Until a few years ago, SSD drives were considered an excellent solution for the boot disk, given their characteristics much more performing than a mechanical hard disk.
With the evolution of the market and the consequent lowering of prices, however, more and more users are considering this type of mass memories also for data storage, particularly in the mobile sector, where mechanical disks have always offered more difficulties than a unit. SSD (for weight and delicacy).
To this we add the USB-C connectors that allow you to use all the available bandwidth (here up to 540 MB / s) for an optimized workflow even for those who make videos in 4K, in addition to the convenience of those who have a MacBook Pro and can use Thunderbolt 3 power cable to connect to disk.
LaCie Portable SSD, the review
Ideal format
LaCie Portable SSD is a solid state drive that offers all the features mentioned above in an attractive design and with very interesting included services.
The unit comes in a box with, included, a USB-C / USB-C cable that is optimal for connecting to a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro and a USB-C / USB-A cable that is needed for those who still use USB connectors. 3.0 and nothing else, because the disk is powered by the connector itself.
Once connected to the Mac we discover that the standard formatting is ExFAT, an average solution compatible with both Windows (on average recent) and with Mac, although for macOS the fastest solution is HFS + or APFS, a transformation that can be carried out without problems using Disk Utility macOS.
Inside the disk we find the link for registering the product on the LaCie portal, also convenient for having the Seagate Resque service, for data recovery in case of breakage. From the LaCie website you can then download the LaCie Toolkit software for free, a parallel backup service to Time Machine, with a much more customizable interface.
First contact
From the point of view of construction, it is a small parallelepiped in plastic, where a glossy black plate, surrounded by a small red band, rests on a satin surface.
On one side a small white operating LED accompanies the USB-C connector: the color, the shape and the materials intertwine, providing a captivating and comfortable result, because the disk weighs very little (just 82 grams) and stays in all pockets. thanks also to the satin surface that makes it easier to grip and gets very little dirty.
Performance
The model we tested is the one with 500 GB of space, but LaCie also has one with 1 TB and a third with 2 TB, certainly interesting quantities that allow the disk to offer enough space for many applications, including exchange of video files or very large RAW images or even to be used by a MacBook Pro directly, without transferring documents.
The power consumption is very low, so much so that these lines are written on a MacBook Pro from 13 of 2013 where, in addition to the LaCie Portable SSD, a second LaCie Rugged disk is connected via Thunderbolt 2, an iPhone 8 in charge and an SD card .
The use of the LaCie Portable SSD was very convenient when traveling: we often used it instead of the rugged one due to its lighter weight and much faster disk access (which for the writer is more important than time transfer).
The drive was great when used on both a 2013 MacBook Pro with USB-A and a 2018 Mac mini with USB-C, because in both cases it allowed great uptime given the speed of the internal SSD.
The speed test made with AJA System Test, here on USB-C connection with a Mac mini 2018
Services
Two of the important factors of this SSD are undoubtedly the impeccable shape and design, which are qualities that LaCie users know and expect. However, we cannot fail to underline the highly respected accessory services that arrive included in the price but which in the long run can make the difference.
The Resque service offers three years of data recovery included in the event of breakage (after registration) and goes hand in hand with the three-year product warranty. This does not mean that in the event of a break there is a strong possibility of data recovery included in the price.
In addition to these, the LaCie backup software (ToolKit), which works alongside MacOS Time Machine by managing the copying of documents from the entire disk or some selected folder, did not seem bad at all and indeed, it can be an interesting solution. precisely because it is more practical and customizable than Time Machine, although the writer continues to prefer third-party solutions such as Deja Vu.
Considerations
LaCie Portable SSD offers itself to consumers as a sober, elegant and fast product for what today the synergy of memory, connectors and market convenience can offer for an external drive.
The additional services that arrive included in the price are very interesting and must be part of the considerations for those who evaluate a different product or an equivalent homemade disc, which certainly costs less but which offers, blatantly, only the hardware.
Pro : • Elegant case • Fast and silent • Excellent suite of services included
Cons : • The case it is a bit large considering the need for internal space
Price : 124.99 Euro ( 500 GB), 249.99 Euros (1 TB) or 489.99 Euros (2 TB)
LaCie is a brand distributed in Italy by Attiva.com, and readers can find it in all Apple Premium Resellers in the peninsula, but LaCie Portable SSD is also available online with a capacity of 500 GB or 1 TB.
