Samsung's P9 Is the First 8TB USB4 Portable SSD
Samsung's P9 is the first 8TB USB4 portable SSD, hitting 4,000 MB/s, but the flagship model runs up to $2,699.99.
Samsung unveiled its P9 and P7 portable SSDs at Gamescom 2026, bringing USB4 connectivity to its portable storage lineup for the first time. The flagship P9 is the world's first 8TB USB4 portable SSD, and Samsung says it's built to handle 12K direct recording for professional production work.
What's New in the P9
The P9 hits sequential read speeds up to 4,000 MB/s and write speeds up to 3,800 MB/s, roughly double the previous-generation T9, which topped out at 2,000 MB/s on USB 3.2 Gen 2x2. Samsung specifically calls out sustained write performance as the differentiator, the kind of consistent throughput needed for recording 8K and 12K RAW video directly to the drive rather than offloading from a memory card afterward. The P9 also includes thermal guarding to prevent throttling during extended transfers or long shoots.
Where the P7 Fits
The P7 shares the same peak read and write speeds as the P9 but is positioned for everyday use rather than sustained professional workloads. It lacks the P9's optimizations for lengthy write operations and has a less robust thermal design. Samsung emphasizes durability instead: both drives are rated for drops up to two meters with shock and vibration testing, but the P7's case is built specifically around that ruggedness for creators moving between locations.
One practical catch applies to both drives: full-speed performance requires an actual USB4 or Thunderbolt 4/5 port. Connected to a standard USB-C port, both SSDs drop well below their rated speeds.
Competitive Context
This launch lands directly inside an ongoing flash memory price spike. Samsung's own current-generation T9, using the older USB 3.2 interface, now runs $999.99 for 4TB even with an active discount, a price that's climbed alongside broader memory shortages affecting everything from smartphones to cameras this year. The P9 and P7 aren't discounted workarounds to that trend, they're priced into it, with the flagship 8TB P9 landing at $2,699.99.
The Signal in the Noise
Doubling sequential speeds while introducing the first 8TB USB4 drive is a real technical jump, but the pricing tells its own story about where storage costs are headed industry-wide. For working filmmakers, that means storage budgets deserve the same scrutiny lens prices or memory cards get, not an assumption that faster drives are simply available at last year's cost. The performance is real. So is the premium.
Does the jump in speed justify the price at these capacities for your workflow, or does it make more sense to buy a smaller P9 and supplement with cheaper T9 drives for bulk storage?
Specs & Pricing
- Samsung Portable SSD P9: up to 4,000 MB/s read, 3,800 MB/s write, USB4, up to 12K direct recording support
- Samsung Portable SSD P7: same peak speeds as P9, positioned for everyday use, less sustained-write optimization
- Capacities (both): 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB
- P9 world-first: first 8TB USB4 portable SSD at 4,000 MB/s, CES 2026 Innovation Award
- Durability (both): rated for drops up to 2 meters, shock and vibration tested
- P9 pricing: $339.99 (1TB), $649.99 (2TB), $1,349.99 (4TB), $2,699.99 (8TB)
- P7 pricing: $289.99 (1TB), $549.99 (2TB), $1,149.99 (4TB), $2,289.99 (8TB)
- Availability: global rollout beginning August 31, 2026
- Note: full rated speeds require a USB4 or Thunderbolt 4/5 port
