Seagate Launches Portable Storage Solutions at CES 2018

LAS VEGAS, NV — Seagate introduced a number of portable storage solutions at CES 2018. We were provided details of the LaCie DJI Copilot, the China-only JoyDrive, LaCie Rugged Secure, and the Seagate Fast SSD.

The LaCie DJI Copilot is a rugged portable hard drive (up to 2TB capacity) with a built-in power bank, integrated status screen, and a USB female Type-A as well as a SDXC UHS-II slot for storage media that need to be backed up to the internal storage. The intent is to allow users to copy / back up data from a camera or memory card without the need for a computer. There are mobile apps for file management, if needed.

We have seen these types of devices before (eg.: the Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro), but, the important differentiators here are the integrated status screen to show the progress in copying data, the higher card reader speed (UHS-II), a protective bumper (to make it field-usage friendly and drop resistant), and a free Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for 1 month. Seagate plans to price the 2TB DJI Copilot at $349 and ship it in Spring 2018.

Seagate is also launching a similar external drive with an integrated power bank targeting a completely different market. The Joy Drive has a 1TB capacity and is being launched in China and Indonesia for 660 CNY ($99). It is co-branded with JingDong, a Chinese online retailer.

The device allows Android smartphone users to extend the battery life of their smartphones while simultaneously expanding the capacity also. Seagate indicated that they might bring this product to other countries based on their market evaluation.

Moving on to the performance segment, Seagate is launching a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C portable SSD (similar to the Samsung Portable SSD T5). Thanks to the use of a Gen 2 bridge, the device can translate the full potential of the internal SATA interface on to the USB side. It is shock-resistant and comes with the new Toolkit software on the PC side to enable users to back up and sync content.

The Seagate Fast SSD will ship in Spring 2018. It will have three capacity points - 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB with MSRPs of $129, $199 and $399 $99, $169, and $349 respectively.

Seagate is also introducing the LaCie Rugged Secure external hard drive with in-built hardware encryption. The 2TB version will sell for $139, starting in Spring 2018. The appearance and IP-54 rating are similar to the other Rugged devices that we have seen earlier.

The LaCie Rugged Secure also comes with Rescue data recovery service (a feature also available in some of the internal drives such as the Seagate Barracuda Pro and the IronWolf Pro).

Seagate also announced some offers for content creators to sway purchase decisions towards their offerings. The Seagate Backup Plus and LaCie Porsche Design devices now come with two free months of the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan (worth $20), and one free month of the Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps Plan (worth $75) with the purchase of any LaCie Rugged, LaCie d2, or LaCie big products.

Additional pictures of the newly introduced products are available in the gallery below.