The screaming new OWC Envoy Pro EX with USB-C is the fastest USB-C SSD ever built… by anyone… ever.
With speeds up to 980 MB/s, OWC today announced the Envoy Pro EX with USB-C—the latest addition to its massive lineup of award-winning SSDs and external drives for professional workflows.
Performance and Endurance
The Envoy Pro EX with USB-C packs production-level performance in a palm-sized package. Inside the finely-crafted shell sits a high-performance NVMe M.2 SSD that delivers blazing fast access to data and no interruption to professional workflows. With speeds up to 980MB/s, Thunderbolt 3 compatibility, and backed by OWC’s rock solid 3-year warranty, pro creators can say goodbye to their desks knowing they have the performance of NVMe and ultra-reliable data protection to maintain their best work everywhere their adventures take them.
Beauty and Brawn
The OWC Envoy Pro EX with USB-C gives projects and presentations the professional-level performance and polish they deserve. Housed in anodized aluminum, it’s the perfectly sleek take-along for field work and remote locations, with plenty of room for photos, videos, music, and important files. Lean on its award-winning design to add style to office and client meetings. Lightweight, rugged and slim, it easily fits in a bag or coat pocket for the ultimate in on-the-go convenience. Built tough for every challenge, the USB-C Envoy Pro EX can handle that unexpected rainstorm or splash, or even submersion in up to one meter of water while keeping prized data safe.
Tech Specs At-A-Glance
- Transfer speeds up to 980MB/s
- Capacity up to 2TB
- IP67 Rated (dust tight + water resistant for up to 30 minutes in 1 meter of water)
- NVMe M.2 SSD
- Compatible with both Mac & PC, plus direct-connect to devices like the latest USB-C cameras from Blackmagic Design
- Bus-powered
- Quiet fanless operation
- Ultra-portable
- Mac or PC
- Thunderbolt 3 compatible
“Our Envoy Pro EX family of SSDs has been a massive hit with both our professional and prosumer customers, especially for demanding workflows in-studio or rugged environments,” said OWC CEO and Founder Larry O’Connor. “Today we are delighted to expand the lineup on behalf of our customers who prefer a USB-C interface, yet still demand the absolute top of the line in blazing throughput, rugged performance and extreme reliability. This is unquestionably the fastest USB-C SSD ever produced…period.”
Pricing and Availability
The family of Envoy Pro EX with USB-C are backed by a 3-Year OWC Limited Warranty and are available now at MacSales.com as follows:
| • 0GB SSD | $89.00 | |
| • 250GB SSD | $129.99 | |
| • 500GB SSD | $179.99 | |
| • 1TB SSD | $249.99 | |
| • 2TB SSD | $429.99 |
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Is this compatible with Thunderbolt 2 using Apple’s Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter?
Unfortunately, no. For more info, there is another comment thread below talking about this. Sorry!
Would this be compatible with Apple’s TB3->TB2 adapter (speaking of being able to use it with older Thunderbolt 2 Macs, etc.)?
The quick answer is no—the Apple Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adapter is for Thunderbolt only, not USB.
I passed this question by one of our OWC engineers and he stated that though you can’t do it directly, you CAN use an Envoy Pro EX Thunderbolt 3 version in a chain with the adapter.
For example: Mac Pro 2013 -> Apple Thunderbolt 3 to 2 Adapter -> Thunderbolt 3 Device with two ports -> Envoy Pro EX TB3
Thunderbolt 2 reduces max speed of the Envoy Pro EX Thunderbolt 3 version by a 1000 MB/s but it’s still almost twice as fast as USB 3.1 gen 2.
The same chain that lets you use a Thunderbolt 3 device like the Envoy Pro EX Thunderbolt 3 version will also let you use a USB-C device like the Envoy Pro EX with USB-C.
A Thunderbolt 3 device with two Thunderbolt 3 ports is a good way to add USB 3.1 gen 2 to your Thunderbolt 2 computer. The extra Thunderbolt 3 port supports 10 Gbps USB. Some Thunderbolt docks have other USB 3.1 gen 2 ports but those ports might be limited to 7.88 Gbps.
Speaking of the Envoy Pro EX Thunderbolt 3 version you linked too, would that work directly with an Apple TB2->TB3 adapter (speaking to the fact it’s actually Thunderbolt rather than USB 3.1G2)?
My understanding is that it can’t be done directly because there is an issue with the passing of power to the Envoy Pro EX (which is bus-powered) through the TB2->TB3 converter.
This is why you would need to daisy-chain it to a TB3 powered device like a OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock.
I cannot see my post after posting, so here it comes again. Sorry if it becomes duplicated; I have reported this issue many times here. I visit thousands of sites and only here have problems. Using Safari on Mac:
RAID 0 inside? Sequential write speed? Random IOPS read and write speed? Fan inside? QuickBench benchmarks? Thanks.
Comments are not monitored 24/7 so submissions that come in at 1:30AM Woodstock, IL time are likely not going to be seen and moderated until a fair bit later in the day!
Not RAID 0. The above description implies a single SSD. Only one NVMe SSD is necessary to achieve 980 MB/s. The specs section of the store page says 1 bay which I assume refers to the number of NVMe connectors (although the 2.6 inch width seems wide enough for two…
The write speed should be close to 980 MB/s (near the limit of USB 3.1 gen 2) since most NVMe drives can do near 3000 MB/s with a full PCIe 3.0 x4 connection. The USB chip uses a PCIe 3.0 x2 connection which is near twice as much as required to saturate USB 3.1 gen 2.
RAID 0 inside? Sequential write speed? Random IOPS read and write speed? Fan inside? QuickBench benchmarks? Thanks.
The Envoy Pro EX uses the ASMedia ASM2362. How does it compare to enclosures that use the JMicron JMS583 chip? They both support UASP. If there’s a difference, it’s probably only a handful of MB/s.
Your product information doesn’t specify if this supports B key or M key connector types for M.2.
It is M-Keyed. Thanks for catching the omission, it is being added as we speak!