Samsung T7 Shield: New Rugged Portable SSD

Samsung today released the T7 Shield — a new variant of its flagship portable solid-state drives (SSDs), the T7 Touch, and T7 that came out in January and July 2020.

The new mobile storage device is essentially the same as the T7 version but now has a protective layer — called, well, a shield — that makes it even tougher and more rugged.

Samsung T7 Shield: A new level of ruggedness

According to Samsung, the new T7 Shield is IP65-rated in durability. Specifically, it’s shock-resistant from drops of up 10 feet (3m) and is dustproof and water-resistant.

Other than that, the new drive also has a somewhat new design with grooves on its body, making it easy to grab and presumably less slippery, which is always a good thing.

Despite the added protection, the new Samsung T7 Shield remains compact — it’s merely a tad heavier and slightly larger than its older cousins, as you’ll note in the hardware specification table below.

Samsung says it’s about the size of a credit card, which is a bit of a stretch — that’s only true if you look at it directly from the top or bottom.

In reality, the drive is significantly thicker than the height of the sole USB-C port it has on one side. (This port already has the thickness of some three credit cards stacked up, horizontally.) Like all portable SSDs, this port works for both data and power connections.

Like the previous versions, the new T7 Shield features a USB-C port and supports USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps). It’s designed to work with computers, game consoles, and Android-based mobile devices.

The electronic giant claims the new T7 Shield to be “well-suited for outdoor content creators or travelers who want data-rich experiences without having to worry about data loss from exposure to the elements or life’s mishaps.”

That’s definitely true since it’s already the case with the T7 and T7 Touch — both could handle some beating. And considering the resiliency of solid-state storage and the fact we should handle devices with care anyway, the T7 Shield seems a bit overkill.

But the new level of ruggedness sure doesn’t hurt, especially when it seems you don’t have to pay (much) more for it.

The new T7 Shield actually has a lower price tag that its more “fragile” older cousins. But that likely has more to do with the fact SSDs’ cost has gradually gotten lower in the past couple of years than Samsung’s playing nice.

Availability and pricing

Samsung says the new T7 Shield is available today in Beige, Black, and Blue with retail prices of $134.99 for the 1TB and $239.99 for the 2TB.

Like previous versions, the new bus-powered drive includes a 3-year warranty and two cables — one USB Type-C-to-C cable for devices with a USB-C port and a USB Type-C-to-A for those with the good old USB-A port. So, it’s ready to work right out of the box no matter which phone, console, or computer you have.

Other than the new protective layer and a slightly different design, the Samsung T7 Shield is slated to deliver the same performance and features as the previous models.

You won’t get the full sustained speed of 1050MB/s from it — likely only about three-quarters of that in real-world usage. Still, it’ll be plenty fast. Check out the in-depth review of the T7/Touch for more.

Extra: The rating of the Samsung T7/Touch

This portion of extra content is part of the Samsung T7/Touch’s review.

Pros

Hardware encryption with an optional integrated fingerprint scanner

Compact and rugged design

USB 3.2 Gen 2-Class performance

Includes both USB-C and compatible cables

Cons

Write speed reduction during extended operations

More expensive than similar portable SSDs