Samsung T7 Portable SSD - 1 TB - USB 3.2 Gen.2 External SSD Titanium Grey (MU-PC1T0T/WW)
Reviewed 23 August 2026 · price checked live
Check price on Amazon →Overview
The T7 is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 external SSD, which in practice means transfers up to around 1,000MB/s: roughly ten times a portable hard drive and fast enough that copying stops being something you wait for. It is the most-rated product in our data storage category, and unusually for a fast drive it has no fan, no moving parts and fits in a pocket.
- Brand
- Samsung
- Amazon rating
- 4.7 / 5 from 40,664 ratings
- vs Data Storage
- 0.2 above the category median of 4.5
- Rank in category
- 1 of 33 rated data storage we track
- Price position
- Towards the top of the range (category spans £5.94 to £193)
- How proven
- Well established, above-average review volume
How it compares in Data Storage
Across the 33 rated data storage products we track, the typical score is 4.5 out of 5. This one sits at 4.7, which puts it in the upper quarter of the category rather than level with it. Where almost everything is rated well, the gap at the top is small in points and large in practice. That places it first of the 33 we rank here.
It carries 40,664 ratings against a category median of 12,238. That is enough of a base to take the score seriously without treating it as settled.
On price it sits in the upper third of a category running from £5.94 to £193, where the midpoint is about £19.00. It is priced above the field and rated above it too, so the premium is at least matched by how buyers rate it.
Worked out from the 33 data storage products in our catalogue, not from the brand's own claims. How we rank →
What that speed means in real terms
Numbers like 1,050MB/s are abstract until you convert them. A 50GB folder of video that takes around fifteen minutes on a portable hard drive moves in about a minute here. For photographers clearing cards, video editors working off an external drive, or anyone moving large game installs, that is the difference between a workflow and an interruption.
It also means you can edit directly from the drive rather than copying to the machine first, which is the main reason people buy an external SSD instead of a bigger internal one.
The cable and port detail that halves performance
This is the most common cause of disappointment. To get full speed you need a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port at both ends and a cable rated for it. Plug it into an older USB 3.0 port and you get roughly half the speed; plug it into USB 2.0 and you get a fraction of it.
Check three things when speeds look wrong: the port on the computer (on many laptops only some USB-C ports are full speed), the cable (a charging cable that fits is not necessarily a data cable rated for 10Gbps), and the file system. Which brings us to the next point.
Formatting, which people get wrong once
Portable drives usually ship formatted exFAT so they work on both Windows and macOS, and if you move between the two, leave it that way. If you only use one platform, formatting to that platform's native file system (NTFS on Windows, APFS on macOS) is slightly faster and more robust.
The mistake to avoid is FAT32, which cannot hold a single file over 4GB and will fail halfway through a large video with an unhelpful error.
One more practical point: SSDs fail differently from hard drives. They tend not to give the warning noises a dying hard drive makes, so an external SSD is a working drive, not a backup. If the only copy of something lives here, it is not backed up.
Key features
- Connectivity technology: Nein
- Security: password protection
- Compatible devices: desktop
- Encryption: AES 256-bit hardware encryption
Frequently asked questions
Why is my Samsung T7 slower than advertised?
Almost always the port or the cable. You need USB 3.2 Gen 2 at both ends plus a cable rated for 10Gbps. An older USB 3.0 port roughly halves the speed, and a charging cable that physically fits may not carry data at full rate.
Should I format an external SSD to exFAT or NTFS?
Leave it exFAT if you move between Windows and macOS. If you only use one platform, that platform's native format is slightly faster and more robust. Avoid FAT32, which cannot store a single file over 4GB.
Can I edit video directly from the T7?
Yes, and it is one of the main reasons people buy an external SSD rather than a hard drive. At around 1,000MB/s it is fast enough to work from rather than copy from.
Is an external SSD a good backup?
It is a working drive rather than a backup. SSDs tend to fail without the warning signs a dying hard drive gives, so if the only copy of something lives on it, that data is not backed up.
How much faster is an SSD than a portable hard drive?
Roughly ten times for large sequential transfers. A 50GB folder that takes around fifteen minutes on a portable hard drive moves in about a minute.
Not sure yet?
See how it stacks up against the SIMMAX alternative: Samsung T7 Portable SSD vs SIMMAX 32GB Memory Stick USB →
