GEAR REVIEW. SAMSUNG PORTABLE SSD T7 SHIELD 4TB
Trying the 2TB SSD T7 Shield, with its USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface, we expected it to be slower than a Thunderbolt 4 connection on our MacBook Pro, which has a Thunderbolt 3 socket. But the Samsung set a record of under a minute for transfers to the Mac – and from the Mac to the drive. No other drive had cracked the one-minute barrier. On the same computer, the 4TB version took twice the time to read and write despite the same specs. But on a Mac Studio with an Apple M1 Ultra chip with
Thunderbolt 4 connections, it was blazing fast. It wrote the 50GB folder to the Samsung in 58 seconds and from SSD to the computer in 55 seconds consistently. Like the whole T7 Shield range, it sustains great write performance, letting you shoot 8K or 12K video, and is compatible with Blackmagic cinema cameras that record direct to SSD. More will soon offer this, like Panasonic’s Lumix S5 II. All T7 Shields have tough aluminium bodies with great heat dissipation – and it didn’t get hot in our tests. The body has a rubber
“As always with Samsung, the drive is plug-and-play; both our Macs recognised it instantly”
cover for drop protection as well as water and dust resistance, and is IP65 rated to prevent water ingress. As always with Samsung, the drive is plug-and-play, with both our Macs recognising it instantly as an external drive. It comes with drivers for Mac and Windows, and software to let you set a name and password. Included Samsung Magician software monitors the drive’s health and lets you change settings. The T7 Shield can also be used on an Android phone. As an external SSD for filmmaking – like its 2TB sibling – it’s well-priced, rugged, fast and very compact. Now, it offers double the storage space.
CABLE TIES The SSD T7 Shield comes with two leads, one USB-C and one USB-A
Conclusion A seriously rapid drive, the Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield really has the lot – and now you can pack 4TB of data into it. What’s not to love?
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