The Kingston XS2000 is an ultraportable solid-state drive with a USB Type-C interface based on the USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 standard. Offered in up to 2TB of storage space, the Kingston XS2000 is about half the size of typical portable SSDs, but twice as fast in terms of transfer speeds – up to 2,000MBps.
The Kingston XS2000 has been given an IP55 rating for resistance against water and dust ingress. Furthermore, it has a metal and plastic casing for durability. The SSD comes with a removable sturdy rubber sleeve for added protection against accidental drops.
At Rs 9,999 for the 1TB storage model (review unit), the Kingston XS2000 is priced similarly to some of its peers such as SanDisk and Samsung. However, it does have an ultraportable form factor. Like its peers, it comes with a five-year limited warranty. Kingston offers free technical support on top of the convenience and that is a nice addition.
The SSD is compatible with Microsoft Windows 8.1 and above, macOS 10.14 and above, Linux 2.6 and above, and Chrome OS. It comes pre-formatted in the exFAT file system, making it cross-compatible with many operating systems. This essentially means, you don’t need to reformat it every time you switch to a different operating system. You can reformat it to the NTFS file system if needed but there’s no support for Apple’s APFS file system which natively supports Mac Time Machine backups. The drive doesn’t support hardware encryption, but you can safeguard around this by using software encryption.
Since USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 is not readily available in laptops and desktops, it is a constraint on the SSD side as it provides peak data transfer rates only when connected on a compatible port. Nevertheless, it is backward compatible and provides approximately 1000 Mbps read and write speeds over USB 3.2 Gen 2 and USB 3.1, which are the interfaces widely available in most modern laptops and desktops.
first published: 25 August 2023 | 2:31 pm First