Samsung T7 Touch Portable SSD Review

It’s time for a sleek, secure and portable storage solution from Samsung, hence here comes the Samsung T7 Touch Portable SSD review. This state-of-the-art solid-state drive is the epitome of portability and data security, as it allows you to unlock it with just a swipe of your finger.

The 500 GB version we are going to review here costs just a tad over one hundred bucks, reads up to 1,050 MB/s, writes up to 1 000 MB/s and comes backed by Samsung’s legendary quality control and 3 years manufacturer’s warranty.

On top of that, the SSD is made of aluminum and it’s shock-resistant, being able to support drops from 6ft. The shock resistance thing is specific to SSDs, which are by design resistant to shocks, even compared to the best external hard drive, as they have no moving parts.

Moreover, if you want to learn more about the differences between an external hard drive, an SSD and a flash drive, go read this article. And before we proceed with the review, keep in mind that if you’re planning to use this SSD for your Xbox, please go read this article, you’ll thank us later.

Specs

• Capacity: 500GB, 1TB and 2TB
• Interface: USB 3.2 Gen 2 ( backward compatible with USB 3.0 and 2.0)
• Texture: Aluminium
• Operating Temperature: 5–35°C
• System requirements: Windows 7 or higher
• Mac OS X 10.10 or higher or Android Lollipop (version 5.1) or higher
• Accessories: USB-A to USB-C and USB-C to USB-C cables, Quick start guide
• Color: Silver/Black
• Dimensions: ( L x W x H ): 85 x 57 x 8mm
• Weight: 58g
• Warranty: 3 years

What is it

To describe it succinctly, the Samsung T7 Touch Portable is the pinnacle of Korean know-how in SSD technology, boasting industry-leading data safety features and lightning fast data transfer speeds, while keeping everything very palatable price-wise for a top shelf portable SSD.

For what it costs, it doesn’t get any better in terms of value for money, so if you’re really decided to buy a portable SSD of this capacity and you’re happy with the price, you can stop reading and just click “buy it now”. That would be the tl;dr version of the review.

To give you a little bit of context, the T7 is the logical successor of the highly popular T5. The T7 is available in two flavors: the vanilla T7, and the Touch T7, which features a fingerprint sensor, hence the Touch thing, which complements Samsung’s Portable SSD Plus 1.0 software and AES 256-bit hardware encryption.

Needless to say, if you’re not a state-backed hacking group, it would be nearly impossible to break this bastard, i.e. to recover data from the device if you don’t have the “digit” to go with your SSD. As far as secure, innovative and simple to use portable SSDs go, this one runs with the best, as it has both the looks (sleek styling) and the performance, not to mention hardware encryption.

It’s worth mentioning that the T7 Touch is bus-powered, which means this portable SSD is capable of delivering exceptional speeds over the USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface.

Design

Dimension-wise, the T7 Touch measures 85 x 57 x 8.0 mm and weighs 58 grams, featuring an elegant yet tough aluminum unibody construction. The SSD fits perfectly in the palm of your hand and it’s very easy to carry around in your pocket or wherever. The LED square will deliver a cool blue light when it lights up, and it’s designed to keep you up to date with what’s going on at a glance.

There are 2 cables delivered with the SSD, and each of them can be connected to the USB Type-C port. Overall, this SSD is a straightforward device, with a clean and ergonomic design, which is both useful and pleasant to the eye.

Hardware

The hardware department is Samsung’s specialty. Unlike other SSD manufacturers, Samsung have it all made in-house, i.e. the controller, the NAND memory and the software is all made by Samsung. Since there’s no third party involved, everything runs buttery smooth and there are zero issues with quality control; that’s why Samsung SSDs are arguably the best in the world.

Now, the main difference between the older-gen T5 and the T7 is that the latter has an NVMe SSD behind the USB 3.2 Gen 2 bridge, for improved performance compared to older SATA technology. According to industry insiders, the T7 Touch uses 6th gen 136-layer V-NAND (92L TLC V-NAND), compared to the T5’s 64-layer V-NAND, a “Pablo” NAND flash controller, and it interfaces with an ASMedia ASM2362 chip, which is a USB 3.2 Gen2-to-NVMe bridge chip for connection to the host.

The SSD comes preformatted from factory as exFAT, which means it’s 100 percent compatible with basically any computer (Apple, PC), as well as gaming consoles, smartphones, smart TVs and anything in between.

The drive also contains the Samsung Portable SSD Plus software, which is required to enable its fingerprint sensor and to set-up your desired level of security. You can also download the app version of the software to use it with your smartphone, if your smartphone comes with a USB Type C port obviously. The setup process with regard to the SSD’s fingerprint capabilities is just as easy as doing it on your smartphone.

Keep in mind that for the fingerprint sensor to work, the SSD must be connected at all times to an USB port. The T7 Touch features S.M.A.R.T. data reporting and comes with TRIM support, so you can safely monitor your SSD health status.

The AES 256-bit hardware encryption is definitely aimed at security-conscious users as well as business users who want an extra level of security for their data. The fingerprint scanner is also a very nice touch for corporate security types, as it streamlines the encryption authentication process, i.e. entering a password is no longer required, and, what’s very cool about it, the scanner works to unlock SSD, regardless if the supporting software is installed on the host or not, making unlocking easy on any device.

The T7 Touch can store up to four different fingerprints, so the SSD can be safely used in a shared environment. It’s also worth mentioning that the drive comes with Samsung’s proprietary Dynamic Thermal Guard technology, which works by minimizing heat generation to keep the SSD at optimum operating temperatures.

On top of that, the drive used Encapsulated Phase Change Material in its construction, which absorbs excess heat from the components and releases it slowly to shield it against overheating.

Accessories

The T7 touch ships with 2 USB cables, 1x USB Type-C to Type-C and 1x USB Type-C to USB Type-A. Each cable measures 45 cm/18 inches, which is a nice touch, as they’re long enough to avoid dangling the SSD from a rear/front port.

Bottom line

The T7 Touch is a great choice for both “civilian” and corporate use, as it strikes the right balance between speed, security, pricing and portability, which is rare nowadays. Even if there’s no Mil-Spec/IP rating, at this price and considering the brand, nobody really cares.