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Two decades ago, Neil Poulton notably enhanced the design of external drives by introducing LaCie’s Rugged line, which is distinguished by its vibrant orange bumper that shields data from accidents like drops. Building on this legacy, Seagate recently unveiled an updated version of the LaCie Rugged Mini SSD, featuring minor design modifications and a significant upgrade in transfer speeds.
This new model is now referred to as the LaCie Rugged SSD4 and is being offered in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB sizes, as Seagate has decided to discontinue the 500MB option. The pricing for these capacities is set at $134.99, $249.99, and $479.99, respectively, starting today.
Though the Rugged SSD4 maintains the same dimensions as its former version, it now sport a brushed aluminum finish and a centrally placed USB-C port. With the new design, the SSD4 supports transfer speeds up to 40Gbps and boasts 4,000MB/s for reading and 3,000MB/s for writing. The previous Rugged Mini SSD had a slightly off-center USB-C port, a smoother aluminum texture, and its read speeds peaked at 2,000MB/s.
While not matching the speeds of the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 introduced at CES earlier this year, which offers 6,700MB/s read and 5,300MB/s write speeds, the Rugged SSD4 still delivers respectable performance. It is capable of capturing ProRes 4K video at 120fps when linked to a USB-C iPhone.
Like its predecessor, the new Rugged SSD4 boasts an IP54 rating, affording protection against dust and splashes, but it is not fully waterproof—submersion should be avoided. The iconic orange bumper continues to offer drop protection from nearly 10 feet, though it’s advised not to handle it carelessly.
