In our review of the Samsung T5 Evo (8TB) portable SSD a week ago, we highlighted issues with the proposed MSRPs. These drives aren't available in the US yet, but we're happy to see retail availability in China with prices far below the suggested levels. For example, the 8TB model we reviewed carried an MSRP of $649. However, MyDrivers spotted these drives on sale today at China’s jd.com, and the 8TB model was on offer at the equivalent of approximately US$500.
We've charted the MSRPs and China prices for the Samsung T5 Evo portable SSDs below. Note that the converted directly prices (at the current exchange rate) aren't necessarily going to be what we see for U.S. retail availability, but it's the best we have right now. We also added a column with China's standard 13% VAT removed.
Considering what we're seeing with Black Friday SSD deals, though, it's not a stretch to imagine prices dropping even further. The Samsung 990 Pro 4TB as an example launched with a $354.99 MSRP. Right now, you can buy the Samsung 990 Pro 4TB for just $249.99 at Amazon. That's a pretty massive gap between suggested and actual pricing.
|
Model |
US MSRP | China price converted to USD | China price before VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2TB |
$189.99 |
$140 |
$125 |
| 4TB |
$349.99 |
$250 |
$221 |
| 8TB |
$649.99 |
$500 |
$445 |
Based on the above, the Samsung T5 Evo 8TB that we reviewed could fall to a U.S. price of $445 or so rather than $650. That's a huge difference, and also very welcome. Even at $500, that would make far more sense than $650.
Samsung’s T5 Evo MSRPs don’t even make sense in comparison to higher-tier, faster-performing portable SSDs from its own stables. The T5 Evo family isn’t available in the US yet, but you can already get the much faster Samsung SSD T7 2TB for around $135, while the ruggedized IP65-rated Samsung T7 Shield 2TB actually costs less at around $120, or $200 for the 4TB model. These T7 family portable drives use TLC NAND, making them generally superior alternatives to the newer T5 Evo.
All the above examples undercut the lower-end T5 Evo with its slower transfers and QLC NAND. It's clear that Samsung and its retail partners won't be able to charge higher prices for lower-tier parts and expect to shift any units. The only advantage the T5 Evo has is that the most capacious member of the family offers a whopping 8TB storage in a convenient single compact device.
