I generally like Seagate products, and while an overwhelming majority of my use case has to do with IronWolf drives, the brand is doing all the right things with external SSDs. I recently tested its sub-brand LaCie's Thunderbolt 5-enabled rugged SSD and came away thinking my high-end gaming machine (with an RTX 5090) is the bottleneck in realizing the drive's true potential, and the One Touch SSDs are a great alternative if you don't need Thunderbolt storage.
Seagate's latest product is just as interesting, if targeted at a niche. The brand partnered with MiHoYo to launch the Genshin Impact Limited Edition External SSD, and it looks incredible. I'm liking the sudden influx of accessories based on the game — UGREEN sent me a massive Genshin Impact package containing uniquely-styled power banks and chargers — and Seagate's SSD combines a great visual aesthetic with 24/7 reliability.
Seagate is using Cyno as the inspiration, and the etched design clearly differentiates the SSD. The vivid purple color scheme is fabulous, and the side along with the back have etched runic patterns that add to its overall flamboyance. While most external SSDs look quite good in their own right, the Genshin Impact drive is definitely in a league of its own when it comes to the design, and I don't believe I've used a drive that stands out quite as much.
The SSD connects via USB-C 3.2, and there's a tiny LED indicator that lights up when it's active. Adding to the vibrancy of the drive is a purple LED light bar on the other end, and I appreciate the attention to detail Seagate lavished on the SSD. I used dozens of gaming-themed accessories in the past that amounted to nothing more than a logo or a decal, but Seagate put in the work to customize the SSD extensively.
The drive is a little wider than most external SSDs, but it's still easily portable, and at 65g, it doesn't make any noticeable difference in your bag. Seagate bundles a USB-C to USB-C cable in the package, and while it is on the shorter side, there are no issues when connecting the drive to phones, tablets, and handhelds like the Steam Deck.
I used the SSD to move data to and from my Xiaomi 15 Ultra, Vivo X200 Pro, Honor Magic 7 Pro, iPad Pro M4, and it did a rock-solid job with data transfers. The only quibble is that the bundled cable was too short to connect to my gaming machine, so I used a USB 4 cable instead.
Other than that, I didn't see any problems moving over data from Windows. The drive uses exFAT out of the box to ensure it can be used with the widest range of devices, but you can easily format it should you wish to switch to NTFS. The drive is just as fast as other external SSDs I tested, going up to 980MB/s with reads and 300MB/s writes.
Although most external SSDs I use have 4TB of storage, Seagate is selling the Genshin Impact Limited Edition External SSD in a single 1TB variant. It's still decent enough storage for most users, but if you're looking at this as an external SSD to store games, there isn't much in the way of headroom — a 2TB option would have been ideal.
Overall, Seagate did a magnificent job with the Genshin Impact Limited Edition External SSD, and the only real limitation with the drive has to do with availability. It is sold exclusively on Seagate's U.S. website, and at $139, it has a sizeable premium — the 1TB variant of the One Touch SSD can be bought for as low as $84. But if you're a Genshin Impact fan and want an SSD that stands out, this is obviously the one to get. Seagate says it will only sell the drive until quantities last, so if you like the look of this SSD, you'll need to act now.
With unique styling and a rugged chassis, the Genshin Impact Limited Edition External SSD is a great choice if you want an external game drive or a portable SSD to store your photos, videos, and other data.
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