Samsung’s tiny T5 solid-state external drive is no longer the big deal in these parts. The latest is faster and more secure.
It’s always a good move to make sure you have a backup, and with different types of storage options out there, knowing what they do and how they can protect you is vital.
There’s the external hard-disk drive (HDD) that provides lots of space in a small-ish package, and there’s also the external solid-state drive (SSD), which does much the same but with more speed.
But in 2020, there’s a new type of that last one, as Samsung engages a more secure approach to solid-state storage, and brings over some of the learnings from its phones and tablets to the world of storage.
At CES 2020, Samsung unveiled the T7 Touch, a new take on its T-series external solid-state solutions that uses the fast storage chips similar to what’s in most thin and light computers, but comes with an added bonus with a built-in fingerprint sensor.
It’s a new take on the external drive that offers a fingerprint scanner to add to the hardware encryption Samsung SSDs normally provide, affording anyone who uses one just that little bit more to work with. Representatives for Samsung in Australia told Pickr that once secured, the technology was built into the drive, and thus didn’t necessarily need to be run as software on a computer in order to unlock the drive, handy especially given that while Windows and macOS both support the software to set up the T7 Touch SSD, Linux does not, and so unlocking the drive after setup on Windows or Mac should make it unlockable on unsupported operating systems.
While the security is one side of the package, there are also speed improvements, with up to twice the speed of its T5 predecessor, thanks to a read speed of 1050MB per second, and a write speed of around 1000MB per second. These may not be the fastest solid-state speeds around, but at near one gigabyte per second write speeds, they’re still very fast all the same.
“This portable SSD has been designed for both professional and casual users seeking high performance memory storage, security, and speeds,” said Matt Nelson, Business Unit Manager for Memory at Samsung in Australia.
“Created with security in mind, the T7 Touch has an added safety layer, with a built-in fingerprint recognition scanner,” he said. “Users will be able to access content simply by placing their fingerprint on the device itself.”
While release in Australia has been confirmed, pricing and exact availability has yet to be detailed. It’s expected Australians will see the launch of the Samsung T7 Touch in the coming weeks, so look for it soon.
Leigh Stark was flown to CES 2020 in Las Vegas, USA as a guest of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).
