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What’s the difference between Samsung T5, T7 and T7 Touch?

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In 2020, Samsung released the T7 and T7 Touch external solid state drives. So, how does these new releases stack up against the older T5 model?

You can find out in our comparison guide between these three portable SSDs.

Quick Summary

The main differences between the Samsung T5 SSD and Samsung T7 SSDs are that the T7 drives are nearly twice as fast.

The Touch version of the T7 also use fingerprint recognition for added security while the regular version of the T7 doesn’t.

If you want the best performance, in addition to the best security, then we recommend getting the T7 Touch.

If you aren’t planning to use the fingerprint recognition feature, then the regular T7 SSD is the more affordable option of the two 2020 external drives from Samsung.

T5 vs. T7 vs. T7 Touch Comparison Chart

You can check out Seeking Tech’s comparison table between these three portable SSDs below.

Samsung Portable SSD T5Samsung Portable SSD T7Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch
Color OptionsAlluring Blue

Black

Metallic Red

Rose Gold		Blue

Gray

Red		Black

Silver
Size Options250 GB

500 GB

1 TB

2 TB		500 GB

1 TB

2 TB		500 GB

1 TB

2 TB
Dimensions2.9" W x 2.3" H x 0.4" D3.4" W x 2.2" H x 0.3" D3.4" W x 2.2" H x 0.3" D
Weight51 g57 g57 g
USB Interface10 Gbps10 Gbps10 Gbps
Sequential Read SpeedUp to 540 MB/sUp to 1,050 MB/sUp to 1,050 MB/s
Sequential Write SpeedUp to 520 MB/sUp to 1,000 MB/sUp to 1,000 MB/s
SecuritySamsung Portable SSD SoftwareSamsung Portable SSD SoftwareSamsung Portable SSD Software

Fingerprint Recognition
EncryptionAES 256-bit hardware encryptionAES 256-bit hardware encryptionAES 256-bit hardware encryption
CertificationBSMI

CB

CE

C-tick

FCC

IC

KC

TUV

UL

VCCI		BSMI

CB

CE

C-tick

FCC

IC

KC

TUV

UL

VCCI		BSMI

CB

CE

C-tick

FCC

IC

KC

TUV

UL

VCCI
RoHS ComplianceRoHS2RoHS2RoHS2
Warranty3-year Limited Warranty3-year Limited Warranty3-year Limited Warranty
PricingCheck price on Amazon.(#CommissionsEarned)Check price on Amazon.(#CommissionsEarned)Check price on Amazon.(#CommissionsEarned)

Color Options

The T5 has four available color options: Alluring Blue, Black, Metallic Red and Rose Gold. With the standard T7, you can pick between Blue, Grey or Red.

The T7 Touch comes in two colors: Black and Silver.

Size Options

Portable SSD T5 has four different size options: 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB.

Both the Samsung Portable SSD T7 and Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch offer the following capacity sizes: 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB.

Dimensions

Although the Samsung Portable SSD T5 is not as wide as the Samsung Portable SSD T7 and Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch, it is slightly taller and deeper.

You can find the approximate dimensions for the three external solid state drives in this versus guide below:

  • T5: 2.9 inches in width, 2.3 inches in height and 0.4 inches in depth
  • T7: 3.4 inches in width, 2.2 inches in height and 0.3 inches in depth
  • T7 Touch: 3.4 inches in width, 2.2 inches in height and 0.3 inches in depth

Weight

The T5 weighs a little less, at 51 grams, when compared to the T7 and T7 Touch, both of which has a weight of 57 grams.

USB Interface

Although the official spec sheets show different names (USB 3.1 Gen 2 for the T5 and USB 3.2 Gen2 for the T7), the performances are the same at 10 Gbps.

The confusion comes from the USB Implementers Forum (or USB-IF for short), which changed the original name for USB 3.1 to USB 3.1 Gen 2 and then to USB 3.2 Gen 2.

The important takeaway is that all three Samsung solid state drives in this versus guide support 10 Gbps. Although the SSDs are also backwards compatible with older USB versions, you will get slower data transfer speeds due to the limited bandwidth.

Maximum Sequential Read Speed 

When it comes to the maximum sequential read speed, the T7 and T7 Touch are 510 MB per second faster than the T7. In other words, the T7 solid state drives are 94.44% faster.  

You can find the max sequential read speeds for all three SSDs below: 

  • T5 Portable: Up to 540 MB per second
  • T7 Portable: Up to 1050 MB per second
  • T7 Touch Portable: Up to 1050 MB per second

Maximum Sequential Write Speed 

The T7 and T7 Touch are 480 MB per second faster than the T5 at maximum sequential writing. This translates to a speed advantage of 92.31%. 

You can take a look at the max sequential write speed specifications below:  

  • T5 Portable: Up to 520 MB per second
  • T7 Portable: Up to 1000 MB per second
  • T7 Touch Portable: Up to 1000 MB per second 

Security

The three products use Samsung Portable SSD Software for security.

Unlike the regular T7 external solid state drive, the T7 Touch comes with the fingerprint recognition feature where you can use up to four fingerprints for added protection.

Encryption

The T5 SSD, T7 SSD and T7 SSD Touch use the same AES 256-bit hardware encryption.

Certification

The certifications are also the same as the three drives support the following:

  • BSMI
  • CB
  • CE
  • C-tick
  • FCC
  • IC
  • KC
  • TUV
  • UL
  • VCCI

RoHS Compliance

The SSDs in this comparion guide also use RoHS2 for RoHS Compliance.

Warranty

The Samsung Portable SSD T5, Samsung Portable SSD T7 and Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch each includes a 3-year limited warranty.

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