The external hard drive and SSD deals you need to know this Black Friday

Whether you’re looking to expand the storage on a laptop, desktop or just need something that you can easily move data around between machines on, an external hard drive is an easy recommendation. Likewise an external drive for your Xbox console is a really smart addition with the ever growing size of modern games.

With Black Friday around the corner it’s an ideal time to stock up on cut price storage. Whether you’re looking for a lot, a little, something you can pocket or pack in your laptop bag, these are the best of the deals right now.

Linked a little to this is how much extra storage you actually need. If you don’t need a lot, you might find yourself better with an ultra-portable SSD which will be better to use in the long run. Whereas if you’re looking to back up a lot of data or, say, use it with an Xbox One to store games, then a large capacity HDD is the way forward.

And if you’re buying for your new Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S owners, be aware of limitations imposed on USB storage. Microsoft’s next-generation SSD inside its new consoles means that while USB drives can store Xbox Series X|S Optimized games, they need to be moved to the internal storage when played. There’s nothing stopping you getting a big USB hard drive or SSD to store your games on, but be aware of the limitations first.

Best Black Friday External Hard Drive Deals

For most, a hard drive offers excellent value for money, packing huge amounts of storage into an increasingly affordable box. The trade off over an SSD is performance, but if you need to store a lot of data then it’s still the best value option.

Best Black Friday External SSD Deals

While more expensive, the performance you get from an external SSD is leagues ahead of what you’ll get on any HDD. Read and write speeds are faster, there are no moving parts so you never need to worry about external power and they’re always a lot smaller and as such, more portable.

The Samsung T7 range demonstrates the latest in portable SSD technologies, including 1,050 MB/s read and 1,000 MB/s write peak speeds. It’s the best external SSD you can get right now in no small part thanks to relying on USB 3.2 to max out the performance. It’s also incredibly small and durable. You can’t do better, and at this price it’s a no brainer.

• $80 at Amazon
• $80 at Best Buy

This compact SanDisk SSD also fits the bill for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S systems, defined by a rugged design, with shock protection and IP55 dust and water resistance. It hits peak 1,050 MB/s read, and 1,000 MB/s write speeds, both impressive in the context of gaming. While it’s all about speed, that added protection goes a long way if you’re traveling — and clumsy. It’s at the lowest price we’ve seen, offering serious savings below its usual $130 going rate.

$80 at Best Buy

SSDs with large capacities are still pretty expensive, but this big saving on the largest version of Samsung’s class-leading T7 is so hot it can’t be ignored. Performance is fantastic, it’s tiny, uses USB-C and durable enough to go anywhere you go. Don’t miss out on this.

• $280 at Amazon
• $280 at Best Buy