Review: SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD (1TB)

If you are a photographer or a smartphone user who needs a lot of storage space, you probably know SanDisk as a reliable brand for SD cards. That’s why you might be interested in their external hard drive, the SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD. This drive is designed to be easy to carry around, with a small size, a textured surface, and a loop for attaching it to a keyring. I tested the 1TB version of this drive, which also comes in 2TB and 4TB options, to find out if it deserves a spot among the best external hard drives and SSDs for PC and Mac.

Inside the box, you get the SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD, along with the warranty info, a USB-A to USB-C cable, and a USB-C to USB-C cable. The SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD is a highly efficient portable storage option that boasts a compact, lightweight design. Its robust forged aluminium body ensures durability, while a durable silicon rubber coating provides excellent grip and protection against accidental drops and the elements.

Moreover, it has an IP55 rating for both water and dust resistance, making it an excellent travel and work companion for your data storage requirements while on the go. Whether you want to store it in your pocket, transport data between shoots, or toss it into your adventure pack, the Extreme PRO Portable SSD is an ideal partner that can follow you wherever you go.

No matter what storage capacity you choose, the drive utilises NVMe technology to provide consistent read and write speeds of up to 2000MB/s. It comes packed with a USB-C port and as mentioned earlier, the package includes both USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to USB-A cables, enabling it to work with both old and new computers. Additionally, it is compatible with several USB-C smartphones.

The drive is bundled with built-in security for both Mac and Windows operating systems, and it can be easily downloaded to a computer for password protection. Apart from the IP55 water and dust resistance capabilities, the device also comes with a 5-year warranty.

SanDisk’s advertised data transfer speeds provide an estimate of the capabilities of the Extreme Pro Portable SSD. However, the actual performance may vary depending on your computer’s specifications and the connection you use. For this review, we used ATTO Disk Benchmark and Crystal Disk Benchmark. The results of these benchmarks can be seen below:

ATTO Disk Benchmark

CrystalDiskMark

Command Prompt Test

Copy Data Test

In addition to serving as a portable storage device for images and videos, the Extreme Pro Portable SSD can function as a working drive for video editing. If paired with a suitable computer, you can expect smooth and uninterrupted editing and viewing experiences.

Transferring my “Test Folder” folder from the internal SSD on my Huawei MateBook 14 Windows laptop to the Extreme PRO was a swift process. The folder contained video files, images, photographs, audio files, Word files, Excel sheets, and Text documents. The transfer involved 42GB of data, which consisted of 5,000+ items, and took just over three minutes.

Right to Left: SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD and SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD

While this benchmark isn’t highly technical, it can help the average customer gauge how long typical transfers might take on current-generation machines with USB-C connectivity when out in the field. Of course, transfers will be slower over standard USB connections and similar interfaces.

The SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD is definitely not a cheap portable SSD. It offers very good transfer speeds, comes with an IP55 rating for water and dust resistance, and is very compact. The SSD provides significant benefits for frequent travelers or professionals who may encounter situations that casual users may not. The SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD thus comes across as highly recommended.

Price: AED 573