The Samsung T9 is the faster drive — by a lot — and the better choice if you regularly transfer large files or use your SSD as primary storage. The WD My Passport SSD offers solid everyday performance at a lower price, making it the better pick for backups and occasional file transfers.
You transfer large video files, use your portable SSD as a scratch disk, or need the fastest possible external drive for professional work. The T9's 2,000 MB/s speeds are in a class of their own.
You want a reliable, affordable drive for Time Machine backups, document storage, and occasional large file transfers. Solid performance at a price point that makes adding capacity easy.
Portable SSDs have become essential Mac accessories — for Time Machine, media editing on the go, or just moving files between computers. Samsung and WD (Western Digital) are the two most trusted names in the category, and the T9 and My Passport SSD are their flagship portable drives. Here's how they compare in real-world Mac use.
The Samsung T9 uses USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20Gbps) and delivers real-world sequential read speeds of around 1,900–2,000 MB/s and write speeds of 1,750–1,900 MB/s. These are desktop-class NVMe speeds in a drive that fits in your pocket.
The WD My Passport SSD uses USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) and achieves real-world reads of 950–1,050 MB/s and writes of 900–1,000 MB/s. That's roughly half the T9's throughput — still fast by any objective measure, but meaningfully slower for large file work.
In practice: transferring 50GB of 4K video takes about 26 seconds on the T9 vs 50 seconds on the WD. For daily backups and occasional transfers, this gap is irrelevant. For daily video editing work, it matters.
Both drives use compact, pocketable designs with rubberized or plastic exteriors. The Samsung T9 is slightly larger and heavier (98g vs 62g) due to its higher-performance internals. The T9 is IP65-rated for dust and water resistance; the WD My Passport SSD carries a more modest IP34 rating (splash-resistant).
Both include USB-C to USB-C cables, and both include USB-C to USB-A adapters for older Macs and PCs. The Samsung T9 includes both cable lengths in the box; WD includes a USB-C to USB-C cable only (adapter for USB-A sold separately).
Both drives work plug-and-play with macOS without any drivers. They ship formatted for Windows/exFAT — for Time Machine use, reformat to APFS (or HFS+ for older Macs) using Disk Utility. Both are fully compatible with Time Machine, Finder, and Disk Utility on macOS Sequoia.
Note: the T9's 20Gbps speed requires a Mac with a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port to achieve full speed. All M1/M2/M3/M4 MacBooks support this via their Thunderbolt ports with a USB-C cable. On older Macs with USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5Gbps), both drives will be limited to similar lower speeds.
| Spec | Samsung T9 | WD My Passport SSD |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20Gbps) | USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) |
| Max Read Speed | ~2,000 MB/s | ~1,050 MB/s |
| Max Write Speed | ~1,900 MB/s | ~1,000 MB/s |
| Available Capacities | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB |
| Water Resistance | IP65 | IP34 |
| Weight | 98g | 62g |
| Warranty | 5 years | 5 years |
| Encryption | AES-256 | AES-256 (password protected) |
| Price (2TB) | ~$149 | ~$99 |
The WD My Passport SSD is consistently $40–60 cheaper at equivalent capacities. At 2TB: the Samsung T9 runs about $149, the WD about $99. If you're buying for backups and general storage — where the speed difference doesn't matter — the WD delivers better value per gigabyte. If you're buying for performance work, the T9's premium is justified.