OWC Envoy Ultra SSD Review: Faster, Cheaper, and Just Plain Better
SSDs continue to get faster, but the bottleneck for performance usually comes down to connectivity. It doesn’t matter how fast your drive can write if the cable can’t push data through to match. With Thunderbolt 5, though, that throughput has been jacked up, and OWC’s new Envoy Ultra SSD shows that for those who need pure speed, there is an option.
When Apple launched its Mac Studio earlier this year, one of the main benefits of that computer was the upgrade to Thunderbolt 5. Thunderbolt 5 is the latest-generation bandwith tech from Intel that was first announced in 2023. As is typical of technology like this, it took more than a year to see it in a finished product, but OWC was first out of the gate with the Envoy Ultra, which debuted in September 2024. When OWC announced it, there wasn’t really a compatible device that took full advantage of it. But now there are, and there probably are enough of them in the market, now that the Mac Studio has been available for a few months.
I have been using the 4TB Envoy Ultra for about two months now and I’m ready to render a verdict: it’s very good. Nay, it’s the absolute best on the market. While not without one minor drawback, OWC’s highest-performing Thunderbolt 5 SSD delivers on its promises and is the fastest and most consistent SSD we’ve ever tested. The version used in this review costs $550, while the 2TB version is $380.
OWC Envoy Ultra SSD Review: Design and Build Quality
OWC didn’t stray too far from its tried-and-true designs when it created the Envoy Ultra. The company is a fan of using a fanless design (that sounds like a terrible pun, and I apologize) and instead relies on heat sinking via metal cutouts around the body. The Envoy Ultra has three cuts around the sides of the SSD, while the rest of it is a simple black metal surface. The top is featureless outside of the OWC branding, while the bottom has four silicone feet to keep it from sliding around on a slick table. Even when undertaking high-volume transfers, the Envoy Ultra stays reasonably cool, only ever reaching about body temperature. While it’s significantly larger than something like the Genki SavePoint, it is better able to manage heat and won’t get to the level of hand-burning the SavePoint does.
That’s almost all there is to describing this SSD. The only other thing worth mentioning is the one drawback of this SSD: the Thunderbolt 5 cable. Other OWC SSDs and also the aforementioned LaCie Thunderbolt 5 SSD use a detachable cable design. I prefer this because it makes it easier to pack away the SSD and not have to worry about bending or otherwise overtaxing that cable. Additionally, if anything were to happen to that cable, it’s not the end of the world: you just buy a new one.
Unfortunately, OWC went with an integrated cable, which means all of the benefits I just described go out the window. I am not particularly scared of damaging the Envoy Ultra’s integrated cable through snapping or bending, but I’m not completely ignoring it as a possibility. It’s always something I think about when I put it in my travel tech bag. More than anything, it’s just inconvenient. Not even OWC’s desktop SSD RAID arrays have an integrated cable, so seeing it here on something that is marketed as portable feels weird.
That said, there is a benefit to the integrated cable: the OWC Envoy Ultra is crushproof, and IP67 dustproof and waterproof. That’s the highest dust rating that IP provides, and also means that the SSD can be submerged in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes. OWC says it’s built like a tank, and it might actually be. But I would be remiss if I were to ignore that the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5, which is IP68-rated; that means it can be submerged even longer. It doesn’t even have a little plug to block the USB-C port: it can just vibe underwater naked.
Granted, there are compromises LaCie had to make: it has thermal issues and will throttle as it heats up. OWC probably thought that if it were to eliminate the only ingress point, it could get more creative with its design and structure. More on thermals below, but this was probably the right approach.
Going back to portability, I would say the Envoy Ultra butts up against the edge of what I would call actually portable. It’s about as large and heavy as a device like this can get before it becomes more inconvenient to carry around than helpful for on-location editing. I absolutely can travel with it — and have, internationally — but it’s easily the largest portable SSD I have tested in recent years and is a bit smaller than my outstretched hands (or 5.25 x 3 x 0.75 inches). It is, gratefully, smaller than the ProGrade PG10, however.
OWC Envoy Ultra SSD Review: Performance
One of the biggest benefits OWC is offering is its thermal management. As a bus-powered, wholly sealed, fanless SSD, heavy use might see the SSD overheat, causing thermal throttling. In testing, I wasn’t seeing any of that. When it was under heavy loads, it, as mentioned, did warm to the touch but never got nearly as hot as other SSDs we’ve tested. As a result, it doesn’t appear to ever dip in performance and provides the same speeds regardless of how hard you work it.
Speaking of that, PetaPixel tests SSD speeds three times: once when it is empty, once when it is full, and once when it has been emptied again. Many SSDs perform differently under this kind of strain, and it’s important to look at all three numbers since they provide a more complete picture of how a drive works over time.
Most SSDs show some slowdown, if not a noticeable slowdown, when filled to near capacity. The OWC Envoy Ultra doesn’t. In fact, it doesn’t seem to care what you’re doing, it’ll just plain perform. It showed its slowest write performance when it was full, but it is by a tiny margin of less than 40 MB/s. Otherwise, it is remarkably consistent. Its thermal management is also on display here as it continues to perform at peak consistently while its prime competitor, the aforementioned LaCie SSD Pro5, did waver as it warmed — in some cases, the internal controller of the LaCie dropped performance precipitously as it, presumably, attempted to cool itself. Repeated speed tests of the Envoy Ultra showed no such slowing or throttling — ever.
OWC Has a Winning Combination
It’s rare to see a new product that comes in and totally dominates the competition. The OWC Envoy Ultra is not only the fastest SSD PetaPixel has ever tested, it’s also tied with the ProGrade PG10 when it comes to reliability and performance over time, but maintains that at five times the speed and without being enormous. That’s all upside for $550, which is less expensive than the ProGrade’s 4TB, which is $800, and LaCie’s Pro5 SSD 4TB, which is $600 (although sometimes it can be found for $550, too).
While OWC missed its original launch window for the Envoy Ultra, it has been making them available in recent weeks and it’s planning to ship another batch out this month (they keep selling out, and I can see why).
Are There Alternatives?
If you’re dead-set on Thunderbolt 5, your options are slim. You could pick up the smaller and slightly more rugged LaCie Pro5 SSD, but you’ll have to be prepared for some thermal issues, and it just isn’t as fast as the Envoy Ultra.
If you want to open your horizons a bit, we highly recommend the Genki SavePoint for its size, speed, and performance. It’s a consistent little drive that won’t get you across the finish line first, but it makes up for that with its style and itty-bitty form factor and the fact the internal SSD can be swapped out easily. The ProGrade PG10 is not the fastest SSD but the consistency is very strong, matched only by OWC’s Envoy Ultra. It’s just a bit large, but the fact that it’s not Thunderbolt but instead is USB-3.2×2 means top performance is going to be limited to select PCs.
Should You Buy It?
Yes. It’s rare that we have such a runaway market leader, but the OWC Envoy Ultra SSD is absolutely the best choice across both price and performance. This is the world’s best portable SSD right now, and it’s not particularly close.
