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Tech head-to-head

SK hynix Beetle X31vsWD My Passport SSD

3 years apart, and the averages land 8.0 and 7.8. Only Ease of use moved much, 8.4 to 7.6.

SK hynix Beetle X31

SK hynix

8.0

A DRAM-equipped drive from a flash maker, with a shorter warranty and a lower ceiling than rivals.

Price and availability change constantly, so we don't quote them here — the link opens the current Amazon listing.

WD My Passport SSD

Western Digital

7.8

A well-finished everyday drive whose real selling point is the software that ships with it.

Price and availability change constantly, so we don't quote them here — the link opens the current Amazon listing.

Where they diverge

The widest gap is Ease of use, SK hynix Beetle X31 ahead 8.4 to 7.6. They come closest on Value, 7.8 to 7.6. Left of center is SK hynix Beetle X31, right is WD My Passport SSD.

SK hynix Beetle X31 versus WD My Passport SSD — axis scores out of 10Horizontal bar chart of editorial scores out of 10 across 5 axes. Bars for SK hynix Beetle X31 run left from the axis labels, bars for WD My Passport SSD run right. SK hynix Beetle X31: Performance 8.2, Value 7.8, Durability 7.4, Ease of use 8.4, Design 8.4. WD My Passport SSD: Performance 7.8, Value 7.6, Durability 7.8, Ease of use 7.6, Design 8.2.SK hynix Beetle X31 (left)WD My Passport SSD (right)PerformanceSK hynix Beetle X31 — Performance 8.2 out of 108.2WD My Passport SSD — Performance 7.8 out of 107.8ValueSK hynix Beetle X31 — Value 7.8 out of 107.8WD My Passport SSD — Value 7.6 out of 107.6DurabilitySK hynix Beetle X31 — Durability 7.4 out of 107.4WD My Passport SSD — Durability 7.8 out of 107.8Ease of useSK hynix Beetle X31 — Ease of use 8.4 out of 108.4WD My Passport SSD — Ease of use 7.6 out of 107.6DesignSK hynix Beetle X31 — Design 8.4 out of 108.4WD My Passport SSD — Design 8.2 out of 108.2Editorial score out of 10 — higher is better

Which one to pick

Take the SK hynix Beetle X31

Leads on Performance, Value, Ease of use and Design.

  • Copying thousands of small files rather than a few enormous ones
  • A mixed household of newer and older machines, plus a console
  • You want first-party flash without the armored-drive bulk

Take the WD My Passport SSD

Leads on Durability.

  • You want scheduled backups without choosing a backup app
  • A drive that looks right next to a laptop on a meeting table
  • AES-256 encryption managed by the drive itself

What each one gets wrong

SK hynix Beetle X31

  • You need more than the capacity ceiling of this line
  • A three-year warranty is short for what you keep on it
  • The drive will be carried anywhere dusty or wet

WD My Passport SSD

  • You need class-leading sustained writes
  • You already run your own backup tooling and the bundle is dead weight

Specs, side by side

SpecSK hynix Beetle X31WD My Passport SSD
InterfaceUSB 3.2 Gen 2USB 3.2 Gen 2
ShellAluminum, no ingress ratingAluminum top, textured
Capacities512 GB to 2 TB—
Warranty3 years limited—
Software—Hardware encryption plus backup tools

Rankings they both appear in

Questions

Is the 2023 SK hynix Beetle X31 the safer pick over the 2020 WD My Passport SSD?
SK hynix Beetle X31 leads on Performance, Value, Ease of use and Design. If Durability matters more to you, take the WD My Passport SSD instead. The 3-year gap shows in the totals as 8.0 against 7.8.
What does the 2020 model still win?
On Durability, yes. That axis still goes to the 2020 model. The 2023 one answers with Performance, Value, Ease of use and Design.
Which one ranks higher in "No Mac has the port the fastest drives need"?
SK hynix Beetle X31 sits at #3 in "No Mac has the port the fastest drives need", WD My Passport SSD at #4.