OWC Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 SSD offers fast 6GB/s data transfers

AppleInsider

OWC has released the Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 SSD, an external drive that takes advantage of the M4 Pro and M4 Max Mac's connections.

OWC Envoy Ultra

As part of its M4 Mac upgrades, Apple upgraded some of the ports on its M4 Pro and M4 Max models to use Thunderbolt 5. Following a preorder period, OWC has now started to ship a drive that takes advantage of the increased amount of bandwidth.

The OWC Envoy Ultra is a Thunderbolt 5-based portable SSD, claimed to be the first in the world. Taking advantage of the massive bandwidth of Thunderbolt 5, it can transfer data to and from a Mac at speeds exceeding 6,000MB/s.

Bus-powered and having its own built-in Thunderbolt cable, the drive is also backwards-compatible with Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 3 connections.

Enclosed in a fanless aluminum enclosure, it has passive thermal management that doesn't require a fan, making it silent. The enclosure also helps protect it from drops, rain, and dust.

The OWC Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 SSD is sold from OWC directly. It is priced at $399.99 for 2TB and $599.99 for 4TB.



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NEO_STEPHENS

Would have been the perfect solution, if not for the fixed USB-C cable.

kurai_kage

My thoughts exactly.  A captured cable is an instant disqualification when I'm considering products.

NEO_STEPHENS said:

Would have been the perfect solution, if not for the fixed USB-C cable.

cia

NEO_STEPHENS said:

Would have been the perfect solution, if not for the fixed USB-C cable.

It’s a fixed thunderbolt 5 cable.  Big difference. 

NEO_STEPHENS

cia said:

NEO_STEPHENS said:

Would have been the perfect solution, if not for the fixed USB-C cable.

It’s a fixed thunderbolt 5 cable.  Big difference. 

For me, it's not the type of cable, it's the fact that it's fixed to the SSD. I would prefer to just attach my own TB 5 cable, as needed.

joakimfl

NEO_STEPHENS said:

cia said:

NEO_STEPHENS said:

Would have been the perfect solution, if not for the fixed USB-C cable.

It’s a fixed thunderbolt 5 cable.  Big difference. 

For me, it's not the type of cable, it's the fact that it's fixed to the SSD. I would prefer to just attach my own TB 5 cable, as needed.

It suspect the reason that it's a fixed cable is to make sure you don't plug a sub-standard or too long cable in and cause data transfer issues, and making sure that only the built in cable is used reduces potential customer support overhead since TB 5 is such a new standard that pushes the envelope in data transfer speeds.

melgross

I don’t care that it’s fixed. One plug and socket less to worry about breaking.

snookie

joakimfl said:

NEO_STEPHENS said:

cia said:

NEO_STEPHENS said:

Would have been the perfect solution, if not for the fixed USB-C cable.

It’s a fixed thunderbolt 5 cable.  Big difference. 

For me, it's not the type of cable, it's the fact that it's fixed to the SSD. I would prefer to just attach my own TB 5 cable, as needed.

It suspect the reason that it's a fixed cable is to make sure you don't plug a sub-standard or too long cable in and cause data transfer issues, and making sure that only the built in cable is used reduces potential customer support overhead since TB 5 is such a new standard that pushes the envelope in data transfer speeds.

I don’t like it being fixed either but I’m sure you are correct. 

rob53

Have any of you actually bought one of these drives? I have other external drives that use a standard Thunderbolt cable plugged into an internal jack. Just because OWC doesn't say you can open the case doesn't mean it can't be opened. OWC has put security labels on their drive enclosures that come with internal drives (HDD and SSD) that warn you about voiding the warranty but opening them is still up to you. There's no way OWC glued or welded these drives together. It wouldn't make sense.

macgui

NEO_STEPHENS said:
For me, it's not the type of cable, it's the fact that it's fixed to the SSD. I would prefer to just attach my own TB 5 cable, as needed.

The article doesn't address whether or not it's a fixed/captive cable. I've got an Envoy Express that taps out at just under 1500Mbps. It appears to have a captive TB3 cable but it's not. Open the enclosure and you can remove the cable's USB-C connector and replace it. It's not fixed/captive at all. Most USB-C ports I've seen hold the cable securely. Maybe the captive cable is to ensure that the right cable (TB5) is always connected. This prevents loss and accidental disconnection from the enclosure. Maybe.

However regarding the Envoy Ultra OWC site says:

 The encapsulated cable enables Envoy Ultra to be waterproof2

2 Envoy Ultra enclosure is IP66 rated. Connector/plug end of the built-in Thunderbolt cable is not waterproof and must be dry/clean before connecting Envoy Ultra to a machine or device.

This looks to be a fixed/captive cable. Without knowing if it can be user replaced in the event of failure, that's a problem.

melgross

rob53 said:

Have any of you actually bought one of these drives? I have other external drives that use a standard Thunderbolt cable plugged into an internal jack. Just because OWC doesn't say you can open the case doesn't mean it can't be opened. OWC has put security labels on their drive enclosures that come with internal drives (HDD and SSD) that warn you about voiding the warranty but opening them is still up to you. There's no way OWC glued or welded these drives together. It wouldn't make sense.

Here, in the USA, those labels are no longer valid. You can open the device and it doesn’t invalidate the warrantee. They may argue, but you can look it up and show them, if they protest.