Having an exterior SSD is extremely handy when touring, and as I began going again to occasions in 2025, I collated all of the drives I’ve to see which might be finest. There’s been a gradual rise in stick SSD drives lately; I used SK Hynix’s Tube T31 final 12 months, and it was fairly nice — whereas it seems to be similar an everyday USB drive, it homes an SSD inside, and is ready to ship 1000MB/s transfers.
However the drive I ended up utilizing essentially the most over the course of 2025 is TeamGroup’s X1 Max. TeamGroup debuted the drive in Q2 2024, and the SSD is now out there globally. The bottom 256GB mannequin prices $28 on Amazon, and the 512GB variant is $53 as of writing. The mannequin I examined is the 1TB model, and that is out there for $73 on Amazon. Against this, Samsung’s T7 Transportable — the best-selling exterior SSD by some margin — prices $99.
The distinctive design function of the X1 Max is that it seems to be like an everyday flash drive. SK Hynix’s Tube T31 is noticeably larger and bulkier than the X1 Max, and there is simply no option to inform by wanting on the X1 Max that you simply’re getting a 1TB SSD; TeamGroup deserves a whole lot of credit score for the modern design of the SSD.
One other factor the model nailed is the connectivity; the X1 Max has the usual USB-A connector at one finish, however you additionally get a USB-C port on the opposite facet, giving it significantly better versatility. This was an annoyance on the Tube T31, however there are not any issues on this regard with the X1 Max; within the 4 months I had the drive, I used it with the iPhone 16 Professional Max, Pixel 9 Professional XL, Vivo X200 Professional, Honor Magic 7 Professional, Discover X8 Professional, iPad Professional M4, and an assortment of Home windows gadgets together with my gaming rig.
In all that point, I did not have any points in anyway with the drive, and it is this versatility that makes the X1 Max stand out, and why I exploit it as my to-go exterior drive whereas touring. It is considerably smaller than different exterior SSDs, and the truth that you may simply plug it in to any system with out having to make use of a cable makes it extremely handy.
Measuring 6.3cm and coming in at simply 12g, the X1 Max is small and lightweight sufficient you could take anyplace, and portability shouldn’t be a difficulty. If something, I needed to go away it in a facet pocket on my bag so it would not get misplaced. The shell itself is made out of aluminum, and the connectors on both finish get a plastic cap to guard in opposition to mud.
The drive will get as much as 1000MB/s when studying knowledge, and it is ready to hit 900MB/s throughout writes. I had no issues transferring a whole bunch of gigabytes of photographs and movies from telephones, paperwork and different very important knowledge from my Home windows gadgets, and diverse multimedia to and from telephones and tablets.
The one quibble is that the drive will get scorching throughout prolonged switch periods; that is usually the case with most exterior SSDs, and whereas TeamGroup says the X1 Max makes use of an aluminum alloy cooling answer to ship higher thermals, it is nonetheless fairly scorching. The write cache is kind of restricted, so when you’re transferring over 40GB of knowledge directly, you will note a decline within the bandwidth. This is not a difficulty more often than not, but it surely was barely slower than different stick SSDs I examined when transferring movies out of my cellphone.
There is no bundled software program both, and also you miss out on password safety, so if you should safeguard delicate knowledge, you will want to make use of a customized answer. The X1 Max makes use of the USB 3.2 Gen2 x1 customary, and I did not see any issues getting the drive to hook up with nearly any platform. Truthfully, it is for that reason that I used the X1 Max a lot in 2025, and having traveled to 4 international locations and utilizing the drive extensively, it nonetheless seems to be pristine — I’ve little doubt that this factor is constructed to final.
In the end, that is why I just like the X1 Max over comparable choices which can be beginning to develop into out there. It is gentle sufficient that you do not even discover it, has each USB-C and USB-A connectors, and does a dependable job connecting to telephones, tablets, Home windows, macOS gadgets, handheld consoles just like the Steam Deck, and absolutely anything else. It is also a strong worth when you’re concerned with getting the 1TB variant, and
The X2 Max is lighter than some other exterior SSD I used, and due to USB-A and USB-C connectivity, it is easy to make use of with nearly any system.
