Samsung has taken its portable SSD line to USB4, and the numbers finally double: the flagship Samsung P9 portable SSD reads at up to 4,000MB/s and writes at 3,800MB/s — roughly twice the outgoing T9’s 2,000MB/s over USB 3.2 Gen 2×2. Samsung unveiled it at Gamescom 2026 in Cologne, which runs from 26 to 30 August.
Samsung calls the P9 the world’s first 8TB USB4 portable SSD at those speeds, and claims sustained write performance good enough for 12K direct recording. The drive picked up a CES 2026 Innovation Award earlier this year. The P7 sits below it on the same USB4 interface, aimed at everyday use across desktops, laptops, phones, consoles and cameras, with a durability story the P9’s spec sheet does not push: two-metre drop testing plus shock and vibration validation.
“As AI-powered content creation and ultra-high-resolution video make large amounts of data part of everyday life, users increasingly expect faster and more reliable storage experiences.”
Tommy Kwon, vice president and head of Brand Product Biz Team, Samsung Electronics
Samsung P9 portable SSD: prices and availability
Both lines ship in 1TB, 2TB, 4TB and 8TB, with a global rollout starting 31 August. The P9 is priced from $339.99 (1TB) to $2,699.99 (8TB); the P7 from $289.99 (1TB) to $2,289.99 (8TB).
The interface got faster; the flash got expensive
The price list lands awkwardly. Samsung’s US store now lists the 4TB T9 — the drive the P9 replaces — at $1,144.99; it sold for well under $300 not long ago. The new part is not really four times the old one: the old one moved first. The 8TB P9’s $2,699.99 sticker sits alongside the wider 8TB-drive price trend. NAND flash is in the middle of a supply crunch, with memory already accounting for 47% of major cloud providers’ capital expenditure this year and heading to 68% by 2027, and client SSD contract prices forecast to climb more than 40% across 2026, per Hardware Busters‘ analysis of TrendForce data. MSRPs are opening prices, not street prices — Samsung has historically discounted its portable line hard within a couple of months of launch.
In the UAE, the P9 and P7 are not yet listed, and Samsung has not confirmed local pricing beyond the 31 August rollout. Samsung’s storage line has had a busy year — its UFS 5.0 chips pushed phone storage into SSD territory, and Seagate’s latest drives landed in the region without power adapters. The outgoing T9 2TB runs about AED 1,535 on Amazon.ae, and the 4TB sits between about AED 1,100 and AED 3,100 depending on the seller. At the fixed 3.6725 rate, the US prices would put a 1TB P7 at roughly AED 1,065 and an 8TB P9 at about AED 9,915 — assuming regional pricing matches the dollar list, which it often does not.
What is the Samsung P9 portable SSD?
The P9 is Samsung’s flagship USB4 portable SSD, with sequential reads of up to 4,000MB/s and writes of 3,800MB/s. Samsung calls it the world’s first 8TB USB4 portable SSD at those speeds, and says sustained write performance is good enough for 12K direct recording.
How much do the Samsung P9 and P7 cost?
The P9 starts at $339.99 for 1TB and rises to $2,699.99 for 8TB. The P7 starts at $289.99 for 1TB and reaches $2,289.99 for 8TB. UAE pricing is not yet confirmed; at the fixed 3.6725 rate, a 1TB P7 would be roughly AED 1,065.
When will the Samsung P9 and P7 be available in the UAE?
Samsung’s global rollout starts 31 August, but the drives are not yet listed by UAE retailers. For reference, the outgoing T9 2TB runs about AED 1,535 on Amazon.ae.
