2026-10-27 · Source：Tom's Hardware
Tom's Hardware's testers found the slim drive performs at the front of its class, yet their wider observation is starker: every comparably fast portable SSD now carries a steep premium.
Portable storage has a new reference point. Tom's Hardware's review of Samsung's Portable SSD P9 concludes that the slim USB4 external drive is, quite simply, the one to beat in its class.
The verdict rests on two pillars. The first is performance: in the outlet's testing, the P9 ran very well, putting it at the front of the USB4 portable pack. The second is design. The drive's slim chassis and premium feel give it the kind of polish reviewers usually reserve for flagship internal hardware, and the combination of refined build and top-tier throughput in so compact a package is what separates the P9 from the crowd it now leads.
Excellence, though, comes with a steep tariff. The review is direct on this point: buyers will pay a lot for the P9. More telling is the observation that follows — you would pay heavily for any similarly performing drive right now. Fast portable storage has effectively become a premium tier, and Samsung's pricing reflects a market in which the best performers no longer come cheap, whatever the brand on the enclosure.
The 'to beat' framing carries weight beyond shoppers. Rivals in the external SSD space now face a two-front challenge: match the P9's measured speed and approach its fit and finish, or compete on price and cede the performance crown. For prospective buyers, the review's market note narrows the decision considerably — waiting for a cheaper alternative with equal speed offers little immediate relief, because comparable performers are commanding comparable premiums across the board.
The bottom line for anyone moving large workloads over USB4: Samsung has set the standard, and the privilege of buying it is priced accordingly.
Tags: Samsung · Samsung Portable SSD P9 · USB4 · External SSDs · Portable Storage
萬安算交所 AIXX · AIXX · Verified compute exchange · Enter spot hall