South Korean memory maker SK Hynix has announced its intention to enter the portable consumer SSD market. Its first such product, the Beetle X31, is said to be ready to meet the growing demand for potable SSDs, and to offer a compelling mix of “performance, convenient portability, and stylish design.” SK Hynix’s palm-sized Beetle X31 connects to other devices via USB and offers transfers of up to 1,050 MB/s.
As far as consumers go, we are sure that SK Hynix’s entry will be welcomed. The firm has a good reputation for competitive memory and storage components, and more competition should be good to keep rivals like Samsung and WD / SanDisk on their toes.
Considering the design first, the Beetle X31 is pleasingly compact and described by SK Hynix as ‘palm-sized.’ The packaging shows a scarab beetle nestled in a sand dune, but the SK Hynix design is much more like a slightly worn bar of soap in its shape. A gold-colored model is showcased, and the maker says the case is made from aluminum. The metal chassis is suitable for strength and heat dissipation, and SK Hynix considers this design aspect a distinct advantage over competitor products.
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SK Hynix Beetle X31 | |
|---|---|
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Capacity | 512 GB or 1 TB, with DRAM buffer |
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Read speeds |
1,050 MB/s |
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Write Speeds |
1,000 MB/s |
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Interface |
USB Type-C |
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In the box |
2x cables (USB C-to-C and C-to-A) and a bumper case |
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Physical |
74 x 46 x 14.8 mm, 53 grams |
The transfer performance of the Beetle X31 precisely matches our current best-pick SanDisk Pro-G40 SSD, at least on paper. However, we note the SK Hynix device is much smaller and less than half the weight of the SanDisk. SK Hynix also asserts its device has excellent sustained performance. For example, it says that the Beetle X31, with its ample heatsink and DRAM cache, can transfer 500 GB of files at an average rate of over 900 MB/s.
SK Hynix hints that the Beetle X31 is already available on its home turf. The portable SSD will become available in worldwide markets, starting with the US later this month. We don’t have pricing for the 512 GB or 1 TB models at the time of writing.
Those of you interested in an external storage device are advised to take a peek at our Best External SSDs and Hard Drives of 2023 feature. Hopefully, we can get a Beetle X31 sample and find out if it is worth joining our shortlist.
