While all pre-built desktops and laptops come with a hard drive, it’s not uncommon for users to look for a more mobile way to store their data rather than carrying their entire machine with them to all destinations. External hard drives have been the answer to this lack of mobility ever since the ingenuity of a floppy disk met with the carrying capacity of standard disk or optical memory and while many users have their needs met by existing externals, the paradigm of “bigger, faster, and cheaper” in the tech industry rings true as Seagate unveils the Innov8.
The Seagate Innov8 is first in its class in a variety of ways. Its 8TB capacity is something rarely seen in externals and the reason for this is transfer speed. External hard drives usually connect to a machine through a USB cable and with the standard transfer rates of USB 2.0 and even USB 3.0, uploading and accessing such a massive quantity of data was not feasible. Seagate has solved this by being the first and only pioneer to not only use USB Type-C connections to access data, but also for power needs. The Innov8 reduces the additional power cord required for external hard drives of this size by making it energy efficient enough that just one Type-C connector can power the device. Additionally, with the recent release of USB 3.1, an 8TB drive is no longer some overwhelming beast of a data load to sift through when armed with speeds up to 10Gbps.
Aside from the shiny specs, the drive itself is incredibly visually appealing. Innov8’s premium all-aluminum enclosure is sturdy and well-balanced to enhance the durability and singular purpose of the drive’s architecture.
Many manufacturers, and even some giants such as Apple, are beginning to rely on one connection type to rule them all and USB-C is looking to be that constant across all machines. This equilibrium of ports isn’t expected to happen for another 4-6 years so for now, the internal hard drive is still the ideal location for libraries of music, images, and videos.
