A few months ago, OWC introduced the Envoy Pro FX, a portable SSD storage driver that is described as “the fastest, most adaptable driver ever.” I’ll take a closer look at the Envoy Pro FX and its capabilities in my review below.
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Key features
- Wide compatibility: The driver can be connected to a wide range of devices with Thunderbolt 3/4 or USB-C ports, such as the latest Mac, iPad Pro, and iPad Air models, as well as Microsoft Surface PCs and devices. There is also a USB-A adapter attached to the Thunderbolt cable included in the box.
- Very fast speed: Thunderbolt 3/4 compatibility allows very fast read / write speeds of up to 2,800 MB / s as advertised. I test distances below.
- Bus power: The driver is driven by the device to which it is connected, not a power supply.
- Difficult design: The drive’s aluminum housing is water and dust resistant with IP67 rating and weapon grade drop protection.
- Storage capabilities: 240GB, 480GB, 1TB, and 2TB.
Performance
The Envoy Pro FX circuit is equipped with Aura P12 Pro OWC, a high-performance SSD with NVMe 1.3 M.2 technology. With a PCI-Express 3.1 connection via Thunderbolt 3, OWC promises impressive read / write speeds of up to 2,800 MB / s.
My test setup included a 16-inch base model MacBook Pro with a 9th-generation six-core Intel Core i7 processor running macOS Big Sur 11.2, with the Envoy Pro FX directly connected to the MacBook Pro with one Thunderbolt 3 cable. The driver was formatted with a single Apple File System (APFS) for macOS.
Using the popular AmorphousDiskMark 3.1 storage benchmark app by Katsura Shareware, the Envoy Pro FX achieved series read and write speeds of up to 3,002 MB / s and 2,324 MB / s respectively on my Mac. This is a bit above what OWC advertises, but with my actual use of the drive, data transfer speeds were around the 2,700-2,800 MB / s mark. For example, I was able to transfer a 25GB file in about nine seconds.
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In comparison, SanDisk’s 1TB Extreme Pro SSD also uses NVMe 1.3 M.2 technology, but without Thunderbolt 3, series read performance is limited to up to 2,000 MB / s. And at the low end, outdoor HDDs often go out at read speeds around 100 MB / s to 150 MB / s. Of course, both of these options are much cheaper than the Envoy Pro FX, with some comparisons included in my price segment below.
Design
With a slim aluminum housing, the Envoy Pro FX is similar to Apple’s product, but the OWC white logo and Envoy Pro FX branding take away from the feel. The “charcoal” color of the drive is a bit darker than the Space Gray finish of the MacBook Pro, but they still look nice side by side. On both left and right sides of the drive are what OWC calls “deep wings” to help with heat dissipation and to ensure consistent performance. The driverless fan never felt too hot to the touch during some big file moves in my test.
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The bottom of the drive has two non-slip rubber feet to prevent slipping around a desk or other surface. In front of the drive is a slim LED status light that appears blue when the driver goes on and flashes slowly during file transfers, but the LED isn’t very bright, so I found it pretty useless during daylight hours. (I’m not a pro photographer, so the picture above makes the LED look brighter than it is.)
Behind the drive is one Thunderbolt 3 port, which is also a USB-C port, as both standards share the same connection design.
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Without a fan, the Envoy Pro FX has a silent operation. As expected, the driver made no noise during my test, which is definitely enjoyable. Unfortunately, the fans in my Intel – based MacBook Pro grew exponentially as they completed a Time Machine backup to the drive, but I take the blame here for not updating to M1 Mac yet.
As an external driver that fits on the palm of my hand, the Envoy Pro FX can be easily upgraded, making it a handy handy solution for storing files while you travel. With a single Thunderbolt 3 cable that connects to a Mac for data and power, water and dust with IP67 rating, and armor-level drop protection, the Envoy Pro FX delivers a hassle-free plug-and-play experience .
Compatibility
The Envoy Pro FX can be connected to a wide range of devices with Thunderbolt 3/4 or USB-C ports, such as the latest Mac, iPad Pro, and iPad Air models, as well as Microsoft Surface PCs and devices. There is also a USB-A adapter attached to the Thunderbolt cable in the box that allows the driver to be connected to USB-A devices.
To take advantage of the maximum speeds offered by the Envoy Pro FX, you need a Mac 2016 or later with Thunderbolt 3/4 ports running macOS High Sierra or later. OWC lists the full system requirements on its website.
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The driver comes preloaded with the OWC Drive Guide utility to configure the driver, with options to create a single Apple File System (APFS) that fills the entire driver for macOS High Sierra and beyond forward, one HFS + book that fills the entire macOS version driver, or one exFAT book that fills the entire drive for use with both macOS and Windows. The driver can also be configured manually.
Prices
Given that the Envoy Pro FX is a portable SSD at the top of the line, it should come as no surprise that the driver is not cheap. Prices start at $ 199 for 240GB of storage, followed by 480GB for $ 229, 1TB for $ 319, and 2TB for $ 499.
Some comparisons with other Mac compatible 1TB drivers:
A 0.7-meter Thunderbolt 3 black cable is included in the box with the Envoy Pro FX.
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Final Judgment
The Envoy Pro FX is excellent, yet expensive. If you want ultra-fast read / write speeds, this driver has definitely got my license stamp; however, if you’re just looking for a driver to store your Time Machine backups, it would be more economical to consider a basic 1TB hard drive for around a quarter of the price of the Envoy Pro FX, or non-SSD Thunderbolt as a fairly good ground in terms of price and speed.
The Envoy Pro FX can be ordered on the OWC website.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner of OWC and Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which will help us keep the site going. MacRWors was awarded OWC Envoy Pro FX for this review. No further compensation was received.