Samsung – Portable T7 Touch 1TB External USB 3.2 Gen 2 Portable Solid State Drive with Hardware Encryption – Black

The performance of this device is unbeatable without compromising security. The security settings are flexible to turn it off or on. Once I turned on the security it requested me to set the password and the fingerprint and works fine after that. But the only issue, it asks me to update the software updates frequently even if I update in less than a day. Other than that I love the speed and compact design that fits into my pocket just like a card.
Setup – The setup is easy, It comes with a pre-build software based on the OS. The Samsung Portable SSD app has an easy interface but the only problem is, it shows frequent updates and every time needs to restart the OS to access SSD again.
Security – I didn’t face any slowness after I turned on the Fingerprint or password option. Disabling or enabling the fingerprint/security feature is easy.
Design – The design and style are very compact which fits even inside a packet and occupies less space.
Speed – The speed is amazing, I have an old 21.5 iMac that possible to update a hard drive or RAM. It really a good companion to store all my data without compromising the speed.
‘I received this product at a discounted price in exchange for my honest feedback’

SYNOPSIS: I am rarely this excited about a product, but the T7 is a game changer.
1) If you want external storage for a device (smart phone, pad, camera, portable network), THIS is IT. It is the ONLY drive that works with your device AND is secure (like I said game changer). Other external drives cannot be password protected and used with iPads, iPhones and many other devices.
2) If you use and like the Samsung T5, you will love the T7. Yes, even at a 25% higher price.
3) If you are new to the world of ultimate Portable SSDs, but want external storage for your computers/devices, look no further. Start with the best.
4) I tested with Macs, iPhones, iPads, Sony A7 R4 camera, PC’s, no problem.
BACKGROUND: Samsung has been leading the way since 2015 with the release of the T1 in ultra-portable (credit card size, see picture), ultra-light (around two ounces), secure (built-in AES 256-bit encryption), fast, rugged, and affordable (comparatively) external solid-state drives (SSDs). These drives are a class of their own. They fit in the palm of your hand, can easily slide (safely) into any pocket, and are superfast. Target audience includes anyone that travels long or short distances and wants easy to carry portable storage. Media professionals/prosumers in particular have flocked to them with special mounts available for tripods. Since the T1, there has been the T3, T5, and now the T7 touch. Until the T7, improvements have been incremental (speed, capacity, ruggedness and connector.) The T7 adds two completely new features, fingerprint security and activity light, all while being even smaller and lighter.
That’s a long introduction to state that a) the new T7 has big shoes to fill in the portable SSD market (the previous generation T5), and b) it succeeds admirably.
Let’s back that up. For the record, I own five T5’s, so I am a fan of the format and concept, insanely small, insanely fast, insanely easy to carry and use. But what about the T7?
SKIPPING TO THE TOTALLY NEW:
FINGERPRINT SECURITY: It’s in the name, T7 Touch, and first reading about it I thought it was at best a gimmick of convenience. And it IS very convenient, but it also turns out to be revolutionary. Setting it up was easy for anyone that has set up fingerprint security on the phone. Plug in the drive for the first time, start the app on the drive, and follow the instructions. You do have the option of turning it off and just relying on a password, or no security at all, but for me, fingerprint security is THE reason to buy the T7 (versus the T5), and why I am likely to buy another.
A lot of folks say, eh, a password is enough. And yes, the T7 has encrypted password security to reduce your fears of losing it and someone else getting your files, but let’s talk about general use. I imprinted my index finger and thumb. When I grip it to plug it in, I cover the sensor with my thumb, plug it in, and voila, its unlocked. No typing password. Great convenience. When I hand it to a friend to use, I don’t tell him my password, I touch the sensor with my index finger. More than a convenience. I have read some reviewers say unlocking was slow, but it was plenty fast for me. Maybe they are thinking of smart phones with a screen turning on? I touch it. The drive unlocks. Drives showing up always takes time for any device.
But the hands down (pun?) game changer? Using it with devices other than computers. For example, ever since IOS and iPadOS 13 you can hook external drives to your iPhone or iPad and have access to files. BUT, as of now, the drives had to be unlocked with no security. That limits the usefulness to me, I don’t like having unsecured hard drives (do you want some stranger finding all your family pics if you lose the drive or its stolen?). With the T7 touch, I plug it into my iPad, secured, safe and encrypted, and then unlock it with the fingerprint sensor and now my iPad sees all those files. This is HUGE to me. For some reason Samsung does not advertise iPad compatibility, but it is.
I am going to repeat, the T7, and ONLY the T7 of all drives on the market, allows me to use a secured drive with my iPad or iPhone. For this I would buy it at double the price.
And it’s not just the iPad, there are a lot of devices out there (cameras, portable routers, NAS devices) that can accept an external drive but only if it is unlocked and not secure. This has always been a limit for me, no longer with the T7 touch.
One more thing about security, in the past some have suggested 256-bit encryption was NOT NSA secure so they downplayed it. Maybe true, I am more concerned with losing a drive (or having it stolen) and the casual person having access to all my data than I am with the government thinking I am a terrorist and obtaining my drive. For general use it is fine. The other thing is, and this I agree with, with the MAC, I could encrypt any external drive, I didn’t need the password protection. True. But then I had a secure drive I couldn’t use on a PC or other devices.
It has also been suggested that this layer of protection could theoretically fail to unlock for whatever reason (EMP?). Maybe. Always back up. Shrugs. I don’t use it for my primary drive but for ease of carry.
STATUS LIGHT: The new LED square that indicates drive status (connected, transferring) is a nice to have especially when hooked up to devices other than the computer. And it’s a rotating pattern that is not quite as irritating as a flashing light. Looks professional. I ended up liking it more than I thought I would, and it clearly indicates where to touch to unlock. Functional. Not just a pretty light show.
THE UPGRADED (from T5)
SPEED: The advantage of almost any solid-state drive is speed, much faster than spinning platters (roughly 10 times). And the T7 leads the way with a USB-C connector and an internal NVMe SSD which results in published transfers of “read/write up to 1,050/1,000 MB/s, respectively, making the T7 Touch almost twice as fast as the T5.” Reality is of course different, when I tested my 1 TB T7 Touch with blackmagic, I did get a reasonable 909.0/859.9 MB/s and yep that was almost twice what I measured for the T5 (528/490.7see pic). BUT does a simple speed test translate into real world gains? Not always (or often). In the transfer of 1430 files (a huge 130.6 GB total, a mixture of camera RAW files and JPGS) from my iMac Pro over thunderbolt, the T7 was only slightly (10%) faster (average of 3 runs, 4 min 7 seconds versus 4 min 34 seconds). Why? It’s likely related to the buffer size which means the 512 gb version is slightly slower, the 2tb slightly faster (bigger buffer). Smaller, individual files will likely approach the theoretical gains but those are already plenty fast. So you probably won’t upgrade your T5 for speed reasons other than bragging rights. You WILL replace any spinning platters you might be carrying if you can live with the smaller storage size.
PHYSICAL SIZE: I have no idea why other vendors are not making drives this small. But they aren’t. Heat concerns? Solved in the T7 (and T5) all metal body. Easy to carry, you don’t even notice it. And for some reason I prefer the size of the T7. The T7 is slightly longer than the T5, but also slimmer, and to my way of thinking fits even better in pockets. Feels sleeker. So yes, for me this is a reason to choose the T7 over T5.
RUGGEDNESS: that same simple design of one-piece aluminum body makes them very robust. I feel totally comfortable just tossing them in my travel laptop backpack or any pocket (yep I sit on it). And like all of the T series, if they drop, no spinning platters, no problem. Pick them up and move on. The case can take it.
Pros:
1) Fingerprint security. Just works. Is fast. Numerous real-world use cases not possible with any other external drive right now.
2) Built-in password security. It’s been there all along. That means have no fear now if you lose the drive.
3) Fast. Will likely be one of the faster external hard drives you own, unless you are running a rig of SSD’s in Raid with TB3.
4) ULTRA-portable. Likely to be the smallest, lightest (in size), and most rugged hard drive you will own. You can carry it anywhere (I don’t use any special cases for it even). Just don’t drop it in a lake. It will sink.
5) LED square status light. Functional and indicates where to touch to unlock.
6) Easy to set-up. Hook it up, click on the appropriate software on the drive (Mac or PC).
7) Comes with everything you need. Disk. Software. Cables (2, USB-C to USB-C,
8) iPad compatible (and android, and Mac and PC, but for some reason Samsung does not advertise iPad compatibility)
Cons: Let’s nitpick.
1) Cost. Traditional Spinning platters are cheaper per TB. And much slower. Much bigger. Much, much more fragile. But yep, if you are budget conscious, you might still consider them. As far as the T7 cost in relation to other SSD’s, there are cheaper (like the T5), so if you don’t care about fingerprint security, you might consider the T5.
2) Speed. Sure, I mentioned speed as a pro, and it is, but in real world use the T7 will only be marginally faster than the T5. (I did say I was going to nitpick.)
3) Color. Only black and silver. I love my red T5. (super nitpick)
Pro-Tip: Do NOT reformat it. Ex-fat may not be the best or fastest file system, but it is universally compatible with your iPad, Mac, PC, and android. You might be tempted to reformat, I almost always do for my Mac, but will regret it later.

The Samsung Portable T7 Touch is Samsung’s newest model of small, portable, high-capacity Solid State Drives (SSD), with a notable improvement in data transfer speed capabilities over most other SSDs. Samsung has long been a highly respected and popular manufacturer of flash memory and SSD devices. Samsung developed many improvements in solid state memory technology and has cultivated an outstanding reputation for their solid state drives. The new T7 Touch is really a standout for several important reasons!
The T7 Touch is available in 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB models with either black or silver cases. The black case that I have is brushed, anodized aluminum and it appears that it should prove to be both rugged and durable. However, this is not a sealed device and it is not IP rated. The dimensions of the T7 Touch are 3.3” in length x 2.25 in width” x 0.3” in thickness. It is both light weight, and compact.
Portable SSDs are extraordinarily convenient and useful for many purposes. Video content producers find them to be essential. Given their large capacity and high data transfer rates they are ideal for those purposes as well as data backup and storage, and notably, for use as a portable file store when using multiple computers, and particularly when travelling away from home or primary workplace.
The Samsung T7 Touch is ideally suited to working when away from a primary computer. When travelling “light”, the Samsung T7 Touch is the perfect accompaniment to an extremely portable 13.3” Chromebook. That compact, lightweight pair obviously can’t run AutoCAD, but they easily accommodate working with Microsoft Office files, Adobe Acrobat files and other functionality not requiring hauling around a large, heavy and powerful laptop. Of course, even when travelling with a Windows laptop the Samsung T7 is still the external SSD to which I tether the laptop. It is extremely useful to be able to “take it all”, and have optimal data security as well.
One of the most significant advantages of the Samsung T7 Touch, and a major driver in my selection decision for the best travel SSD, is the set of security features embedded in the T7 Touch. Both a Password only security option and a Fingerprint security option are available, coupled with AES 256-Bit encryption. A biometric protected, encrypted SSD is the safest and smartest way to travel with private or sensitive data. Hardware encryption complimented by biometric security clearly differentiates the Samsung T7 Touch from other SSD drives, and marks it as the superior choice for anyone who desires to use a very fast external drive which also provides optimal data security.
Furnished in the box with the T7 Touch are two USB 3.2 Gen 2 cables. Both a USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable and a USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable (approximately 17.5” long) are included. There is a printed Quick Start / Installation Guide included, but the PDF only User Manual must be downloaded from the Samsung website. I wondered why it wasn’t preloaded on the drive.
Once attached to a computer, the Samsung T7 Touch immediately mounts and displays a read-only partition containing both the Windows and Mac versions of the Samsung Drive Management Software, as well as a text file referring Android users to the Samsung site. I located the Samsung Android App in the Google Play Store. The T7 Touch is preformatted in exFAT, which is appropriate for both Windows PCs and Chromebooks.
Once the software is installed, the process of password creation and fingerprint enrollment for up to four fingers (which can of course belong to multiple users, if sharing the drive) is a simple and straightforward process. Note that if Security Mode is subsequently disabled after setup, the password and fingerprint data are deleted and reactivating security in the future requires repeating the password creation and fingerprint enrollment process. Individual fingerprints can be deleted and replaced as well as assigned individual names to facilitate their administrative management.
The T7 Touch can be used without security (unlocked drive) or with just Password Security (which requires the application to be installed on any computer to which the device is attached) or with Fingerprint Security (which requires establishing a password first), which will unlock the drive on any computer to which it is attached. Obviously, the security, flexibility and ease of convenient use provided by the biometric security option is truly optimal. Unlocking the T7 Touch drive with just a touch on the fingerprint sensor is the fastest and most convenient means to unlock the drive.
The Samsung software is needed only on those devices which will be used for drive management (creating or modifying Password, Fingerprints or Firmware Updates), or if Password Security alone (without fingerprint security) is selected. Quite importantly, the software is not needed in order to use the drive when Fingerprint Security is employed, which is clearly the best choice for the majority of users. The drive is instantly accessible on any computer once a fingerprint is authenticated. The management software functionality is exclusively for setting up or modifying the drive security, and for obtaining updates for the software and firmware.
The drive management software is not compatible with, and thus not installable on some devices, such as Chromebooks, but that only limits administration of security features. The software was compatible with my Android phones, but none of my Chromebooks, including a very new Chromebook. The T7 Touch SSD hardware works perfectly well with all of my devices including my Chromebooks. The software once installed, is always running as a background process occupying 1.6 MB of RAM on my laptop when the drive is mounted, and 0.8 MB of RAM when the drive is not attached. Additionally, when the T7 Touch is connected to a computer upon which the application is installed, the software always launches a pop-up window, which can be a minor distraction or annoyance. There is no option to only launch that window on demand. Since it is only needed for initial security feature setup, ongoing password or fingerprint management and software/firmware updates, it is safe to uninstall the application, which can easily and quickly be reinstalled when needed directly from the T7 Touch, even when locked. However, it is probably wise to leave the software installed in order to receive notifications of available software and firmware updates.
If you turn off the password or fingerprint security, that data is deleted and re-enabling of security then requires re-configuration with creation of a password and re-enrollment of fingerprints. It would be nice if that data was retained when switching Security Mode off and back on, until the owner elects to delete it. This became particularly evident when the software detected an available Firmware update. In order for the firmware update to succeed, it requires disabling Security Mode, which has the consequence of deleting your password and stored fingerprints. This is a minor annoyance. The only indications of which firmware version is installed on the T7 Touch is during the firmware update operation. The Samsung software does not otherwise display the firmware version currently installed. I believe that the software should be improved to display the firmware version (and date) on the application main screen, or at the very least, on demand. It would also be helpful for the application to display the device’s serial number, as well.
The square shaped fingerprint sensor embedded flush on the top of the Samsung T7 Touch is surrounded by four LED elements which illuminate in various patterns to indicate drive status. All four perimeter LEDs initially illuminate solid to indicate that the drive is powered. All four LEDs extinguish when the drive is idle. The LEDs flash sequentially, clockwise during data transfer, and all four flash on and off in unison when waiting for fingerprint unlocking.
The high transfer rate specifications for the Samsung T7 Touch are a very impressive 1050 Mbps for Sequential Reads and 1000 Mbps for Sequential Writes. Those fast data transfer rates are attributable to the PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) bus, NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) memory and USB 3.2 Gen2 connectivity. However, those data transfer rates are only achievable when the host computer is similarly equipped with USB 3.2 Gen2. My test speeds were limited by the USB 3.0 ports on both of the laptops available for testing. USB 3.0, data transfer rates were measured with Crystal DiskMark 7.0 at 457 – 459 Mb/s Sequential Reads and 437 – 441 MB/s Sequential Writes. Nevertheless, based on anecdotal observation, the Samsung T7 Touch was the fastest drive which had ever been attached to either laptop. Very large file transfers were very fast. Of course there are faster SSD drives available, notably those using the faster Thunderbolt 3 interface, such as the Samsung X5.
Data transfer rates did not appear to be affected at all by AES 256 Bit hardware encryption.
The Samsung T7 Touch does become warm when attached to a computer, and generates heat in proportion to activity when it is actively in use. Large data transfers generate palpable heat. It is my understanding that Samsung employs a single layer PCM (Phase Change Material) to somewhat mitigate the heat generated by active use (presumably encapsulated paraffin wax).
Overall, the Samsung T7 Touch is absolutely great. It offers large capacity, fast data transfer rates and stellar biometric security and hardware encryption. The T7 Touch is the optimal portable SSD drive particularly when travelling, and especially when maintaining data security is imperative. The Samsung T7 Touch is outstanding, and I highly recommend it!

I was researching on external drives to use on my PS5 because of its lack of storage space. I came across the Samsung T7 touch, so I purchased this when it’s on sale. I didn’t set up touch security yet, I just plugged into my console and it works like a charm. Transfers data pretty fast. And I love the blue lighting as well! Keep in mind that you can only put PS4 games on the external drive. I recommended this if you own a PS5, or a T7 if you choose not to have touch or fancy lighting.