Kioxia Exceria Plus hands-on review: External SSD with data rates of up to 1,000 MB/s

The transfer rates of 1,000 MB/s promised by Kioxia refer to CrystalDiskMark 8.0.1 x64, Q=8, T=1, according to the website. We specifically tested and measured the external Kioxia SSD with 1 TB on the following platforms: 

• Windows-PC 1: Alienware 13 R3 with 1x Thunderbolt 3 and 1x USB-C 3.1
• Windows-PC 2: Aorus 15G with 1x Thunderbolt 3
• Windows-PC 3: Medion Erazer Crawler E40 with 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2
• mac: MacBook Air M1 with USB-C 3.2 Gen 2
• Android: Huawei Mate 20 Pro with USB-C 3.1 OTG

The benchmark software used was AS SSD and CrystalDiskMark on Windows PCs, AmorphousDiskMark and Blackmagicdesign Disk Speed Test on the MacBook Air M1, and Cross-Platform Disk Test (CPDT) on the Android smartphone.

Depending on the benchmark software, connection, and device, we achieved different values in the sequential tests in Windows. Under Thunderbolt 3 on PC 1, the values were around 840 MB/s, on PC 2, also with Thunderbolt 3, the values were closer to an average of 700 MB/s. On PC 3, the latest laptop with USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 and without Thunderbolt, the values were closest to the expected level (around 965 MB/s).

On the Mac, the values ranged from 800 to 820 MB/s, which is a good average. On the Android smartphone, the transfer rates were naturally weaker due to USB 3.1 (5 Gb/s) (around 450 MB/s).

This means that the overall performance is roughly at the promised level, which is why the storage should also be suitable for gamers or, to a limited extent, for content creators. Depending on the device and connection, even with the same values on paper (Thunderbolt 3), the values can vary greatly. It should be noted once again that our measurements refer to the 1 TB model; the 500 GB or 2 TB versions may perform differently.