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Seagate's LaCie brand rolled out the Rugged SSD Pro5 at the start of the year, and it's now introducing the Rugged SSD4, an updated model of the brand's iconic Rugged HDDs. The Rugged SSD4 has the same recognizable design as LaCie's other SSDs and HDDs, with a bright orange casing around a silver SSD.
The key difference is that the drive now comes with a 40Gbps interface, bringing it on par with the best external SSDs. LaCie is positioning the SSD as a universal solution, and it works just as seamlessly on Windows as it does macOS, Android, and iOS. Another standout is that it delivers ProRes video at 4K120 on iPhones, making it the ideal accessory if you shoot a lot of video on your iPhone.
LaCie Rugged SSD4: Pricing and availability
LaCie's Rugged SSD4 just made its debut, and it is going on sale over the coming weeks. The 1TB variant of the drive retails for $135, the 2TB model costs $249, and the 4TB model I'm using debuts at $479. As with most LaCie drives, you get a three-year limited warranty along with the brand's data recovery services. LaCie is bundling aa two-month Adobe Creative Cloud Pro membership as an added incentive.
LaCie Rugged SSD4: Design and features
Let's start with the design; the Rugged SSD4 retains Neil Poulton's design, and the orange silicone casing gives the SSD rugged protection. The chassis itself is made out of brushed aluminum, and it's clearly built to last. Similar to LaCie's other external drives, the Rugged SSD4 uses 35% recycled materials in its construction.
The drive gets IP54 dust and water resistance — provided you use the bundled cap to close the USB-C port. It adheres to the MIL-STD-810G standard and can withstand tumbles of three meters without any issues as well as 2,000 pounds of pressure. Basically, you can drive your car over the Rugged SSD4, and it'll come away unscathed.
The drive itself is a smidgen bigger than most external SSDs I've used in recent times, and that doesn't hurt its portability in the least. At just 120g, it doesn't weigh much either, and LaCie bundles a USB-C to USB-C cable that can double as a charging cable (up to 240W) and transfers at 40Gbps. My only quibble in this area is that the 0.3m cable is designed to be used with phones and tablets; it wasn't anywhere close to being enough for my gaming machine.
What I like the most about the Rugged SSD4 is the convenience; I used it with my Pixel 10 Pro XL, iPad Pro M4, Windows machine, and iPhone 16 Pro Max, and it was just as hassle-free. This is the case with most external SSDs I have on hand, but where the Rugged SSD4 truly shines is the 40Gbps bandwidth on offer.
I'm using the 4TB model of the Rugged SSD4, and it comes with a 160GB cache size. It's able to go up to 3,700MB/s until it hits the cache buffer, going down to around 800 - 1,700MB/s after that. This is the case with all SSDs in general, and the Rugged SSD4 does a great job with sustained transfers.
LaCie Rugged SSD4: Should you buy it?
If anything, the only other SSD that gets faster is the Thunderbolt 5-enabled Rugged SSD Pro 5; otherwise, the Rugged SSD4 outmatched every other external SSD I have. Another advantage is that the SSD doesn't overheat anywhere as much as other drives I've used recently, and LaCie did a good job managing the thermals.
You are paying a premium, but the Rugged SSD4 justifies the pricing; the durable design along with terrific performance makes it one of the best portable SSDs you can get today.
