The advent of Thunderbolt 5 technology has ushered in a new era of high-speed data transfer, and Apple’s latest MacBook Pro models are at the forefront of this innovation. Capitalizing on this advancement, Other World Computing (OWC) has unveiled the Express 1M2 80G, a portable SSD enclosure that delivers performance levels comparable to the MacBook Pro’s built-in storage.
Express 1M2 80G Portable SSD Enclosure
Designed with creators and professionals in mind, the Express 1M2 80G offers exceptional performance in a compact form factor. This bus-powered device connects via Thunderbolt 5, ensuring compatibility with the latest MacBook Pro models equipped with M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. Additionally, it maintains full compatibility with Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 Macs, providing flexibility for users with varying hardware configurations.
Thunderbolt 5 technology is currently available on Apple’s newest M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook Pro models, the M4 Pro Mac mini, and the latest Mac Studio. The Express 1M2 80G is engineered to leverage these cutting-edge ports while remaining accessible to a broad range of existing Mac users.
In terms of performance, OWC advertises impressive real-world speeds above 6,000 MB/s, putting the Express 1M2 80G in the ballpark of Apple’s internal SSDs on recent MacBook Pro models. While internal drives are still faster in most sequential transfer tests, this Thunderbolt 5 portable solution comes surprisingly close. In some workflows, like random reads and writes, it can even hold an advantage.
For those reasons, it’s a compelling solution for offloading large video projects, running apps from external storage, or managing multi-terabyte photo libraries.
The all-aluminum chassis doubles as a heat sink to maintain sustained transfer speeds without the need for fans. Beyond the Mac, OWC says the drive works seamlessly with PCs, iPad Pro, Chromebooks, and even Microsoft Surface devices.
Availability
Users can buy the $219 enclosure and install their own NVMe M.2 SSD up to 8TB, or order a pre-configured version from OWC starting at $349 for 1TB and scaling up to $1,299 for 8TB. The OWC Express 1M2 80G is available now directly from OWC and Amazon.
