WD My Passport SSD is a fast, beautiful, and durable USB-C NVMe solid state drive

I still remember getting my first-ever solid state drive -- a SATA model with a small capacity by today's standards. It was mind-blowing to see how fast Windows could boot from it. Also great? No longer being forced to hear the sound of a mechanical hard drive seeking for data. All things considered, the transition from HDD to SSD was one of the most significant upgrades of my entire computing life. And you know what? I am sure many consumers would say the same.

With all of that said, solid state drives aren't just great inside computers -- they work wonderfully outside of them too. What do I mean by that? I am referring to portable storage. Thanks to NVMe drives, external storage devices can be faster and tinier than ever. Not to mention, with USB-C, you never have to worry about plugging in the connector the wrong way either. Today, Western Digital launches such a drive and it is absolutely gorgeous. Called "WD My Passport SSD," it features an internal NVMe drive, USB-C connectivity, and a beautiful metal exterior that oozes elegance.

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"Now more than ever, consumers are looking to empower their productivity by keeping their files and increasingly large content libraries with them. Creators can move and edit high-quality content nearly twice as fast with the new My Passport SSD compared to the previous version of the drive, saving time to do more. Whether on a laptop or desktop while at home, in the office or on the go, professionals can reliably store their data on this drive," says Western Digital.

The company further explains, "WD's My Passport SSD is designed from the ground up to provide reliable performance and a touch of luxury, inside and out. The bold metal design is both stylish and durable. It feels great in the hand and fits comfortably in a bag or pocket, enabling consumers to bring their content wherever life takes them and keep productivity flowing. Available in a range of modern colors, including Gray, Blue, Red and Gold, consumers can choose the drive that best fits their style."

Western Digital shares features of the drive below.

• Blazing fast NVMe technology with read speeds of up to 1,050MB/s and write speeds of up to 1,000MB/s.
• Password enabled 256-bit AES hardware encryption to help protect valuable content simply.
• Featuring shock and vibration resistance and drop resistant up to 6.5 feet (1.98m).
• Included software to make it easy to back up large files to your drive or a cloud service account.
• USB 3.2 Gen-2 technology with a USB-C cable and a USB-A adapter.
• Ready to use out of the box and compatible with Mac and PC.

So, how much does the WD My Passport SSD cost? It is surprisingly affordable. The 500GB model has an MSRP of $119.99, while the 1TB variant is listed at $189.99. Both can be had starting today here. A $379 2TB version is planned for the future, but availability for it is not yet known (it can be pre-ordered here, however). While Western Digital promises several colors will be available, only gray is available today.