When SK hynix first unveiled its Beetle X31 portable SSD, the device impressed with its read/write speeds, but the one criticism was its storage capacity. At 1TB, the Beetle X31 fell short of the growing storage needs of the average consumer, even if it is fast and compact. Luckily, SK hynix heard the criticisms and is now offering a 2TB version of the Beetle X31.
SK hynix has not made any drastic changes to the Beetle X31’s design or feature set for this 2TB version. The only major difference is the color scheme, which is now silver instead of gold.
Still, without any significant changes to the Beetle X31, this is an excellent portable SSD option for anyone. Its small size is perfect for carrying around in a pocket or a backpack, and the rounded edges of the chassis resemble scarab beetles.
The Beetle X31 comes with two grip pads along the bottom to keep it steady while on any surface, and you can fit the SSD into an included rubber case for some added drop protection. Overall, this is one of the smaller USB-C SSDs on the market and it’s one whose portability should be a major selling point.
Of course, the other major selling point is the speed, with the SK hynix Beetle X31 offering impressive read and write speeds. SK hynix bills the Beetle X31 as supporting up to 1,050 MB/s read/write speeds and I found that to be accurate in my testing. You can transfer a large multi-gigabyte file to the drive in seconds (via USB-C).
On the PS5 Pro, I was able to transfer a 100+ GB game file to the Beetle X31 in a little under 10 minutes, which is fast for the console. You won’t get the same speeds as with a PC or Mac.
With the USB-C cable attached to a PC, you can even run some games from the drive and see minimal change in load times. Obviously, it can’t compete with the speeds of an internal NVME SSD, but that’s still plenty impressive.
While I would recommend using USB-C wherever possible, the SK hynix Beetle X31 does come with a USB-C to USB-A cable for those who might not have a USB-C port available or who are using a device that doesn’t have one. On USB-A you are looking at roughly half the speed, which is still good but the major selling points of the drive are its size and speed.
SK Hynix heard the need for a larger capacity drive and delivered. The 2TB Beetle X31 is perfect for portable storage needs, offering those great speeds and at a size that makes it easy to carry around.
The SK Hynix Beetle X31 2TB Portable SSD is available now for $169.99. Game Rant was provided a unit for this review.