Samsung T7 vs SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD: UK Comparison

Start with the headline numbers, because that's what most people compare first. The Samsung T7 is on record at 1,050 MB/s read and 1,000 MB/s write. SanDisk lists the Extreme at up to 1,050 MB/s read and up to 1,000 MB/s write. Same interface too: USB 3.2 Gen 2 on both. On the advertised maximums, these two are a dead heat, and there's no honest way to split them on the sheet alone.

What does that speed mean day to day? At around a gigabyte a second, a 20GB video project copies across in well under a minute. That's fast enough to edit 4K footage directly off the drive without shuttling everything onto internal storage first. But there's a catch that applies to both. You only hit these figures on a genuine USB 3.2 Gen 2 host port. Plug either drive into an older USB 3.0 machine and the port itself caps you: our review notes the T7 drops to around 400 MB/s on those older hosts, and the interface limit is the same for any drive there. Check your laptop's port before you blame the SSD.

One thing the shared max speed doesn't tell you is sustained behaviour during huge single transfers. Our review flags that the T7's SLC write cache exhausts on very large copies, dropping to native TLC speed. We've no equivalent verified figure for the SanDisk, so we won't guess at how it behaves under the same load. On the stated specifications, this is a genuine tie.

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Here's where the two drives finally part ways. The Samsung T7 is a compact aluminium shell weighing 58g. Our review describes it as solid and pocketable without any ruggedised bulk, which is lovely for slipping into a laptop bag. What it lacks is protection against water: our review notes it isn't rated for water ingress, and it's blunt about the fix: for outdoor or harsh-environment use, the T7 Shield is the correct model, not the standard T7.

The SanDisk Extreme is built for exactly that scenario. SanDisk lists up to three-metre drop protection and IP65 water and dust resistance, wrapped in a durable silicone shell with a carabiner loop so you can clip it to a belt loop or backpack strap. Those are the seller's claims rather than something we've verified, but they describe a fundamentally different design brief. IP65 means protected against dust and low-pressure water jets, which is the kind of spill or rain splash that would worry a bare aluminium drive.

So think about where the drive actually lives. If it sits on a desk and travels inside a padded sleeve, the T7's slim metal body is more than enough and honestly nicer to handle. If it goes on location, into a camera bag on a wet shoot, or clipped to the outside of a rucksack, the SanDisk's rugged shell earns its keep. On stated durability, the Extreme takes this one clearly.

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Both drives are 1TB, so raw capacity is level. Where it gets interesting is the NAND behind that capacity. Our review notes the Samsung T7 uses Samsung V-NAND TLC, which offers meaningfully better sustained write endurance than the QLC found in many competing budget drives. Endurance is how much data you can write over the drive's life before cells wear out, and TLC generally holds up better under heavy repeated writes than QLC.

For the SanDisk Extreme, we have no NAND type on record, so we won't claim it's QLC or TLC either way. That's an honest gap rather than a mark against it, so it can't hand the T7 a win. What we can say is what the T7's NAND gives you: if you're a creator constantly writing large project files, exporting renders and shuffling footage, TLC endurance is a real advantage over time. It's the difference between a drive that shrugs off years of heavy write cycles and one that ages faster under the same punishment.

The T7 has no DRAM cache on record either, which is normal for portable USB drives at this tier and decides nothing. So on capacity it's level, and on endurance we can only describe one side. That makes this a draw on the record, with a note in the T7's favour if you write a lot of large files.

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Both drives take encryption seriously, and both land in the same place. Our review confirms the Samsung T7 runs hardware AES 256-bit encryption on the drive controller with no CPU performance penalty. That's the good kind of encryption: it doesn't slow your machine down because the drive does the work itself. Samsung also lists password protection. For carrying sensitive data around, our review calls this genuinely useful.

SanDisk lists the same core feature. The Extreme's listing states 256-bit AES hardware encryption with password protection, supported on Windows 8, Windows 10 and macOS 10.9 or newer. SanDisk also lists a Memory Zone app for managing files and freeing up space automatically. Those are the seller's claims, and they match the T7's security posture closely enough that neither drive pulls ahead on protecting your data.

On the compatibility front, the T7's spread is broader on record: Windows, macOS, Android and PlayStation 5, with both USB-C and USB-A cables in the box. The SanDisk listing specifies encryption support for Windows and macOS but doesn't state Android or PS5 the same way in the data we have, so we won't read anything into that gap. On the security feature both drives clearly state, hardware AES 256-bit, this is a straight draw. If your priority is console storage specifically, the T7's listed PS5 support tips practical usefulness its way, but on encryption itself they're matched.

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Warranty length matters more on portable storage than on most gear, because these drives get moved, dropped and generally lived with. The Samsung T7 carries a 3-year warranty on record. Our review calls that adequate but notes it's shorter than the 5-year coverage some direct competitors offer. The SanDisk Extreme is one of those competitors: its listing states a 5-year limited warranty.

Two extra years of cover is a genuine reassurance, especially paired with the SanDisk's rugged build. If you're the sort to knock a drive off a desk or take it on wet shoots, longer warranty and tougher shell together make a coherent package. There's a fair point on the T7 side too. Our review flags that owner reports on Samsung's support experience for failed units have been inconsistent, which makes a shorter warranty sting a little more if you ever need to claim.

We've no equivalent owner data on SanDisk's support process, so we won't invent a comparison there. Judged purely on the warranty term both brands state, five years beats three, and this one goes to the SanDisk Extreme. It's a clear, stated difference rather than a fuzzy one.

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Both drives have enormous owner bases, which is reassuring on its own. Big rating counts are worth something because popular drives get their flaws found fast. The Samsung T7 Portable SSD holds 4.7 stars from 40,827 Amazon UK ratings. Our review points to a strong long-term reliability record backed by those tens of thousands of reviews.

The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB holds 4.6 stars from 83,875 Amazon UK ratings. So the T7 sits a touch higher on average score, while the SanDisk has more than double the number of ratings behind it. A 0.1-star gap across tens of thousands of reviews is not the kind of margin anyone should buy or avoid a drive over.

We don't hold a published review score for the SanDisk Extreme, so we're not going to borrow the T7's 8.5 or pretend otherwise. On owner sentiment alone, one has the marginally higher average, the other has the far larger sample, and both land in trusted territory. That balances out to a draw. Whichever you pick, you're buying a drive that a huge number of UK owners have rated well.

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Value isn't just the lowest number, it's what you get for it. Both drives sit in the mainstream 1TB portable SSD bracket rather than budget SATA territory, and both deliver the same rated speeds. Check the live prices in the table above, because they move around and we're not going to quote a figure that's stale by tomorrow.

What you're really weighing is which set of extras justifies its price for you. The Samsung T7 gives you confirmed V-NAND TLC endurance, a slim 58g aluminium body, listed PS5 support and both cables in the box, against a 3-year warranty. Our review pitched the T7 as sensible middle ground: not a budget drive that throttles under sustained load, not an overpriced premium option quoting speeds most ports can't use. That's a fair read of where it sits.

The SanDisk Extreme counters with IP65 durability, up to three-metre drop protection, a carabiner loop and a 5-year warranty for the same class of drive. If ruggedness and cover are what you value, that's strong value. If slimness and endurance matter more, the T7 is. Neither drive is objectively better value across the board; it depends entirely on which extras you'll actually use. On stated specs and features for the money, this is a fair draw.

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