Samsung has introduced the P9 and P7, two portable SSDs that bring USB4 connectivity to the company’s external storage lineup for the first time. The flagship P9 claims sequential read speeds of up to 4,000MB/s, roughly twice what the current T9 delivers, and Samsung is aiming it directly at production work, including 12K direct recording. The launch pricing, and what retailers are already charging on preorder, also says a lot about the state of the memory market right now.
The new P Series sits above the familiar T Series drives that many of us have velcroed to camera cages and dumped cards onto for years. Samsung’s announcement positions the P9 as the high-end option for professional users and the P7 as the versatile everyday drive. Both use USB4, both arrive in 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB capacities, and the global rollout begins in September. US suggested retail prices run from $339.99 to $2,699.99 for the P9 and from $289.99 to $2,289.99 for the P7, depending on capacity.
Credit: SamsungDouble the speed of the T9
The P9’s headline figures are sequential reads of up to 4,000MB/s and sequential writes of up to 3,800MB/s, with the 1TB model rated slightly lower at 3,700MB/s on the write side according to B&H’s listings. Samsung compares this to the 4TB T9, which tops out at 2,000MB/s in both directions over its USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 interface, so the generational jump amounts to roughly a doubling of transfer performance.
The enabler is USB4, which provides up to 40Gb/s of bandwidth compared to the 20Gb/s of USB 3.2 Gen 2×2. The usual caveat applies: you will only see these numbers on a host with a USB4 or Thunderbolt 4/5 port, and on older USB connections the drives will fall back to whatever that port supports. Samsung also states that the P9 is the world’s first 8TB USB4 portable SSD supporting speeds of up to 4,000MB/s.
Keep in mind that all of these are peak sequential figures from the manufacturer. Sustained behavior during long transfers depends on thermal design and cache architecture, which spec sheets rarely capture, so treat the numbers as the ceiling rather than a guarantee for hour-long offload sessions.
Credit: Samsung The 12K recording claim, and what it depends on
Samsung says the P9’s sustained write performance supports 12K direct recording, letting creators capture, store, and edit large RAW files and ultra-high-resolution video. That is a manufacturer claim rather than a measured result, and sustained writes are exactly where portable SSDs tend to diverge from their peak ratings once the cache fills up on long takes.
There is also a second gate between a fast drive and an actual 12K recording workflow: camera manufacturer qualification. Blackmagic, for example, maintains a recommended media list for the PYXIS 12K, and we recently reported that USB-C SSDs were added to that list, among them the Samsung T9 and T7 Shield, with specific compression ratios and frame rates attached. The new P Series drives are too fresh to appear on qualification lists like this one, so anyone planning to hang one off a camera’s USB-C port should check their camera maker’s qualified media documentation and test their specific recording format before a paid job.
Where the P7 fits
The P7 shares the USB4 interface and, according to B&H’s product listings, the same peak transfer ratings as the P9, with reads of up to 4,000MB/s and writes of up to 3,800MB/s (3,700MB/s for the 1TB version). Samsung’s own announcement does not publish speed figures for the P7 and reserves the sustained-write and 12K recording language for the P9, which suggests the two drives part ways under prolonged load rather than in short bursts.
Samsung positions the P7 as the drive for everyday use across desktops, laptops, smartphones, gaming consoles, and cameras. It has passed 2-meter (6.6ft) drop testing along with shock and vibration durability tests. The price gap to the P9 ranges from $50 at 1TB to $410 at 8TB, so for offload and backup duty the P7 looks like the more rational buy on paper, while the P9’s case rests on how it holds up during long sustained writes.
Credit: SamsungPricing against a rising memory market
These drives launch into the NAND and DRAM squeeze we have been tracking since late 2025, which has already raised prices on Blackmagic’s storage products and reached Apple’s laptops. The MSRPs reflect that reality; for perspective, a 4TB Samsung T7 sold for $229.99 in a B&H deal as recently as August 2025, while the 4TB P9 now carries a suggested price of $1,349.99. Faster interface and newer flash, yes, but the memory market of 2026 is doing a lot of the work in that gap.
More telling is what is happening on preorder. B&H has all eight SKUs listed, and every one of them is currently priced above Samsung’s suggested retail price: the 8TB P9 sits at $2,879.99 against a $2,699.99 MSRP, the 4TB P9 at $1,439.99 against $1,349.99, and the pattern continues down the range, with the P7 models carrying similar premiums. Street prices landing above MSRP on day one is consistent with where the flash market stands, and it is worth watching whether they settle once stock actually ships.
The Samsung P9 is priced at $339.99 for 1TB, $649.99 for 2TB, $1,349.99 for 4TB, and $2,699.99 for 8TB, while the P7 comes in at $289.99, $549.99, $1,149.99, and $2,289.99 for the same capacities. The global rollout begins in September, and Samsung notes that available capacities may vary by market, with some arriving later.
Are you ready to move to USB4 storage for offloads or in-camera recording, or do current memory prices keep you on your existing drives? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!