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Samsung has been around for some time now. In fact they were one the first to spread their wings in the consumer flash industry. Just like any other manufacturer, there have been a few speed bumps along the way but Samsung has established themselves as a quality storage company for more years than one might consider. Their external storage collection has grown and been updated regularly and Samsung has traditionally sat in the weeds with manufacture always seeming to match consumer need at that time. That’s not to say that Samsung isn’t forward thinking, but they are not typically the first to market with the latest and greatest in flash speed technology.
The Samsung T9 that we are reporting on today is a perfect example of this with 20Gbps speed which means it should reach around 2000MB/s and its capacity is 4TB which is still the high end of the scale. We first started seeing 20GBps external SSDs in 2020 with 4TB versions appearing the year after. Don’t get me wrong. Samsung makes great gear and this SSD is is destined for a great reception. After all, it is Samsung and I can guarantee there is something Samsung in just about every consumers electronic collection, even if they don’t know it. In fact, I can even understand why Samsung held back on this 20Gbps release because 20Gbps is still rather niche and not the norm.
To reach transfer speeds of 2000MB/s, you need a PC with a USB Type-C port that is Type-C 20Gbps compliant and that does not factor in systems with Type-C Thunderbolt 3 ports. If your system is Thunderbolt 3 compliant, you can reach speeds up to 2.8GB/s however, plugging the Samsung T9 (or any other 20Gbps device) into a Thunderbolt 3 Type-C port only allows speeds as high at 10Gbps…or 1050MB/s. Similarly, plugging into a regular USB 3 port will only bring speeds up to 540MB/s. So yes… the T9 is rather niche and not the norm for the typical consumer. But it is forward thinking if you plan on moving up in the future…and definitely a top consideration if you are a media nut with the right equipment.
The Samsung T9 20Gbps (USB 3.2 2×2) portable SSD is available in capacities of 1,2 and 4TB and packaging includes the T9 itself, a USB Type-C to Type-C cable for those 2000MB/s data transfers, a Type-C to Type-A cable for 540MB/s data transfers and max compatibility as well as some paperwork. This SSD will work in any and all PC and Mac systems. It is rated as being 9.8ft shock resistant and supports 256-bit AES hardware encryption.
It comes with a 5-year warranty and Samsung security software can be found on the drive and is very easily setup if you need that security. The Samsung T9 is very rugged with an aluminum frame surrounded by a rubberized coating. This has a great feel but is not the ideal solution for those with a touch of mysophobia as it is a dust magnet. I can’t tell you how many times pictures were retaken because it is literally impossible to keep this dust free.
It measures roughly 3.5″x2.4″x0.5″ and weighs in at 4.3 ounces. It is speed rated at 2000MB/s for all capacities read and 1950MB/s write for the 1 and 2TB capacity version which jumps to 2000MB/s for the 4TB capacity size we are testing. The latest edition of Samsung Magician can be found here, is free and helps one learn about and maintain their T9.
The T9 should be available on Amazon any day now and MSRP is listed at $140 (1TB), $240 (2TB) and $440 for the 4TB version and we will state right off this is rather high ‘manufacturers suggested retail pricing’.
Let’s jump to the next page and check out the Samsung T9 performance that we obtained…