we’re usually shifting bigger recordsdata that surpass the 50GB cache of the T7.

We could not see the total velocity that the T9 can provide, but it surely was undeniably sooner than our T7 and lots of different SSDs in our equipment.

It might be nice to see new coloration choices and even an all-metal model for many who do not want or need the rubber exterior. If all metallic, we would have thought-about sticking it to the again of our iPhone 15 Professional with MagSafe and utilizing it for transportable filming.

As at all times, the Samsung T9 SSD is quick, dependable, and is a strong addition to any gear bag. It comes with two cables within the field and backed up by a five-year guarantee in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB configurations.

Samsung T9 SSD assessment: Professionals

• Compact, rugged design
• Pace enhancements, with an asterisk
• Reasonably priced

Samsung T9 SSD assessment: Cons

• Collects mud
• Mac nonetheless does not absolutely help USB 3.2 2×2
• No coloration or type choices at launch

Ranking: 4 out of 5

This may be a 5 out of 5 if Apple supported USB 3.2 2×2 to the fullest and Mac customers might get much more efficiency out of this drive. For now, the T7 Defend is an satisfactory various to avoid wasting cash when you have smaller file sizes.

The place to purchase the Samsung T9 SSD

The Samsung T9 SSD is offered from Amazon ranging from $129.99.