Seagate’s new Ultra Compact SSD Is a Rugged Little Thumb Drive

Feb 12, 2025

Jeremy Gray

A sleek, rectangular portable SSD with a black casing and visible USB-C connector. The SSD is shown on a diagonal black-striped background. The detachable cap, featuring an embossed logo, lies beside the device.

Seagate’s new Ultra Compact SSD is a USB-C thumb drive designed to handle large files on the go. For photographers and videographers, it may provide a convenient backup option or even a means of delivering files to remote clients.

The Ultra Compact SSD comes in 1TB and 2TB capacities and promises transfer speeds up to 1,000 MB/s, which is plenty fast for photographers to use as a working drive but not entirely up to snuff for the most demanding video editing workflows, at least not for editing directly from the drive.

A smartphone with a blue abstract wallpaper on its screen is placed on a white surface. The phone has a sleek metallic body, and a metallic USB device is partially inserted into its port on the side. — The drive works with computers, tablets, and phones.

As a thumb drive, Seagate’s new SSD is small — it’d be absurd if it weren’t. It’s just 70 millimeters long (2.8 inches) and just over 20 millimeters (0.8 inches) wide. It weighs just 24 grams (0.8 ounces). However, it is still reasonably rugged. It has IP54 dust and water resistance, ships with a rubber sleeve for extra protection, and is designed to survive drops. It is also made using a minimum of 35% recycled materials.

A sleek metallic SSD drive connected to the side of a laptop. The drive is inserted into a USB port, and part of the laptop's keyboard, including the "tab" and "esc" keys, is visible. The surface underneath is wooden. — The Seagate Ultra-Compact SSD is small and bus-powered. It is shown here with its included silicone cover. During extended use, the drive can get warm to the touch, but not excessively.

The device has a direct USB-C port and works with a wide range of devices, including computers (Mac and Windows), tablets, and smartphones (Android and iPhone).

Hands-On With the Seagate Ultra Compact SSD

Although PetaPixel will not be conducting a comprehensive review for the Seagate Ultra-Compact SSD, we did do a few quick tests of the drive, including a speed test using the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test.

Interface of a disk speed test software showing two large gauges for write speed (887.4 MB/s) and read speed (828.8 MB/s). Below, compatibility checks for various video formats and resolutions with checkmarks and red crosses, along with speed details. — Solid results for the drive. It delivers close to the promised speeds.

The thumb drive essentially met its specifications or came as close as drives typically do.

Pricing and Availability

The Seagate Ultra Compact SSD ships with a silicone sleeve, silicone USB-C port cap, and lanyard. The 1TB version is available to order now for $100, while the 2TB SSD is $180. The thumb drive also comes with a three-year Rescue Recovery Service plan, six months of Mylio Photos, and six months of a Dropbox Backup Plan. The device has a three-year warranty.

Image credits: Seagate