American company OWC has introduced the Express 1M2 80G, a portable SSD designed for high-performance workflows. Weighing 9.9 ounces and measuring roughly the size of a stack of index cards, the device features Thunderbolt 5 and USB4 connectivity, making it capable of real-world peak transfer speeds exceeding 6000 MB/s, approaching the performance of internal storage in modern laptops such as Apple’s latest MacBook Pro models.

The drive is housed in a solid aluminum enclosure with a finned, heatsink-like design that provides passive cooling, thus eliminating the need for fans while maintaining consistent performance and preventing thermal throttling. The enclosure accommodates NVMe M.2 SSDs in both 2280 and 2242 form factors, allowing users to choose between a ready-to-run model or a do-it-yourself configuration that can be upgraded in the future.

The Express 1M2 80G is compatible with a wide range of systems, including Macs, PCs, iPad Pro models, Chromebooks and Microsoft Surface devices equipped with Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 5, or USB4 ports. It also maintains backward compatibility with Thunderbolt 3 on Mac. Depending on the connection, transfer rates vary: Thunderbolt 5 delivers the maximum performance above 6000 MB/s, Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 connections reach up to 3800 MB/s, and Thunderbolt 3 offers up to 2800 MB/s.

The drive is bus-powered via the included USB4 cable, removing the need for an external power supply. It ships preformatted with Apple File System (APFS) for immediate use with macOS 14 and later, although it can be reformatted for Windows 11, ChromeOS, and Linux environments. The device also supports boot functionality on Mac systems.