OWC Envoy Ultra jumps to 8 TB
At CES 2026, Other World Computing (OWC) announced a new 8 TB version of its Envoy Ultra portable SSD line.
- With this launch, OWC claims the Envoy Ultra 8 TB is the world’s first SSD at this capacity to support Thunderbolt 5 while remaining fully bus‑powered - no external power brick required.
- 6000 MBps transfer speeds: By tapping into Thunderbolt 5’s bandwidth, the drive delivers sustained sequential read/write speeds of more than 6000 MBps, roughly double what previous‑generation Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 drives can manage.
- Rugged IP67 design: The SSD uses a fanless aluminum chassis that doubles as a passive heatsink and carries IP67 ratings for water, dust and impact resistance, making it suitable for more demanding work environments.
- Premium pricing: The 8 TB variant is listed at $1,699.99 (around 43 million VND), clearly targeting professional users and content creators.
OWC positions the Envoy Ultra as the first and only portable SSD currently on the market that combines 8 TB of storage with Thunderbolt 5 connectivity while remaining bus‑powered. It’s designed to fully exploit Thunderbolt 5 bandwidth, with real‑world transfer speeds exceeding 6000 MBps. That’s about twice the performance of Thunderbolt 4 and USB4, enabling video editors and post‑production workflows to operate directly off the external drive with latency that’s close to an internal SSD.
The Envoy Ultra 8 TB features a unibody aluminum enclosure that relies on passive cooling, eliminating fan noise entirely. Durability is backed by an IP67 rating, offering strong protection against water, dust and physical shocks to safeguard critical data in harsh conditions. On the connectivity side, OWC emphasizes backward compatibility: the Envoy Ultra SSD is designed to run smoothly not only on newer Mac and PC systems with Thunderbolt 5, but also to make the most of Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 ports on older devices, including machines like the iPad Pro and various Chromebooks. The integrated cable design is another practical touch, reducing the chances of forgetting or losing a critical cable in the field.
At a list price of $1,699.99 (around 43 million VND) for the 8 TB model, the OWC Envoy Ultra clearly sits in the high‑end segment. It’s aimed at data professionals, filmmakers and power users who need massive capacity in a portable form factor. OWC also offers lower‑capacity Envoy Ultra SSD options, with prices starting from $449.99.
Thunderbolt 5 (codename Barlow Ridge) delivers a theoretical bandwidth of up to 80 Gbps in its standard mode and can boost to 120 Gbps (Bandwidth Boost) for heavy display and video workloads. However, to actually see the 6000 MBps speeds OWC advertises, your machine needs a dedicated Thunderbolt 5 port - typically found on laptops with Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chips or the latest Mac Studio/MacBook Pro models from late 2025/early 2026. Plug the drive into a standard Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 port and performance will be capped by those older standards, usually around 2800 - 3000 MBps. In other words, check your device’s port specs carefully before dropping this kind of money, or you may end up paying for performance you can’t use.
For more details, see the article OWC Envoy Ultra Portable SSD Performance Test on Migovi.
