// TOM'S HARDWARE US — HARDWARE & GADGET
Samsung Portable SSD P9 review: speedy USB4 in a slim, pricey package
If you’re after fast external storage, you’re going to have to pay a lot for it these days, but Samsung’s P9 is the best USB4 drive we’ve tested to date. If you need speed for video recording or other professional tasks, its performance won’t disappoint.
Why you can trust Tom's Hardware
Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
It’s a tough time to launch an external SSD, with demand for flash and RAM at all-time highs thanks to AI hyperscaler demand. But content creators, videographers, and media collectors need more, faster, and roomier options, so Samsung has launched its first USB4 external drive, the Portable SSD P9.
It’s offered in 1, 2, 4, and 8TB capacities (but currently only in stock at 2TB as of this writing), with rated sequential read speeds up to 4,000 MB/s and write speeds up to 3,800 MB/s, a slim (0.3-inch) but simple boxy solid shell. It also includes one of the nicest-feeling sleeved cables I’ve come across (that’s also long for an external drive, at 16 inches). The Samsung P9 is a premium, pocket-friendly portable drive that’s speedy enough to potentially knock Corsair’s EX400U out of its top USB4 drive spot on our list of the best external SSDs.
It’s also quite expensive, starting at $339 for the 1TB model, $649 for the 2TB version we tested, and commanding a whopping $2,879 for the 8TB model. Those prices might seem extreme, given Corsair’s competing USB4 drive launched at $119 for 1TB in early 2025. But as we’ll see below in our comparison section, Samsung’s pricing isn’t exactly exorbitant compared to the current price of USB4-based competition – and many alternatives that launched last year are tough to find in stock.
At 3.5 x 2.6 x 0.3 inches and weighing 0.21 pounds, the P9 is neither the smallest external storage drive, nor the lightest. But it’s slimmer than the company’s previous-generation T9 drive (which is 0.55 inches thick and roughly half as fast, at 20 Gbps). It ditches the rubber, textured, dust-collecting coating of the T9 for a metal shell on the P9 that feels very solid. The bottom of the P9 is coated in rubber to keep it in place on your desk.
There are no IP ratings for dust or wind resistance in Samsung’s spec sheet, and I don’t love the visible seam around the subtly rubberized bottom. But the P9 feels rigid and solid, to the point that I am pretty confident it could sustain more than its rated 2-meter drop rating.
There’s also a lot to like about the included cable, which is the only bundled accessory (unless you count paperwork). The cable is roughly 16 inches long, not counting the USB-C plugs on either end, and braided in a way that feels better than even other braided cables in my USB arsenal. There are even two Velcro-like hook-and-loop fasteners on the cable to keep any excess under control. Yes, it is just a cable, but I appreciate the ample length for us desktop PC users, and it is one of the nicest-feeling cables I’ve used.
Samsung includes a Samsung Magician Launcher link on the drive, but it’s really just a pop-up box that prompts you to download the latest version of the software. The app has widgets and sections for drive health and management, temperature and performance, diagnostics, monitoring, secure erasing or encrypting the drive (256-bit hardware encryption is supported), and more.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.