An in-depth evaluation of Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Touch

This sleek, plastic-encased drive from Seagate stands out from the pack in a market flooded with cheap alternatives. This portable drive ($89.99 for the 2TB version reviewed here) has texture, which is uncommon in mobile devices. The woven linen that covers it makes it seem warm and inviting when you hold it. 256-bit AES hardware encryption ensures that your data is safe and secure when using the Ultra Touch. With that being the case, regardless of your operating system preference, this drive stands out in a sea of commodity drives.

Seagate's Backup Plus Ultra Touch

There is a bright white LED at the bottom of the face and a Micro-USB Type B connector at the bottom of the chassis. Finding replacement drive-side connector cables for automobiles with non-standard connectors is easy. The edges of the chassis are soft and rounded, so there are no sharp corners to poke or grip a shirt pocket or a laptop bag compartment with. The lower left corner of the case houses the Seagate swirl logo.

On the drive, the footprint is 0.46 inches wide and 3.1 inches long. Because of its small size and lightweight, it's easy to carry around. Even though this model is a bit smaller than the LaCie Mobile Drive, it only weighs 1.7oz less.)

Even though it's made of plastic, it seems solid. It's not cheap, but it's not prohibitively expensive. You can't just throw it in the washer and dryer to test the fabric coat's scuff and dirt resistance. There was no noticeable difference in grip or anti-slip properties between the cloth and thin plastic or metal.

Interactions and Functionality

It may not be a storage monster (you can find portable drives around this size with 4TB or 5TB mechanisms inside), but the 2TB drive I'm looking at has more than enough storage for daily use and occasional backups. For example, almost 4 million 500K photos or about half a million typical MP3s can be stored on 2TB storage. For most people, that's a lifetime's worth of music and photos, even if they don't save in lossless audio or ultra-high-resolution photo formats.

At an MSRP of $89.99, this 2TB option comes at an affordable 4.5 cents per GB. Like 2TB portable drives that sell for as cheap as $10 or $20 off the list price, we expect resellers will discount the Ultra Touch. There is less value with the 1 TB drive because of the $69.99 MSRP and the significantly higher cost per gigabyte. It's best to get the complete 2TB if you think you'll use it.

Platter-based portable drives are at the sweet spot of 2TB capacity now. Two terabytes of storage are usually more than enough when backing up data or storing digital media. External drives can be used to store images and films if you're not a professional photographer or videographer.

Ultra Touch feature

Seagate's Backup Plus Ultra has an "Ultra Touch" feature (Environmental). The Ultra Touch supports USB 3. x through USB Type-A or USB Type-C. The Micro-USB Type-B cable comes with an adapter that connects to a standard USB Type-A connector. Even if two devices are backwards compatible, utilising a USB 2.0 port will result in slower data transfer speeds than using a USB 3.0 connector.

This is Seagate's Backup Plus Ultra with "Ultra Touch" (Front). The exFAT file system is pre-installed on most Windows and Mac systems, making data transfer between the two platforms a breeze. Apple's Time Machine may require you to format the drive as HFS+ if you wish to utilise it. Windows users may also want to re-format the disc to NTFS to maximise their drive's performance. Before you format the Ultra Touch, make a temporary copy of any backups or utilities on another disc and then copy them back.

Security of Computer Programs and Information

As previously stated, the external hard disc market is oversaturated. All the major manufacturers' drives are relatively comparable in performance, quality, and pricing. It's time for drive makers to find new ways to distinguish out.

In light of the enormous monetary worth of the data stored on these devices and the simplicity with which it may be misplaced or stolen, making security easy to deploy is a smart move. Exactly. That is what Seagate did in this case. As a result, Seagate is offering a two-for-one deal to anyone who purchases Backup Plus Ultra Touch.

Encrypting the drive first using a password is an option. During the installation, you'll be asked to enter a password. But it's all up to you.) As a result of losing your password, Seagate will not be of assistance. The drive can be reset if necessary, but all data will be erased.