SanDisk Extreme Pro with USB4 Review

For approx. Ten years ago, SanDisk was taken over by Western Digital, but the two companies recently decided to share the company again, with Sandisk focusing on solid-state drives and memory products, while WD is sticking with its traditional selection of hard drives. And to celebrate its independence, SanDisk has launched a flurry of new products in recent months, especially focusing on portable storage and backup.

We recently reviewed its extreme portable SSD, which was an affordable drive on Entry-Level that used a USB-C interface with support for USB 3.2 (Gen 2). It was followed by the extreme pro -portable SSD that stepped up to the faster USB 3.2 (Gen 2 × 2). However, MACs do not support USB 3.2 (Gen 2 × 2), so it was not necessarily a good option for Mac users. However, SanDisk was not finished, as it has just released yet another portable drive called Extreme Pro with USB4, which – you guessed it – now adopts it even faster USB4. And yes, USB standards are a confusing mess these days, so you have to pay close attention to the technical specifications when buying drives from Sandisk or any other producer. Read: Thunderbolt 5 vs Thunderbolt 4 and 3 VS USB4 for more about the different standards.

As you would expect, the extreme pro with USB4 is faster than its predecessors -in fact, the USB4 is actually based on Thunderbolt 4 and SanDisk even recommend using the drive with a Mac or PC that has Thunderbolt 4 to get the best performance, making it a good option for Mac users who need a quick, portable backup drive.

Available with either 2TB or 4TB storage, the extreme pro with USB4 is very similar to its predecessors, with the same rounded corners, orange trim and a practically carved section in one corner that can be used with a lanyard to attach it to a belt or backpack when traveling. There is a USB-C cable included in the box, but there is no Lanyard so you will have to give it yourself.

However, closer inspection reveals that the extreme PRO with USB4 is slightly larger than other Sandisk drives, which we have tested in the past, measurement of 11.9 mm thick, 58.7 mm wide and 140 mm long. It’s almost as big as the iPhone 16E – and by 172g it is actually heavier than 16E – but it’s still small enough to slip in a pocket or bag, and its robust design makes it a great opportunity to travel and for people who need to work outdoors.

The main body of the drive is made of forged aluminum, which is then wrapped in a silicon shelf for extra protection. SanDisk says it can survive to be dropped from a height of 2 m, and it is assessed for IP65 for water and dust resistance (meaning it can survive heavy rain but not total immersion in water). And to back up, SanDisk also provides a five-year warranty.

But of course, the main attraction is the use of USB4 to provide high performance to store your important files and the backups of the time machine. SanDisk quotes a maximum writing performance for Extreme Pro with USB4 of up to 3700 MB/s, and read out to 3800 MB/s, although as mentioned earlier, it recommends using the drive with a Mac or PC that has Thunderbolt 4 for best results.

Of course, it’s perfect for Mac users and when we tested the drive with Blackmagic Disk Speed ​​Test using a MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 4 we got a very strong performance of 3400MB/s for both reading and writing performance. And right by curiosity, we also tested the drive with an M4 MAC Mini, which has Thunderbolt 5, and was surprised to see that the writing performance jumped quite drastically to 4400 MB/s. This writing performance remained consistently, even after several repeated tests with Blackmagic, although the drive’s reading performance with the Mac Mini was unchanged at 3400MB/s.

Should you buy Extreme Pro with USB4?

Professional users who need top performance to work with large video or graphics files may prefer to pay more for a solid-state drive with full support for Thunderbolt. However, the extreme pro with the USB4 is far more affordable than most Thunderbolt drives and still provides impressive performance that will be more than sufficient for most people who just need a quick, robust portable drive for their time machine security copies.

Look at the best SSDs for Mac for alternatives to SanDisk Extreme Pro