With SanDisk Desk Drive, Western Digital presents a new complete solution for desktop data backup. The Desk Drive SSDs offer a capacity of 4 TB and 8 TB and, according to the manufacturer, are intended for storing photo and video collections, CAD files or 3D renderings, large AI-generated files, music libraries and "important documents". An even larger 16TB version will be released next year.
SanDisk Desk Drive
The small round drives measure 99.2mm x 99.2mm with a height of approx. 40mm and offer a sequential read speed of 1000MB/s, sequential write speed of 900MB/s. Thanks to exFAT formatting, the SSD is ready to use with Windows (10 or higher) and macOS (14 or higher), a USB Type-C cable is included.
The SanDisk Desk Drive SSDs are compatible with Apple Time Machine on Mac without further configuration, alternatively the downloadable backup software Acronis True Image for Western Digital can be used for automatic backups.
How secure are external SanDisk SSDs?
The question remains as to whether users will be enthusiastic about a SanDisk SSD solution for backing up their data. Last year, there were 
repeated total failures in some batches of SanDisk Extreme Portable SSDs, which led to a class action lawsuit against Western Digital being initiated in August. No decision seems to have been made on the matter yet; the status is "case assigned/reassigned" (unchanged since December). It is not known whether an out-of-court settlement has been reached.
Western Digital had provided a firmware update to solve the problem, but according to users this did not have the promised effect. According to a report by futurezone from November 2023, the failures are said to be due to a design and construction weakness. According to the report, the components used for the circuit board were too large and inadequately fastened, allowing them to come loose over time. The fastening of newer Extreme Pro SSDs has been improved, but components still come loose, according to the report.
Due to Western Digital's sparse and non-transparent communication on the issue, it is difficult to assess from the outside whether the problems have been fundamentally resolved in the meantime.
The manufacturer offers a 3-year warranty for the new SanDisk Desk Drive SSDs, but it is well known that any data lost in the event of a failure is irretrievably lost.
Prices and availability
The SanDisk Desk Drive is available immediately for 419.99 euros (4TB model) or 770.99 euros (8TB model).
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