Yes, there are definitely USB flash drives available with 1TB of storage capacity. In the last few years, USB drive capacities have increased dramatically, going from just a few gigabytes to 256GB, 512GB, and now even 1TB. While 1TB USB drives are still relatively new and expensive compared to smaller capacities, several manufacturers such as Samsung, SanDisk, and Kingston have released 1TB models.
Brief history of USB drive capacities
The first USB flash drives that hit the market in late 2000 had capacities of just 8MB up to 256MB. Over the next several years, capacities slowly increased into the 1GB to 2GB range. By 2005, 4GB and 8GB drives became more common. In 2007, SanDisk released a 16GB drive, then in 2008 they hit 32GB. By 2010, 64GB drives were on the market, followed by 128GB in 2011 and 256GB in 2013. The first 512GB USB 3.0 flash drives appeared in 2014. In early 2016, Kingston introduced a massive 1TB USB flash drive. So in just over 15 years, capacities went from 8MB to 1TB – a 125,000x increase!
Manufacturers of 1TB USB drives
Here are some of the major manufacturers that currently offer 1TB USB 3.0 flash drives:
- Samsung – The Samsung BAR Plus USB 3.1 drive offers read speeds up to 300MB/s and write speeds up to 130MB/s. It uses 3D V-NAND flash memory and a metal casing.
- SanDisk – The SanDisk Extreme PRO USB 3.1 Solid State Flash Drive provides speeds up to 420MB/s read and up to 380MB/s write. It uses nCache Pro technology and has a forged aluminum alloy casing.
- Kingston – The Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate GT USB 3.1 drive has read and write speeds up to 300MB/s and 200MB/s respectively. It uses 3D TLC NAND flash memory.
- PNY – The PNY Pro Elite USB 3.0 drive provides speeds up to 400MB/s read and 250MB/s write and connects via USB 3.0 or USB 2.0.
- Lexar – The Lexar Professional SL100 Pro USB 3.0 drive provides speeds up to 150MB/s read and up to 70MB/s write.
- Apricorn – The Apricorn Aegis Secure Key 3NXC USB 3.0 drive incorporates a rugged, water and dust resistant keypad design with encryption and real-time clock features.
Pricing of 1TB USB drives
While 1TB USB flash drives deliver massive storage capacity, they are still relatively expensive compared to smaller capacities. Here are some typical price ranges:
| USB Drive Capacity | Price Range |
|---|---|
| 16GB | $5 – $15 |
| 32GB | $10 – $25 |
| 64GB | $15 – $40 |
| 128GB | $25 – $80 |
| 256GB | $50 – $100 |
| 512GB | $100 – $200 |
| 1TB | $200 – $400 |
As you can see, the 1TB drives command a significant price premium over smaller capacities. However, the cost per gigabyte is quite low. Expect prices to come down over time as production volumes and availability increase.
Benefits of large capacity USB drives
Here are some of the main benefits and use cases of using a 1TB or other high capacity USB drive:
- Store and transport very large files like high resolution photos, videos, CAD files, virtual machine images, disk images, etc.
- Backup large amounts of data from computers.
- Archive years worth of files and documents.
- Transport large libraries of movies, music, or other media.
- Maintain several operating system installers or utilities on a single drive.
- Store entire disk images of hard drives for data recovery and forensics.
- Hold large databases or datasets for research and analysis.
- Cook large amounts of data from different computers.
The main benefit of the large capacities is convenience. Rather than having to use multiple smaller USB drives, a single high capacity drive can transport tremendous amounts of data.
Drawbacks of 1TB USB drives
There are a few drawbacks to using these high capacity 1TB and larger USB drives:
- Higher cost per drive than smaller capacities.
- Possible compatibility issues with older PCs.
- Slow data transfer speeds compared to USB hard drives or SSDs.
- Easy to lose or misplace such a small device with so much data.
- Not as rugged or reliable as external solid state or hard disk drives.
- Long time required to fully write 1TB of data to the drive.
The main limitations are cost, speed, and reliability compared to external drives. But the convenience factor of the compact size often outweighs those limitations for many users.
Performance of 1TB USB flash drives
1TB USB flash drives on the market today typically have maximum data transfer speeds around 300-400MB/s for reading data and 130-250MB/s for writing data. This is comparable to a 5400RPM portable external hard drive. But it is much slower than USB solid state drives which exceed 500MB/s. Here is how the performance compares:
| Storage Device | Read Speed | Write Speed |
|---|---|---|
| 1TB USB 3.0 Flash Drive | 300-400MB/s | 130-250MB/s |
| External HDD (5400 RPM) | 100-130MB/s | 100-130MB/s |
| External SSD | over 500MB/s | over 500MB/s |
So USB flash drives deliver much better transfer performance than external hard drives. However, external SSDs using interfaces like USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, Thunderbolt 3, or USB4 can outperform USB flash drives by a significant margin.
Compatible interfaces for 1TB USB drives
Most 1TB USB flash drives today use the common USB 3.0 or USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface. This provides speeds up to 5Gbps. Some also support USB 2.0 for backwards compatibility. Here are some of the USB interfaces used:
- USB 3.0 – Up to 5Gbps transfer speed. Backwards compatible with USB 2.0.
- USB 3.1 Gen 1 – Up to 5Gbps speed. Identical to USB 3.0 specification.
- USB 3.2 Gen 1 – Up to 5Gbps speed. Backward compatible with USB 3.0/3.1 Gen 1.
- USB 3.2 Gen 2 – Up to 10Gbps speed. Provides faster performance.
For best performance, look for drives that support USB 3.2 Gen 2 or USB 3.1 Gen 2. This takes advantage of newer, faster USB interfaces available on more modern computers and laptops. But USB 3.0/3.1 Gen 1 drives will still work fine at full speed on older systems.
Physical size and design
Despite their massive 1TB storage capacity, most 1TB USB flash drives are compact and lightweight enough to fit in your pocket. They are generally rectangular-shaped, with physical dimensions around:
- Length: 2.7 – 3 inches
- Width: 0.9 – 1.1 inches
- Thickness: 0.4 – 0.6 inches
- Weight: 1 – 2 ounces
Key things to look for in the physical design include:
- Portability – Compact and lightweight enough to transport conveniently.
- Durability – Rugged housing that can withstand reasonable impact and shocks.
- Retractable connector – Protects the USB plug when not in use.
- Keyring hole – Allows attaching to keychains for carrying.
- LED indicator light – Indicates data transfer activity status.
Higher priced models often come in aluminum or metal housings rather than plastic, providing more stylish and durable construction.
Main providers of NAND flash memory
The NAND flash memory chips inside these high capacity USB drives come from a handful of major semiconductor vendors:
- Samsung – The world’s largest provider of NAND flash memory, across all formats from eMMC to SSDs.
- Kioxia – Formerly known as Toshiba Memory, another huge maker of NAND flash memory chips.
- Western Digital – Major producer of NAND flash drives and solid state storage through SanDisk and other brands.
- Micron – American memory and storage manufacturer that makes NAND flash and DRAM chips.
- SK Hynix – Major Korean semiconductor supplier that designs and makes NAND flash memory.
Look for USB drives that utilized advanced 3D NAND technology such as V-NAND or BiCS for the best performance and reliability. Also ones that leverage the latest flash memory process nodes below 20nm for denser capacities.
How flash memory works in USB drives
USB flash drives use NAND flash memory chips to store data. This is a non-volatile solid state storage technology that retains data even when power is removed. It is arranged in a grid with pages and blocks. Here is a quick overview of how it works:
- Stores charge on a floating gate to represent binary 1s and 0s.
- Organized into pages (4-16KB) that make up blocks (256-512 pages).
- Writes must be done at page level, erase can only be done per block.
- More dense than earlier forms of flash memory like NOR flash.
- 3D V-NAND stacks layers vertically for greater densities.
NAND flash provides high storage densities in small form factors, making it ideal for USB thumb drives. However, performance is slower than DRAM and there is a limited number of write cycles before cells wear out.
File systems used on 1TB USB drives
USB flash drives today typically use the FAT32 or exFAT file system formats:
- FAT32 – Simple, widely compatible file system. Max 4GB file size limit.
- exFAT – Designed for flash drives, no file size limit.
- NTFS – Advanced file system for Windows. Not often used on flash drives.
FAT32 is nearly universally compatible across devices, but has a maximum file size of 4GB. exFAT removes that file size restriction while still maintaining wide compatibility. NTFS works only with some devices.
Hardware encryption support
Some higher-end 1TB USB drives support hardware encryption to protect data security. This encrypts all data written to the drive in real-time using an AES encryption chip inside the drive. Some models with hardware encryption include:
- Apricorn Aegis Secure Key 3NXC
- Kingston DataTraveler Vault Privacy 3.0
- SanDisk Extreme Pro Secure SSD
- iStorage datAshur PRO2
Encryption is performed on the drive hardware itself for best performance. No host PC resources are consumed to encrypt or decrypt data. This makes it seamless to safeguard sensitive data on the go.
Is the USB drive technology limitation?
There are some limitations in using USB drives versus other storage technologies:
- Slower performance than internal SSDs.
- Small physical size makes them easier to damage or lose.
- Not ruggedized – more fragile than external hard drives.
- Limited number of write cycles with flash memory.
However, the compact physical size and plug-and-play functionality offset those trade-offs for many users who need massive portable storage. As USB drive capacities continue increasing while costs come down, they become extremely compelling for external storage use cases.
Final conclusions & thoughts
Here are some final conclusions on 1TB and large capacity USB drives:
- Yes, 1TB USB thumb drives are readily available from various manufacturers.
- Prices are still high, but will likely come down over time.
- Read and write speeds are respectable but not SSD-fast.
- The compact size with massive capacity makes for easy portability.
- Ideal for storing or transporting huge amounts of data.
- USB 3.2 Gen 2 support provides fastest interface speeds.
- Look for advanced 3D NAND flash memory for best reliability.
- Hardware encryption support allows securing sensitive data.
In summary, while 1TB USB drives have some limitations versus external SSDs, the sheer convenience and portability make them highly useful for both consumers and businesses. Their storage capacity will continue growing while costs shrink over time, making them indispensable for data transport and backup needs.