Verbatim has unveiled a new external SSD which can only be written once, making it ideal for storing data that needs to stay untouched.
Described by the manufacturer as a “long life SSD,” the SWOVA128G measures a mere 46mm x 108mm x 9.5mm, weighs 55g, and comes with a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A to Type-C and a Type-C to Type-C cables for extra flexibility.
As its name suggests, this storage device has a capacity of 128GB and is able to achieve read/write speeds up to 540MB/s and 180MB/s, respectively. Far from what Kingston’s XS2000 can do for example, but still, they have different objectives.
The SWOVA128G is targeted toward long-term or mission-critical data that must stay intact. Another use case could be protection against malware that can modify files. Needless to say, this SSD was made for specific scenarios.
Reading data is possible using any machine/system that supports the exFAT file system. Putting data on the drive, on the other hand, requires specific software which is only supported by Windows 10 and 11 with NET Framework 4.8 running on an x86/x64 CPU.
This means anyone planning to use the drive as long-term storage is placing a lot of trust in Verbatim updating its software for many years to come, or risk ending up with a read-only SSD.
Finally, it’s important to point out that the advertised 10-year guarantee is for the drive itself, not the data stored onboard. No price has been mentioned by Verbatim as yet, and for the time being, the SWOVA128G seems to be a Japan-only release.
