LaCie is one of the first companies to release an Apple compatible external SSD drive that supports both USB 3.X and Thunderbolt 3 protocols for wide compatibility with any recent Mac (or PC) with Type-C data ports. The economies of scale with make cheap Thunderbolt 3 storage and devices a reality sooner than you think.
But Thunderbolt 3 is taking hold far beyond the Mac into the Windows PC world with unprecedented adoption and deployment. Licensing Intel's Thunderbolt 3 chipset inflates the cost of computer peripherals significantly more than a dirt-cheap USB 3.0 / 3.1 chipset does. So there's the tradeoff: A cheap Thunderbolt 3 SSD that's more than 'fast enough', or far more expensive ones that deliver proportionately higher speeds at higher prices. Offering Read speeds up to 1600Mbps and 1100Mbps Writes, the Archigon Silver Thunderbolt 3 SSD isn't quite as fast as some competitor's PCIe SSD blade products that cost significantly more.
As flash memory prices continue their downward slide, it's making SSD storage with a Thunderbolt 3 interface in general downright cheap. Price competition is heating up as more computer storage companies enter the emerging market for Thunderbolt 3 peripherals.
Shopping for the cheapest solid-state Thunderbolt 3 external SSD backup drive for Mac or PC use? Archigon recently threw down the low-price gauntlet with it's Silver, Titanium and Platinum line of Mac compatible external 512GB and 1TB Thunderbolt 3 SSD storage devices. THE BOTTOM LINE: The Sabrent Rocket 1TB Thunderbolt 3 SSD is the BEST DEAL so far this year: Lowest Cost. Yes the drives run slower under USB 3.2 at 10GBps, but they're more versatile when you need to use them on modern computers with or without Thunderbolt. But that's changed now with Intel's new chipset. The majority of drives introduced since Thunderbolt 3's debut have been Thunderbolt 3-ONLY drives that didn't function at all on USB-C ports. Use On Thunderbolt 3 *or* USB 3.2 USB-C Ports
Sabrent Rocket XTRM-Q 1TB with TB3/USB-CAuto-Detect Chipset That doesn't matter much to Mac users, but it is important for people who also need to use their backup drives using USB-C USB 3.2 on Windows PC's where Thunderbolt 3 ports are less common. Shopping for the cheapest 1TB external Thunderbolt 3 solid-state drive for your PC or Mac computer? Unlike the USB-C storage market, the players in the Thunderbolt space are few, so hunting down the lowest price among the vendors is fairly easy to do The lowest-cost per Terabyte price leader also turns out to use the latest Intel Thunderbolt Titan Ridge chipset that auto-detects and supports either Thunderbolt 3 or USB 3.2 Type-C ports.