Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Touch 2TB Review
Seagate has recently released its latest addition to the portable hard drive family with the Backup Plus Ultra Touch. This drives takes on the slim form factor of the Backup Plus Slim, but with an interesting new mesh design at the front. This drive is offered in 1TB and 2TB options and is completely portable with no AC or external power connection required.
The Backup Plus Portable features USB 3.0 and USB-C as it also comes in the box with a USB-C to USB-A adapter to be able to insert it into any pre-2018 computer.
The drive is aimed at those looking to use an easy and portable backup solution (a really portable solution given how slim it is) and has password protection and 256-AES hardware encryption. The drive is compatible with both Windows and MAC and offers backup options including syncing files across multiple devices.
The dimensions of the new Backup Plus Ultra Touch are:
114.8mm x 78mm x 11.7mm
It fits beautifully in the hand and is just over 1cm thin! It also weighs in at just 151 grams, bravo Seagate. The nimbleness of this device is brilliant. I mean sure an extra few mm’s won’t be that noticeable, but it is great to see these innovations in smaller products with the same performance.
The Backup Plus Ultra Touch also comes with:
– 2 months Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan ($20 value)
– 1 year Mylio Photo Organisation Plan ($50 value)
These may be justification for slight price hikes to previous products, however they are great additions for those interested in testing out some apps before purchasing.
You will also get 3 years limited warranty by Seagate which is absolutely incredible. This is the type of warranty we want to see. Seagate also provides 2 years of Rescue Data Recovery services. Seagate is killing it here with customer service, they are essentially the Kia of the tech world (for those who are unaware, Kia has a ludicrous 7-year warranty and incredible service options).
As a whole, the Backup Plus Ultra Touch is designed incredibly well, the fabric is a really nice touch to the hard drive. Portable hard drives are no longer boring rectangular boxes. There is also an indicator light as per usual and the standard regulatory compliances, serial number/part number and capacity on the back.
Performance wise, we utilised the the BlackMagic disk speed test on a current generation iMac as well as a 2MB sequential test on a current model Lenovo Thinkpad laptop for Windows testing and for comparison purposes.
For comparison purposes, the Backup Plus Ultra Touch will be compared to our recently reviewed Seagate Backup Plus Portable 5TB.
In BlackMagic we recorded the following speeds:
Mac
Backup Plus Portable: 140.1MB/s read and 139.7MB/s write
Backup Plus Ultra Touch: 125.3MB/s read and 124MB/s write
Windows
Backup Plus Portable: 142.4MB/s read and 141.6MB/s write
Backup Plus Ultra Touch: 120.5MB/s read and 118.6MB/s write
With 2MB random, our Backup Plus Portable posted 15.60 IOPS read and 39.14 IOPS write. The Backup Plus Ultra Touch posted 18.4 IOPS read and 15.2 IOPS write.
This model tested, the 2TB model, is priced at AU$139.00 RRP.
Overall, the new Backup Plus Ultra Touch provides a great addition to the Seagate family with great performance, elegant design and unparalleled portability. The option to have both USB-C and USB A is another positive, with an adapter included in the box. The warranty, services and app trials provided is another big win, making this a product that provides great value.