Seagate Slim review: A fast, compact drive for both Windows and Mac

The Seagate Slim portable drive is basically the previous Seagate GoFlex Slim without the flexible module design. Instead it now supports just USB 3.0 (compatible with USB 2.0) and can't be used with any other peripheral connection via adapters.

8.1

Seagate Slim

The Good

The <b>Seagate Slim</b> is fast, extremely portable, and works with both Windows machines and Macs without the need to reformat.

The Bad

The portable drive doesn't offer the same level of flexibility as its predecessor, caps at just 500GB, and includes a short two-year warranty.

The Bottom Line

The Seagate Slim is an excellent addition to your small laptop, especially one with USB 3.0, for both storage expansion and backup while you're out and about.

That said, the new drive is much shorter than its predecessor and is an incredibly portable storage device. In my testing, it offers fantastic performance, and it works on both a Windows PC and Mac, without the need to reformat.

The Seagate Slim's only shortcoming is its limited 500GB capacity, though that's plenty for most people. And if you're happy with that, the drive is very affordable, costing just $60. And the Seagate Dashboard software bundle, which includes backup, utilities, and a cross-platform read/write access software driver, is a great bonus. If you're looking for a great portable drive to carry extra data or for backup on the go, this is it. For more options in terms of capacities, check out others on this list.