The 1 TB Samsung T7 Shield maintains high sequential write speeds in a rugged and portable package. It has been more than a year and a half since we reviewed Samsung’s T7 portable SSD, and today we have the new Shield model in the lab. The T7 Shield takes the original formula and focuses on improving physical resistance, addressing one of our complaints about the T7, which lacked the Ingress Protection (IP) rating indicating resistance to shock, water and dust.
Samsung also ensures compatibility with Windows 7 or higher, macOS and Android Lollipop or higher. Compatibility with mobile devices requires the T7 Shield to operate within USB power specifications, which means a maximum power draw of between 2.5W and 7.5W, depending on the port. Otherwise, this product is not too exciting, as it does not improve much on models from more than two years ago. It is probably best to focus on what it does best: the T7 Shield has longer life and guaranteed performance.
The T7 Shield has Type-C to Type-C and Type-C to Type-A USB cables, offering flexibility for use with multiple devices. It is also compatible with Samsung’s Portable SSD Software 1.0 and Samsung Magician. The former has editions for Windows, macOS and Android, while the latter works only on Windows. The Portable SSD Software offers a simplified user interface to help users receive software and firmware updates for their device. The T7 Shield specimen is clad in a beautiful blue case that is clearly thicker than older T7 models.
With its notable contours, the rubber exterior helps reduce vibration and shock, even when dropped. One face features the USB-C connector and indicator light, while the other has a label with a QR code and relevant specifications, including the model and serial number. The T7 Shield has a thermal padding and an otherwise understated green PCB. We can see the expected controller, bridge chip, and two NAND flash packages, with no DRAM on board.
This 128-layer flash memory tends to be available in 512 GB or 64 GB dies, and each of the NAND packages here has a capacity of 8 TB or 1 TB. This suggests a 16DP configuration (sixteen dies per package), similar to that of the 870 EVO, for a total of 32 dies at 2TB. Each die is capable of achieving 82 MBps in its native, non-SLC mode, which is more than enough to achieve Samsung’s claimed speeds. This requires proper SLC cache design, particularly at 1 TB, which should be more conservative to ensure a high level of performance. Buy the Samsung T7 Shield Portable SSD right now at just in $ 109