INTRODUCTION

    With 3.5" hard disk drives recently hitting 30TB in capacity (36TB models have already been announced) and consumer oriented M.2 NVMe SSDs being available at 8TB for many years now (enterprise grade SSDs have almost reached 250TB in comparison) it's strange to see 2.5" hard disk drives still stuck at 6TB. As a matter of fact, even 6TB 2.5" hard disk drives are not available in large numbers and so 4/5TB models represent the vast majority of models currently available in the market. Toshiba released their latest Canvio Flex line of 2.5" USB 3.2 Gen 1 Portable Hard Drives back in January of this year and today on my test bench I have the 4TB capacity model.

    Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbH (TEE) offers European consumers and businesses a wide variety of hard disk drive (HDD) products plus semiconductor solutions for automotive, industrial, IoT, motion control, telecoms, networking, consumer and white goods applications. Next to HDDs, the company’s broad portfolio encompasses power semiconductors and other discrete devices ranging from diodes to logic ICs, optical semiconductors as well as microcontrollers and application specific standard products (ASSPs) amongst others. In addition, TEE offers SCiB™ battery cells and modules with lithium titanium oxide (LTO) for heavy-duty applications.

    Toshiba released the very first version of their Canvio Flex drives back in 2020 (HDTX1x) and since it was quite popular among consumers, they decided to refresh the line thus releasing a new version in January 2025 (HDTX2x). Both lines featured 1/2/4TB capacities with USB 3.2 Gen 1 connectivity and as for differences between them we have an redesigned enclosure (only in silver color this time over) with an blue activity LED that stands out more, compatibility with smartphones and tablets due to its USB-C connector (compatibility list is available here) and as for the USB controller itself it now sports an always on mode for faster access when used (don't know what specific 2.5" drive the 2020 version used inside so I can't compare it with the MQ04UBB400 used in the newer version - probably the same in both models however).  Finally, as always Toshiba covers the entire Canvio Flex line with a 3-year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Toshiba uses a small white box at the front of which they've placed a product picture, their logo, capacity and connectivity.

How you can use the Canvio Flex is showcased on the left side.

Both the OS compatibility and the bundled cables are printed on the right side of the box.

At the rear Toshiba also reports the OS compatibility and bundled cables, this time however in 10 languages.

Along with the Canvio Flex inside the box you'll also find a USB-C to Micro-B cable, USB-A to Micro-B cable and the quick start guide.

THE CANVIO FLEX 4TB

The Canvio Flex 4TB weighs 212g and measures 109mm in length, 78mm in width and 19.5mm in thickness.

To have a better idea about the size of the Canvio Flex I placed it next to the Armor A65 and 85 rugged models by Silicon Power.

The Micro-B USB port is located at the rear of the drive as seen above (right next to it is a blue activity LED).

As usual on a sticker located at the base of the drive we find the serial number and barcodes.

Inside the Canvio Flex 4TB PHD Toshiba has placed their very own MQ04UBB400 2.5" drive (5400 RPM, 8MB cache).

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Keeping things simple so even people new in the field of computers can understand will always be our way so once again our testing procedure is almost exactly the same as the one, we use with 2.5/3.5" external docking stations. Our standard selection of benchmark suites is used here as well including the famous HD Tach RW (Long Bench 32mb Zones), HD Tune Pro (read/write -when possible- speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Pro (Read/Write - also when possible- speeds), AIDA64 (Linear Read/Random Read), Crystal Disk Mark x64 (100MB/1000MB read/write speeds) and finally the quite outdated yet highly reliable ATTO 2.47 (Max Read/Max Write speeds). Every test is repeated for a total of 6 times and after that the average (not peak) numbers are recorded into the charts.

   As always, every test was performed in a fresh installation of Microsoft Windows 10 Pro with every update installed up to the date of this review.

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

TEST RESULTS – TEMPERATURES

CONCLUSION

    Last time I had a portable hard drive by Toshiba was exactly 2 years ago and it was also an 4TB model based on their MQ04UBB400 drive, just like with the Canvio Flex. So, as it’s crystal clear from the charts (and as expected really) performance is more or less the same between these two drives. The issue however is not with the drive’s performance since it’s around the levels you’d expect from one such model, the problem is with its capacity. Now I’m no engineer but with technologies like HAMR (Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording) by Seagate and MAMR (Microwave-Assisted Magnetic Recording) by Toshiba I was honestly expecting 2.5" hard disk drive capacity to have increased by now to well over 10TB but that’s clearly not the case (and I have no idea when that will happen). Also, the new Canvio Flex lineup still uses the outdated Micro-B port but since this is a hard disk drive and not an SSD, I really see no issue with that. The lack of available colors may turn some potential buyers away from the Canvio Flex line, but you can always look at one of the other PHD models available by Toshiba.

    Currently the Canvio Flex 4TB USB 3.2 Gen 1 PHD (HDTX240ESCCA) by Toshiba retails for USD189.80 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 142.06Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Pricing is not bad, but you can get your hands on Canvio Gaming 4TB model (which seems to be identical, just different in color) for just 110.45Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) so it’s a far better option. At the end of the day the Canvio Flex 4TB model delivers as advertised and that’s why I strongly recommend both the Canvio Flex and Canvio Gaming models.

PROS

- Overall Quality
- 4TB Capacity
- Good Performance
- Smartphone & Tablet Compatibility (For Some)

CONS

- 4TB Max Capacity Available
- Only In Silver Color
- Price (Compared To The Gaming Model)