Find the best external SSDs for 2026 for work and travel, with five picks compared on speed, durability, USB4 and Thunderbolt support, and value.

Need to expand the local storage on your PC or Mac for music and movies, or all those pics and videos that collect on your phone? An external solid-state drive (SSD) is a fast and convenient fix.

External SSDs have revolutionized portable storage, delivering speeds up to 20x faster than traditional hard drives while fitting in your pocket. Modern external SSDs can handle 4K and 8K video ...

External SSDs have transformed storage for professionals and gamers, delivering unmatched speeds and reliability in compact, portable formats. Modern drives now achieve 4,000–5,500MB/s sequential ...

Jasmine is Software and PC Hardware Author at XDA with years of tech reporting experience ranging from AI chatbots right down to gaming hardware, she's covered just about everything. Whether it's ...

A portable SSD and an external hard drive are both widely used forms of external storage, but they solve different problems depending on how files are handled in daily use. In this portable storage ...

A writer for life with an enduring love for anime, manga, video games, and other entertainment delights that offer an adventure-filled escape into a new world. Watching anime and reading manga since ...

The Lexar ES5 is designed for portable use with Macs, iPads, and iPhones. It connects using USB-C and supports fast external storage workflows. The model even features a magnetic shell that supports ...

At a glance Expert's Rating Pros ・Supports four NVMe SSDs and four SATA SSDs/HDDs ・Good USB 3.2 10Gbps performer ・Easy drive ...

Running out of storage space, or looking for a smart way to back up your Mac? We've tested the top options to help you choose the best Apple-friendly SSD or hard drive for your needs. Since 2004, I ...