Samsung T7 Portable SSD 1TB

The Samsung T7 is a pocket-sized 1TB SSD that moves data at up to 1,050MB/s over USB-C, in an aluminium body with hardware encryption. It is the standard backup and hand-off drive for laptops. The one thing to know: SSD prices are volatile in the 2026 NAND shortage, so check the live price rather than an older review.

Is the T7 still the drive to buy in 2026?

• USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds suit backups and moving video projects between machines; the T9 is twice as fast on USB4 hosts.
• Hardware AES encryption with password protection for client data.
• No ingress protection; the T7 Shield is the rugged version at a similar price.
• Three-year warranty.

Pricing reads: See current price on Amazon, and prices have roughly doubled since 2025 as AI data-centre demand drained NAND supply (PCWorld). It appears in our 10-person office tech kit; browse everyday tech.

Who should skip it

Anyone archiving large volumes cheaply should use the Seagate Portable hard drive. Anyone on USB4 or Thunderbolt hosts moving big files daily should pay for the T9.

Research-based listing — not hands-on tested by Digital4All; details as of September 2026.

What reviewers say

• Tom's Hardware found the T7 "well worth your consideration" for speed and security at a lower cost per gigabyte than the T7 Touch, but noted its DRAM-less design trails rivals in sustained writes. (Tom's Hardware, Aug 2020)
• StorageReview measured 894 MB/s read and 840 MB/s write in Blackmagic and about 1,000 MB/s read with four threads, praising the 58 g aluminium body and AES-256 hardware encryption. (StorageReview, Jul 2020)
• HotHardware recorded surface temperatures below 45 °C under load but warned the SLC cache can be exhausted by very large transfers, and called the three-year warranty short. (HotHardware, Oct 2020)
• Notebookcheck's 2024 re-test measured 42.3 °C under stress and write speeds below the advertised figure, summing it up as "a compact allrounder with minor flaws". (Notebookcheck, Apr 2024)
• Windows Central rates it 4.5/5 and "every bit as good as the T7 Touch" for PCs and consoles. (Windows Central, Oct 2024)

Consensus: Five reviews across four years agree the T7 is a reliable, compact, encrypted drive that reaches its rated read speed. They also agree it is not the fastest, with DRAM-less sustained writes and a three-year warranty as the recurring caveats. The hardware is unchanged since 2020, so the older tests still apply.