Western Digital Debuts First My Passport Portable SSD - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Western Digital Debuts First My Passport Portable SSD

by

Western Digital today announced the launch of its first portable SSD, bringing solid state storage to its popular "My Passport" lineup of storage devices.

The new My Passport SSD is Western Digital's fastest portable drive yet, offering transfer speeds of up to 515 MB/s. Designed for USB-C devices like the MacBook and MacBook Pro, it features a USB Type-C port and ships with both a USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-A adapter.

mypassportssd2

"The WD brand is focused on delivering fresh, new personal storage devices that offer amazing performance in a beautiful, yet durable design," said Sven Rathjen, vice president of marketing, Client Solutions, Western Digital. "Our fastest portable drive yet, the My Passport SSD is a powerful solution for people who need to move content quickly and easily wherever life takes them."

The My Passport SSD, available in capacities ranging from 256GB to 1TB, is palm-sized and easily portable, plus it is 6.5-foot drop tested and able to withstand 1500G of force.

mypassportssd
Western Digital's My Passport SSD is available from Best Buy's website and will be available from select retailers starting this quarter. The 256GB model is priced at $99.99, the 512GB version is priced at $199.99, and the 1TB version is priced at $399.99.

Top Rated Comments

Weaselboy Avatar
117 months ago
Or just getting a USB flash drive...
The controllers in those tend to be pretty lame. It works okay if you just want to copy some documents over, but try running an encrypted backup to a USB key and watch how the transfer speeds go straight down the tubes. I've tried it.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrGimper Avatar
117 months ago
About 3 years ago I put an SSD in a LaCie rugged Thunderbolt enclosure and ran it on Thunderbolt 1. I got speeds of about 350MB/s. Put the same drive in a UASP USB3 enclosure and got about 450MB/s.

Spinning disk in each enclosure was around 65MB/s if I recall.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
filmantopia Avatar
117 months ago
surprisingly cheap. just don't understand the point of a portable SSD vs. just getting a cheap portable hd.
As a video editor, when you're working off of a drive, speed is everything.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrGimper Avatar
117 months ago
surprisingly cheap. just don't understand the point of a portable SSD vs. just getting a cheap portable hd.
Probably the same reasons for any SSD over spinning rust .... Speed, reliability, physical size etc etc
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrGimper Avatar
117 months ago
The 256GB (Shown as 250GB) is available for pre-order on Amazon.uk for £109.99, with a release date of tomorrow.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
belvdr Avatar
117 months ago
Unpowered flash storage can lose data over time, but we are talking months not days. Pretty good article here ('https://blog.korelogic.com/blog/2015/03/24#ssds-evidence-storage-issues') about it.

So yeah... if you want to archive off some photos and put the drive on a shelf for a year, an SSD would not be the best option.
Thanks for that link. I need to upgrade our XBox One storage and plan on doing so via the external USB port. I was considering an SSD, but not now, as our X1 may be off for a week or more depending on time of the year and such. I just don't have the patience to reinstall games from disc just because the SSD was not powered.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 Adds Two New Features to CarPlay

Tuesday March 24, 2026 1:55 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 was released today, and it includes a couple of new features for CarPlay: an Ambient Music widget and support for voice-based chatbot apps. To update your iPhone 11 or newer to iOS 26.4, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. CarPlay will automatically offer the new features so long as the iPhone connected to your vehicle is running iOS 26.4 or later....
Apple Business hero

Apple Unveils 'Apple Business' All-in-One Platform

Tuesday March 24, 2026 8:53 am PDT by
Apple today announced Apple Business, a new all-in-one platform that unifies device management, productivity tools, and customer outreach features. The service is designed to be a consolidated replacement for several of Apple's existing business-focused offerings, including Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect. It provides organizations with a single...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Tuesday March 24, 2026 12:31 pm PDT by
Apple today released new firmware for the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and the AirPods 4. The firmware has a version number of 8B39, up from 8B34 on the AirPods Pro 3, 8B28 on the AirPods Pro 2, and 8B21 on the AirPods 4. There is no word on what's included in the firmware, but Apple has a support document with limited notes. Most updates are limited to bug fixes and performance...