Editors’ Choice Storage

January 2020

Hyundai Technology 2 TB Portable External SSD

Review by Angie Kibiloski

I visited Hyundai Technology‘s booth at CES a few weeks ago, surprised to find out that Hyundai makes more than just awesome cars.  I was able to bring home one of their 2 TB Portable External SSDs (Solid State Drives) for review, which are on sale at HyundaiTechnology.com right now for $299.99.  I’m really impressed with this little device, and I’d recommend it for anyone who wants to safely, quickly, and easily back up all of their data, whether you need to take it on-the-go or not.  Attractive, lightweight, and super fast, this SSD really gives its competitors a run for their money.

Hyundai Technology‘s site calls it “ultra portable” and that’s not an exaggeration.  It’s only 2.68″ square, and just 0.44″ thick.  The smooth edges and rounded corners make slipping it in your pocket super easy, and with it weighing only 36.5 grams, you’ll barely know it’s there.  There’s a notch cut out of the top left corner, so you can use a carabiner and clip it onto anything you carry with you, be that a backpack, purse, keyring, or just your belt loop.  Made from APB and PP coated plastic, the body is shock-resistant.  It probably won’t hold up to throwing it at the wall, but don’t worry if you drop it accidentally when rummaging through your bag.  You’ll have to find a spot to carry the interchangeable cords, but they’re nice and short, so they can easily slip into a small pocket, or attach to the notch loop with a twist-tie.  You get 2 cords in the box, both with a USB-C plug for the SSD on one end, and one each of a USB-C and USB-A (3.0) plug for your devices on the other end.  If you have devices with micro-USB connections, it’s easy enough to find a USB-C to micro-USB cord at your favorite local electronics store, or on Amazon.  The SSD is compatible with any devices that run Android OS 4.0 or above, Mac OS, or Windows OS, with OTG (On-The-Go) capability.

Hyundai Technology claims this drive is 4 times faster at reading and writing data than a typical mechanical drive, partly due to it being chip-based.  It has a write speed of up to 400 MB/sec, and a read speed of up to 450 MB/sec.  This was based on ATTO benchmark test scenarios where the drive was totally empty, the connected source device had a USB 3.0 connection on-board, with ideal software for data transfer.  I can’t be sure if the one I have performed at exactly 4 times the speed of the 2 TB mechanical drive I already own, but I’d say it was pretty darn close!  When I transferred files from my laptop to the SSD, which I’d just backed up on my mechanical drive a week ago, the progress bar zoomed across my screen, whereas I had to be very patient when writing them to my existing mechanical drive.  It went so fast that I had to open the folder on the SSD to double check that all of the files had actually written to it properly, because I could hardly believe it did it that quickly.  Yep, all accounted for and transferred without an issue.  I was more impressed than I thought I’d be when I sat down to review a simple storage device.

This 2 TB Portable External SSD, from Hyundai Technology, so far exceeds the performance of my mechanical external drive, that I’ll probably be retiring the old one and only using this little powerhouse for my storage needs in the future.  It’s so fast, petite, lightweight, and stylish, I can’t think of a reason not to use it to backup both my laptop and mobile devices regularly.  With such a high capacity, this device would be perfect for people who need to edit and save high-res photos and videos, for easy transport between home and office, or to a client meeting.  It would also be great for people, like me, who simply have years worth of vacation and holiday photos that they want to archive and preserve.  If 2 TB is more storage than you think you’ll ever need, they also have 1 TB ($199.99), 500 GB ($99.99), and 250 GB ($79.99) models.  I was given the gorgeous Rose Gold color, which I absolutely love, but it also comes in Red, Pearl White, or Piano Black.  If you ever back up your data, which everyone really should do frequently, then I highly recommend one of these cute little devices.  Run on over to HyundaiTechnology.com, while their great sale is still going on, choose your favorite color and capacity, and start protecting your data in style.