Review: OWC's Envoy Ultra SSD Delivers Thunderbolt 5 Transfer Speeds

[MacRumors]

Thunderbolt 5 is a technology that's only recently been adopted by Apple, and Thunderbolt 5 SSDs aren't yet common. Other World Computing, or OWC, has one of the first Thunderbolt 5 SSDs on the market.

The bus-powered Envoy Ultra is priced starting at $330, and it comes in 2TB or 4TB capacities. The SSD has a premium feel, with a black aluminum enclosure and an internal design meant to dissipate heat. It's not the most compact SSD, measuring in at 5.1 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 0.8 inches thick. It weighs 0.75 pounds, so while it tucks away easily in a bag, you're not going to want to haul it around in a pocket.

According to OWC, the SSD has an IP67 dust and water resistance rating, so it can hold up to temporary immersion in water (though make sure the cable end is dry before use). It's hefty and durable, but on a negative note, it has a built-in 9-inch Thunderbolt 5 cable that is not detachable. I am not a fan of built-in cables, but it does feel securely attached. How it'll hold up for years of use remains to be seen. If the Envoy Ultra's cable is damaged, the SSD can be sent in to OWC for repair. At this time, the cable is not sold separately for self repairs, but the enclosure does open to facilitate a cable swap.

The cable is fixed because of Thunderbolt 5 certification requirements and power draw, with a shorter cable able to mitigate power loss and deliver more power to the SSD for better performance.

The SSD can reach speeds up to twice as fast as Thunderbolt 4/USB4 SSDs, maxing out at over 6,000MB/s. In testing with an M4 Pro MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 5, I didn't quite hit that maximum. In benchmark tests with BlackMagic, it maxed out around 5,255MB/s write and 5,347MB/s read. Real world file tests were super quick, with 50GB transferring in about 15 seconds.

According to OWC, with sustained file transfers, write speeds will drop to around 1,350MB/s for the 2TB model and 1,700MB/s for the 4TB model, while read speeds stay consistent. I saw that dip in write speeds at around the 55GB mark.

Even when transferring large amounts of data, the Envoy Ultra did not get more than lukewarm, and since there's no fan inside, it offers silent operation.

To take advantage of the full speed of the Envoy Ultra, you need a computer that supports Thunderbolt 5. On the Mac side, that's Apple's latest Mac models with M4 Pro and M4 Max chips or the M3 Ultra found in the Mac Studio. Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 Macs are backwards compatible with the SSD and you can still use it with them, but you're probably only going to want to opt for a Thunderbolt 5 SSD if you have the equipment for one.

If you do have a Thunderbolt 5 Mac and want the fastest transfer speeds you can get for tasks like moving huge video files around, you're not going to go wrong with the Envoy Ultra. It's well built, and comes from a reputable company known for its drives.

You could get the Envoy Ultra for use with an older Mac for the purpose of future proofing, but the price difference may not be worth it. There are so few Thunderbolt 5 SSDs on the market right now, so prices are on the higher side. Of course, USB4/TB4 SSDs are also not super affordable, and the Envoy Ultra will give you maximum Thunderbolt 4 speeds, too.

With an M1 Max MacBook Pro, I got consistent read/write speeds right around 3,000MB/s, so I did hit the Thunderbolt 4 limit.

2TB USB4 SSDs that operate at half of the Envoy Ultra's speed are priced at $180 to $250, and if you don't even need USB4 speeds, 2TB SSDs can be under $100.

Bottom Line

If you have a Thunderbolt 5 Mac or are going to get one in the future and you need super fast transfer speeds, check out the Envoy Ultra. It's a solid product and the only downside for some may be the attached cable.

How to Buy

The Envoy Ultra can be purchased from the OWC website. The 2TB model is priced at $330, and the 4TB model is priced at $549.

Note: OWC provided MacRumors with a 2TB Envoy Ultra for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.

Article Link: Review: OWC's Envoy Ultra SSD Delivers Thunderbolt 5 Transfer Speeds

 

[Corefile]

You can pick up a 2TB NVMe SSD and a USB 3.0 enclosure for 120 bucks on Amazon.

 

[Black_Mage]

Nice. This is why I say don't sweat Apple's insane SSD upgrade prices. Just get about 512 GB and use an external drive.

 

[Unity451]

I have one of these. It's stupid fast. Even with large files, it operates seamlessly with my system HD.

 

[ChrisA]

You can pick up a 2TB NVMe SSD and a USB 3.0 enclosure for 120 bucks on Amazon.

Yes, but it will be USB 3.0, not TB5.

 

[ChrisA]

I don't like non-removable cables either. But I can see why they did it. If the cable were replaceable, then people would put on really long and cheap cables and wonder why the device does not work. This solves the cable compatibility problem.

 

[leicaman]

I got one to become the main data drive for my Mac Mini Pro. I use it mostly to manage my photos and Lightroom library. But there's so much room I do most everything on it. It has literally never been disconnected from my Mini. My new Sony A9III can shoot compressed RAW files at up to 120 frames per second. And I regularly shoot with pre-capture and 60 fps for wildlife. So I need a lot of super fast space for culling.

For everything I don't need to have constant access to, I put on my QNap NAS with a 10 GbE connection. it's SSD cache pretty much make it 24 TB of pretty fast space.

And for those who don't know, you can pop it open and put a longer Thunderbolt 5 cable in place of the one that came with the drive. But I'm not sure I'll ever need to do it. The drive and Mini are so small they sit under one side of my Studio Display. No need to hide them.

 

[switz]

Thunderbolt 5 can be found on the M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook Pros and the M4 Pro Mac mini. This drive may have better speeds with the "Max" processors.

 

[LelandHendrix]

you can pop it open and put a longer Thunderbolt 5 cable in place of the one that came with the drive

I've been looking at this drive since last year when it came out, and at higher prices. But this feature you mentioned made me strongly consider the OWC over my fear about longevity of the cable--just because I would travel and want to know cable replacement was an option without shucking the whole thing. Sabrent has an external drive also with an attached cable that worried me.

I ended up going in another direction by using a TB5 enclosure and a 4TB high-performance HP SSD. It beats the speeds in the review image above, but not tremendously and I imagine they might come to a draw. But I chose to go entirely modular so I can mix components as needed, as that method has worked out well with my TB4 enclosures and M.2 drives over the last couple years.

I would recommend anyone with a TB5 Mac to get an external like this OWC or roll your own with an enclosure like Trebleet or Acasis, both for future proofing and the fact you are getting speeds indistinguishable from internal SSDs.

 

[kwikdeth]

the fact you are getting speeds indistinguishable from internal SSDs.

*Apple's SSDs. PCIe NVMe internal drives utterly smoke Apple's NVMe implementations and this has been true for a while.

 

[jmckenzie]

I got one to become the main data drive for my Mac Mini Pro. I use it mostly to manage my photos and Lightroom library. But there's so much room I do most everything on it. It has literally never been disconnected from my Mini. My new Sony A9III can shoot compressed RAW files at up to 120 frames per second. And I regularly shoot with pre-capture and 60 fps for wildlife. So I need a lot of super fast space for culling.

For everything I don't need to have constant access to, I put on my QNap NAS with a 10 GbE connection. it's SSD cache pretty much make it 24 TB of pretty fast space.

And for those who don't know, you can pop it open and put a longer Thunderbolt 5 cable in place of the one that came with the drive. But I'm not sure I'll ever need to do it. The drive and Mini are so small they sit under one side of my Studio Display. No need to hide them.

Wait what, that’s great. Cable longevity is the one thing I’m concerned about with this drive. I have it sitting permanently attached to my Mac, so realistically the cable shouldn’t get any wear and tear, but for the price it’s nice to know there’s a fallback.

 

[DavidSchaub]

Is it really "Delivers Thunderbolt 5 Transfer Speeds" if it is barely faster than TB4?

6000 MBps is a whole 47Gbps, which is far from 80Gbps.

 

[richpjr]

You can pick up a 2TB NVMe SSD and a USB 3.0 enclosure for 120 bucks on Amazon.

You pay more for performance,

 

[JosephAW]

Still seem pricy. Better to look at upgrading the ssd inside my studio max.

 

[LelandHendrix]

Is it really "Delivers Thunderbolt 5 Transfer Speeds" if it is barely faster than TB4?

6000 MBps is a whole 47Gbps, which is far from 80Gbps.

It really is thunderbolt 5 storage speed though. Just like how the 3000MB/s on thunderbolt 4 is a whole 24Gbps, which is far from 40. All the thunderbolt 5 storage seems to perform like this right now.

 

[LelandHendrix]

Still seem pricy. Better to look at upgrading the ssd inside my studio max.

Have you priced that? From what I can tell, the internal upgrades for the latest Macs like the M4 Max Studio are cheaper that what apple charges, but still more expensive per GB than M.2

Also consider that when you change machines, you don't get to take that upgrade with you, and may have not have a device to re-use the original internal drive that you are replacing. I've seen no enclosures for Apple SSDs made for Studios, as such.

This OWC device seems to be all about portability. For one that you want to keep connected full time as a substitute to internal storage that will see substantial continuous use, you want your thunderbolt 5 SSD to have a built-in-fan! A fanless SSD operating at TB5 speeds will absolutely throttle itself due to heat.

 

[CocktailHour]

Thunderbolt 5 is a technology that's only recently been adopted by Apple, and Thunderbolt 5 SSDs aren't yet common. Other World Computing, or OWC, has one of the first Thunderbolt 5 SSDs on the market.

The bus-powered Envoy Ultra is priced starting at $330, and it comes in 2TB or 4TB capacities. The SSD has a premium feel, with a black aluminum enclosure and an internal design meant to dissipate heat. It's not the most compact SSD, measuring in at 5.1 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 0.8 inches thick. It weighs 0.75 pounds, so while it tucks away easily in a bag, you're not going to want to haul it around in a pocket.

According to OWC, the SSD has an IP67 dust and water resistance rating, so it can hold up to temporary immersion in water (though make sure the cable end is dry before use). It's hefty and durable, but on a negative note, it has a built-in 9-inch Thunderbolt 5 cable that is not detachable. I am not a fan of built-in cables, but it does feel securely attached. How it'll hold up for years of use remains to be seen.

The SSD can reach speeds up to twice as fast as Thunderbolt 4/USB4 SSDs, maxing out at over 6,000MB/s. In testing with an M4 Pro MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 5, I didn't quite hit that maximum. In benchmark tests with BlackMagic, it maxed out around 5,255MB/s write and 5,347MB/s read. Real world file tests were super quick, with 50GB transferring in about 15 seconds.

According to OWC, with sustained file transfers, write speeds will drop to around 1,350MB/s for the 2TB model and 1,700MB/s for the 4TB model, while read speeds stay consistent. I saw that dip in write speeds at around the 55GB mark.

Even when transferring large amounts of data, the Envoy Ultra did not get more than lukewarm, and since there's no fan inside, it offers silent operation.

To take advantage of the full speed of the Envoy Ultra, you need a computer that supports Thunderbolt 5. On the Mac side, that's Apple's latest Mac models with M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 Macs are backwards compatible with the SSD and you can still use it with them, but you're probably only going to want to opt for a Thunderbolt 5 SSD if you have the equipment for one.

If you do have a Thunderbolt 5 Mac and want the fastest transfer speeds you can get for tasks like moving huge video files around, you're not going to go wrong with the Envoy Ultra. It's well built, and comes from a reputable company known for its drives.

You could get the Envoy Ultra for use with an older Mac for the purpose of future proofing, but the price difference may not be worth it. There are so few Thunderbolt 5 SSDs on the market right now, so prices are on the higher side. Of course, USB4/TB4 SSDs are also not super affordable, and the Envoy Ultra will give you maximum Thunderbolt 4 speeds, too.

With an M1 Max MacBook Pro, I got consistent read/write speeds right around 3,000MB/s, so I did hit the Thunderbolt 4 limit.

2TB USB4 SSDs that operate at half of the Envoy Ultra's speed are priced at $180 to $250, and if you don't even need USB4 speeds, 2TB SSDs can be under $100.

Bottom Line

If you have a Thunderbolt 5 Mac or are going to get one in the future and you need super fast transfer speeds, check out the Envoy Ultra. It's a solid product and the only downside for some may be the attached cable.

How to Buy

The Envoy Ultra can be purchased from the OWC website. The 2TB model is priced at $330, and the 4TB model is priced at $549.

Note: OWC provided MacRumors with a 2TB Envoy Ultra for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.

Article Link: Review: OWC's Envoy Ultra SSD Delivers Thunderbolt 5 Transfer Speeds

Will eventually need these with higher res files, but with three USB 3.2 SSDs, I'm fine for now.

 

[Rychiar]

I’d rather just buy a case and an 8tb wd black drive

 

[djmlfc]

Been using a 4TB model for a while. Stellar performance compared to the Thunderblade 8TB Raid SSD's I have used for several years (TB3 models). Love the drive..... Have used a bunch of OWC products over the years mostly storage and docking stations which are upgraded as new versions of Thunderbolt have been released. Never had an issue with any of their products and, touch wood, hope I never will.

 

[Admiral]

We're getting bilked on these Thunderbolt 5 enclosures at the moment. I'm really looking forward to TB5 technology becoming ubiquitous on the lower end as well as MacBook Pro and Mac Studio computers.

 

[BGPL]

Really these aren't priced too bad at all. I paid $300 for the 2TB Samsung USB-C with fingerprint sensor and wasn't nearly as fast as I had hoped. Having real world NVMe speeds in a portable enclosure is attractive.

 

[diamond3]

Just give us the bare enclosure with no drive. I've got the Acasis Thunderbolt 4 enclosure, but I could literally fry an egg on that thing.

 

[HDFan]

To take advantage of the full speed of the Envoy Ultra, you need a computer that supports Thunderbolt 5. On the Mac side, that's Apple's latest Mac models with M4 Pro and M4 Max chips.

also the M3 Ultra.

Is it really "Delivers Thunderbolt 5 Transfer Speeds" if it is barely faster than TB4?

It is > 2x faster than TB4.

 

[Admiral]

Really these aren't priced too bad at all. I paid $300 for the 2TB Samsung USB-C with fingerprint sensor and wasn't nearly as fast as I had hoped. Having real world NVMe speeds in a portable enclosure is attractive.

My recommendation, if you can, is to test your Samsung T7 Shield with a Thunderbolt 3, 4, or 5 cable. Samsung ships those drives with terrible USB cables. Thunderbolt cables are, in addition to being Thunderbolt cables, extremely well-built USB-C cables. I made this discovery a few months ago when I found some money in a suit pocket and decided to plump for an Apple Thunderbolt 5 cable. It completely changed my evaluation of the Samsung T9 SSD — which, frankly speaking, knocked my socks off.

The Apple cables are the top of the market, so I'm not replacing every cable with an Apple Thunderbolt cable. Instead, I'm replacing cables for key peripherals with Cable Matters TB5 cables @ $30-35 each. It really does make a difference. A BIG difference, unexpectedly.

This has also prompted me to replace my HDMI and DisplayPort cables with higher-quality cables as well.

 

[svish]

Great speeds, good drive. But would have liked it to be a bit smaller. Maybe future ones will be.