If you want to store a lot of data, and maybe even use colors to categorize your data, the new My Passport portable drive from WD is for you. The drive has up to 4TB of storage space (also available in 3TB, 2TB and 1TB) and comes in six vivid (mostly) color options: black, yellow, red, white, orange and blue, each with a matching USB cable.
The new drive has a completely new design compared to previous My Passport models. It no longer looks anything like a passport book, taking instead a squarish shape with relatively sharp edges while still managing to look pretty good, in my opinion. One thing to keep in mind is that it's thick, at about the size of a deck of cards, and measuring 0.85 inch by 3.21 inches by 4.33 inches (21.5x81.5x110mm), with the exception of the 1TB version which is thinner at 0.64 inch. However, this physical size is normal for high-capacity portable drives; the 4TB Seagate Backup Plus Fast also shares similars dimensions.
Item 6 Western Digital WD My Passport 1TB 2TB 4TB 2.5' Portable External Hard Drive HDD - Western Digital WD My Passport 1TB 2TB 4TB 2.5' Portable External Hard Drive HDD AU $169.00 +AU $10.00 postage. Store and backup documents and photos quickly with this WD My Passport 2TB external hard drive. The high storage capacity makes it ideal for storing large photo and music collections.
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Like most portable drives, the new My Passport supports USB 3.0. To my disappointment, however, it doesn't use a USB-C port, instead opting for an old Micro-USB 3.0 port. This doesn't affect the drive's performance but does means it won't work with computers that only have USB-C, such as the 12-inch Macbook. To compensate for its lack of vision, the drive supports the most secure 256 EAS encryption -- an optional feature you can turn on using included security software -- to protect your data from prying eyes. There's also a backup software application called WD Backup. While it's fine to use, it's not as convenient as other built-in backup tools like Time Machine (Mac) or File History (Windows 10).
I used the 4GB version for performance tests and got somewhat above-average performance. With a sustained copy speed averaging around 110MB/s via USB 3.0 (the drive also works with a USB 2.0 port but at a significantly lower speed), it's fast enough for almost anything you'd want to do with a portable drive.
Should I get it?
If you're looking for a portable drive with a lot of storage space, the WD My Passport is a solid option, especially with a suggested retail price ranging from $60 to $160 for 1TB to 4TB, respectively. (You can expect the street price to be lower, and pricing for Australia and UK is not available at this time but that directly converts to a starting price of about AU$79 or £49.) If you intend to have multiple drives and use the colors as a way to categorize your data, it's definitely a great choice. For something more portable, however, I'd recommend the WD My Passport Ultra or the Seagate Backup Plus Slim. And if USB-C is a must, the Glyph Blackbox Plus and the G-Tech G-Drive Mobile USB-C are better alternatives.
Editors' note: The rating of this review was updated on May 29th, 2015 to reflect the drive's position on the market in with its successor.
Looks aren't always important for storage devices, but they don't hurt, either, and in the case of the WD My Passport Ultra, looks are a great bonus. This is because the drive has everything else: fast performance, large storage space, and helpful bundled software.
The new drive is the successor to last year's similar-looking WD My Passport Edge . In my testing, it's much faster than its predecessor. The Ultra offers up to 2TB of storage space, comes with WD SmartWare backup software, and is available in four colors: titanium, red, black, and blue.
At the suggested retail price of $100 for 500GB or $130 for 1TB (the price of the 2TB version is not yet available), the My Passport Ultra seems slightly more expensive than its peers. The drive's street price, however, is likely to be lower, as was the case with the Edge.
The WD My Passport Ultra is one of my favorite portable drives for its fast performance, large storage space, and its good looks. It's easy to recommend it, as it ranks among the top drives on the market.
Drive type | 2.5-inch external USB hard drive |
Connector options | USB 3.0, USB 2.0 |
Available capacities | 500GB, 1GB, 2TB |
Capacity of test unit | 500GB, 1TB |
Dimensions (LWH) | 4.34 inches by 3.21 inches by 0.5 inch |
Weight | 9 ounces |
OSes supported | Windows 2000 or later, Mac OS 10.4 or later |
Software included | WD SmartWare Pro, WD Utility, WD Security |
Design and features
At first glance, the My Passport Ultra could easily be mistaken for the My Passport Edge. In fact, other than the word 'Ultra' in place of 'Edge' on the casing, the new drive looks just like its predecessor. The drive is very compact and light, but it also feels sturdy.
At first glance, the My Passport Ultra could easily be mistaken for the My Passport Edge. In fact, other than the word 'Ultra' in place of 'Edge' on the casing, the new drive looks just like its predecessor. The drive is very compact and light, but it also feels sturdy.
The device has a Micro-USB 3.0 port on one side and comes with a foot-long USB cable. This is the only cable you need; it handles both power and data functions. The Ultra works with both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0, but if you want to get the best performance, you need to use it with USB 3.0.
The My Passport Ultra is preformatted for Windows (NTFS), but it can be easily reformatted for Macs (HFS+). The drive comes with the WD SmartWare backup program, as well as WD Drive Utilities and WD Security. By default this suite works only with the drive it's bundled with, but with the Ultra, you can upgrade to the Pro version for free. WD SmartWare Pro works with all external hard drives, including those made by other vendors. With the My Passport Ultra, you can activate WD SmartWare Pro two times on two separate computers.
Though not required to be installed for the drive to work, the bundled software package is useful. WD Drive Utilities contains (as one might guess) utilities that enable you to check on the drive's status, test its functionality, or even reformat it. WD Security lets you secure the drive's content with a password. The drive supports strong encryption, and once you've picked a password, the content is completely inaccessible if that password is forgotten. Both WD Drive Utilities and WD Security are available for both Windows and Mac.