Samsung's next portable SSD is so fast it could help you shoot 8K and 12K video

Duncan Robertson
·3 min read
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Samsung T9 being held by a reviewer.
Samsung T9 being held by a reviewer.

Samsung is launching a brand new external SSD that follows on from the popular T5 and T7 Series hard drives. Called the Samsung T9, the new hard drive comes in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities and has a quoted speed of up to 2,000MB/s.

The T9 Portable SSD will join the leagues of the best external hard drives for gaming since it can be used with Windows, Android, and Mac. Like any portable SSD however, you'll be able to format it to work as additional game storage for consoles, making it a new contender among the best PS5 external hard drives, and the best Xbox Series X external hard drives.

The T9 launches today, and the 1TB model costs £117.49. 2 terabytes will set you back £199.99, and the beefier 4TB model is priced at £362.79. We haven't been given confirmed US prices for the drive as of yet, but we'll update these when we hear more.

Samsung T9 portable SSD in its box
Samsung T9 portable SSD in its box

The new Samsung Portable SSD T9 has a carbon pattern design, featuring USB 3.2 Gen2x2 interface with max performance of up to 2,000MB/s. This updated interface gives it twice the speed of its predecessor, which launched back in 2020.

In the box, you get a USB-C to USB-A connection cable, as well as a USB-C to USB-C wire which will help you connect to more devices.

While portable SSDs like the T9 can be excellent for gaming thanks to their top-drawer speeds compared to HDD, Samsung notes that this device is perfect for content creators too. An increased TurboWrite buffer size of 180GB for the 4TB model helps to maximize performance, even if the drive is nearing capacity.

This TurboWrite feature aims to negate the problems that some other external SSDs have where they can only maintain their best performance for the initial capacity of the drive. TurboWrite is essentially a portable version of high-performance SLC found in the best SSDs for gaming. The 1TB version only has a 22GB buffer, however, and the 2TB features 88GB.

Samsung T9 next to its included connection cables on a black mouse mat
Samsung T9 next to its included connection cables on a black mouse mat

This sustained write performance is even said to be geared at shooting 8K or 12K video, because in fairness, we're all doing that on a daily basis. As you'll no doubt know yourself, 8K and 12K footage can be extremely demanding on your digital storage, so the T9 should be a big help to you in that regard.

But of course, external hard drives also need to be sturdy, as recovering data from them after physical damage can be a tricky and expensive business. The T9 is said to be able to withstand falls from up to three meters (9.8 feet), and its aluminium body is coated in a rubberized material that helps keep it resistant to scratches.

If you're shopping for more portable storage, we've used our price comparison software down below to bring you the best prices in your area on some of our personal favorites.

Want something more specific to your platform? Check out the best PS4 SSDs, the best PS4 external hard drives, and the best Xbox One external hard drives.