

First, they store your data on memory chips (like your phone or tablet), not a large, spinning disk. External SSDs differ from traditional external hard drives in two significant ways. Your information can also be compromised if the cloud service you subscribe to gets hacked.That’s why we recommend keeping a local backup of your entire computer (or at least the most important files) on an external SSD. Accessing your files (or uploading new ones) requires an internet connection, and storing a lot of data requires you to pay a monthly subscription. USB 3.0 Portable & Upgradable Desktop DrivesCloud services like Dropbox have made it easier than ever to store your data in the cloud, which is incredibly convenient, but a little dangerous. Naturally, 'best' is a subjective term, but several good options follow that likely will be best for you depending on the iMac model you have.
Your actual speeds will vary based on how many files you’re trying to transfer at once, or the size of the files you’re transferring.Connector: You can connect any of our external SSD picks to your computer with a USB-A cable, but most of them are also compatible with USB-C. We chose drives that support the USB 3.0 standard, which has a maximum data transfer speed of 640mbps, USB 3.1 standard, which has a maximum data transfer speed of 1,280mbps, and USB 3.2 standard, which has a maximum data transfer speed of 2,000mbps. Our external SSD recommendations are available in multiple sizes, and run the gamut between 240GB and 2TB, so check how much data is on your computer’s drive before you make a final decision.Read and write speed: The speed at which an external SSD and writes data is important to consider because it ultimately determines its performance. A good rule to follow is to have one that’s twice the size of your computer’s internal hard drive or SSD, so it can store multiple versions of the same files, or different backups. Second, an SSD has no moving parts, which means its far less likely to get damaged, especially when it’s moving around in a backpack or piece of luggage.There are many factors to consider when choosing the right external SSD for you below are the most important ones, which we considered while we were researching this list.Storage capacity: The amount of data an external SSD can hold is measured in GB (Gigabytes) or Terabytes (TB).

Best External Storage Portable Pick In
When connected to my computer with a USB-C to USB-C cable, the X8 has a maximum read speed of 931mbps and maximum write speed of 956mbps. It’s available in two sizes: 500GB and 1TB, which should be enough to make a full backup of your computer with space to spare.Crucial says the X8 has a maximum read speed of 1,050mbps (the company doesn’t mention a write speed), but I ran BlackMagic’s Speed Test application and found the following. You don’t have to carry any wires around, you just grab it and go.If you don’t need to store a lot of files, and want an external SSD that performs well and is especially easy to carry, OWC’s Envoy Pro Mini is the right choice.Crucial’s X8 is the company’s newest external SSD, and it’s an excellent all-around choice if you need a quick way to backup all of your data. That said, having the jack built right into this external SSD makes it the most portable pick in this guide.
Don’t worry, if your fingerprint can’t be read for some reason, you an still unlock the drive with a password.The T7 touch is available in three sizes: 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB, so you should be able to find one that suits your needs pretty easily. All of the external SSDs we’re recommending can be password protected and encrypted, but this is the only one that has a fingerprint reader, so you can unlock it biometrically. I exclusively used it with a USB-C to USB-C cable, though, so your results may vary if you connect it to a USB-A port.If security is your main concern, the best external SSD I can recommend is Samsung’s T7 Touch. It didn’t matter if I was transferring a lot of small files or one giant one, it felt instantaneous. The moral of the story is to use this external SSD with a USB-C to USB-C cable if your computer has the right ports.In my day to day experience the X8 really impressed me.
If you have a lot of data, the 2TB model should be of specific interest, because it’s the largest capacity external SSD in our guide.Samsung’s T7 Touch is a good pick if you want to make multiple backups of your computer, like the idea of unlocking your external SSD without a password, and need a way to transfer a lot of data really fast. It handled any file transfer I threw at it quickly, and never disconnected or broke down mid-transfer. Again, connect this external SSD to your computer over USB-C if possible.My experience with the T7 was largely the same as it was with Crucial’s X8. When the drive was connected to my computer with a USB-C to USB-A cable, the numbers fell to 413mbps and 417mbps respectively. I was able to test the non-Touch version of the T7 (they’re identical in every other way), using BlackMagic’s Disk Speed Test.When it was connected to my computer with a USB-C to USB-C cable, I got a read speed of 897mbps, and a write speed of 919mbps.
