OWC Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 Portable SSD Announced

Storage MediaIBC 2024

by Jose PradaSeptember 17^th, 2024

OWC has announced the release of the new Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 SSD, an external drive the company claims is ‘the first and fastest Thunderbolt 5 portable SSD’. With an impressive speed of over 6000MB/s, it is available in 2TB to 4TB versions for less than $400 in the 2TB version. Let’s take a look at it!

Over the years, OWC has released storage products and accessories to the market like the Atlas Pro memory cards or the Thunderbolt Go Dock, paying particular attention to Thunderbolt solutions like the popular ThunderBay and ThunderBlade. Now, they have announced the Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 portable SSD, a portable solution with speeds over 6000MB/s…up to 2x faster than Thunderbolt 4 and USB4—and enhanced compatibility with diverse devices like Macs, PCs, iPad Pros, Chromebooks, etc. via a Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 5, or USB4 port.

Speed and reliability are two features we are always looking for when working on our projects, particularly when referring to the devices we use to store them, and the new Envoy Ultra seems to offer them both.

OWC Envoy Ultra – main features 

The new Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 SSD stands out for its speed and compatibility. In addition to more than 6000MB/s when using Thunderbolt 5, it also gets the most speed possible from Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, and USB4 machines. The unit is bus-powered with a built-in Thunderbolt cable, and it is claimed to be waterproof, dust-proof, and crush-proof for peace of mind when working in challenging settings.

However, the cable connector/plug end is not waterproof and must be dry/cleaned before connecting the Envoy Ultra to a machine or device. Finally, the SSD features a fanless design with a heat-dissipating aluminum chassis, making it a silent unit suitable for working on a set.

Price and availability

The new OWC Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 portable SSD is now available for preorder and is expected to ship in late October 2024. The 2TB version costs $399.99, while the 4TB unit sells for $599.99. OWC backs them up with a three-year limited warranty.

For more information, please check out OWC’s website here.

What do you think about the new OWC Envoy Ultra? Would you need an SSD with these features for your workflow? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!