1TB SSD USB 3.2 Gen 2

1050 MB/s read and 1000 MB/s write over USB 3.2 Gen 2, with 256-bit AES hardware encryption and a 5-year warranty. It's middle of the pack for speed at the 43rd percentile, but the 4.7-star rating from 705 reviews says owners love it. Shop around, the US price swings by USD 73 depending on the store.

1050 MB/s read and 1000 MB/s write. On paper, that's USB 3.2 Gen 2 territory, and in practice it means a 10GB file moves in about 10 seconds. That's quick for a portable drive, but our database puts it at the 43rd percentile for speed. External SSDs like the Samsung 990 PRO and Crucial T500 are in a different league, though those are internal drives that need enclosures to go portable.

The DRAM-less TLC NAND is the bottleneck here. Without a DRAM cache, sustained writes can dip when the drive fills up or during large transfers. For everyday backups, game libraries, and moving photos around, you won't notice. For video editors pushing 4K footage back and forth all day, you might. The 2-meter drop resistance is a nice touch, and the compact design means it actually fits in a pocket, not just a bag.

Stacked against the Samsung 990 PRO and Crucial T500, the My Passport looks slow. Those drives push well past 7000 MB/s reads, but they're internal NVMe drives. You'd need an enclosure to make them portable, and that adds cost and bulk. The Lexar Professional NM1090 PRO and WD BLACK SN850X are in the same boat. The XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade is closer in spirit, but again, internal. For a true plug-and-play external SSD, the My Passport's 1050 MB/s is competitive within its category. The real trade-off is speed versus convenience. If you want the fastest possible portable setup, buy an internal drive and a good enclosure. If you want something that works out of the box with a 5-year warranty, this WD is the easier path.

The price spread on this drive is wild. In the US, you'll find it anywhere from USD 156 to USD 229 depending on the store. That's a USD 73 gap for the exact same drive. If you're shopping in Canada, the range is CAD 252 to CAD 319, a CAD 67 difference. Our advice: don't pay the high end. At USD 156, this is a solid deal for a 1TB portable SSD with hardware encryption and a 5-year warranty. At USD 229, you're overpaying for 43rd percentile speed. The affordability score sits at the 55th percentile, so it's not a bargain, but it's not a ripoff either. Shop around before you click buy.

The WD My Passport 1TB external SSD hits 1050 MB/s read and 1000 MB/s write over USB 3.2 Gen 2. That's the headline, and it's a solid one for a portable drive. But here's the thing: in our database, that speed only lands in the 43rd percentile. External SSDs have gotten fast, and this one is more 'good enough' than 'blazing'.

What it lacks in raw speed it makes up for in polish. The 256-bit AES hardware encryption is a real feature, not a checkbox, and the 5-year warranty is better than most competitors offer. The 4.7-star rating across 705 reviews tells you people genuinely like this thing. It's a dependable, pocketable drive that won't win benchmark wars but won't let you down either.

If you're a video editor or content creator who moves massive files daily, the DRAM-less design and 43rd percentile speed will frustrate you. The 1TB capacity at the 56th percentile is also limiting if you're archiving large media libraries. Console gamers should look elsewhere, the 25.5/100 console score is one of the weakest areas in our testing. And if you're paying USD 229 when the same drive sells for USD 156 elsewhere, you're leaving money on the table.

The WD My Passport 1TB external SSD is a dependable, pocketable drive with real security features and a warranty that outlasts most of its competition. The 1050 MB/s read speed is fine for backups, game storage, and everyday file transfers. But at the 43rd percentile for speed, it's not going to impress anyone who benchmarks for fun. The 4.7-star rating from 705 reviews tells the real story: people who buy this drive are happy with it. Just make sure you're paying closer to USD 156 than USD 229, and don't expect it to replace a high-end internal NVMe drive.