External Drive Market Shifts: AI Data Centers Drive Prices Up, Spinning Drives Make a Comeback

According to Wired's July 2026 update on the best external hard drives, the AI boom and its need for memory-hungry data centers have caused a dramatic price increase for storage, especially SSDs. Prices for some drives have tripled in the past six months, with 8TB SSDs now costing more than a new MacBook Air (which itself rose by $200).

Spinning hard drives (HDDs) have seen smaller price hikes, making them a cost-effective choice for backups. The Western Digital Elements Desktop Hard Drive is recommended as the best backup drive, offering up to 20TB capacity with transfer speeds around 120 MB/s—sufficient for overnight backups. Another option is the Seagate Expansion 8TB for $280.

For portable backups, the Western Digital My Passport Ultra is a slim, USB-C drive with speeds of 121 MB/s read and 115 MB/s write. The rugged SanDisk G-Drive ArmorATD features IP54 splash resistance and drop protection up to 3.3 feet, delivering 133 MB/s read speeds and native compatibility with Apple Time Machine.

In the high-speed segment, the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 with Thunderbolt 5 achieved impressive benchmark results: 5,787 MB/s read and 5,188 MB/s write, enabling real-time 8K and 6K editing. However, its 4TB version has soared from $600 to $1,600. For USB4 devices, the Corsair EX400U offers speeds around 3,800 MB/s and a built-in MagSafe mount for iPhone backups.

The Crucial X9 Pro is praised for photographers: tiny (1.3 oz), versatile (works with Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS), and fast (up to 1,110 MB/s). The OWC Envoy Pro Elektron is a rugged drive with a user-swappable internal SSD, while the Samsung T9 provides a padded case and speeds over 1,350 MB/s with lower power draw.