The Synology BeeDrive (starts at $99.99; $169.99 for 2TB as tested) is an external solid-state drive on a mission. At a glance, the BeeDrive resembles any number of other highly portable external SSDs, but when combined with Synology’s BeeDrive software, it enables you to smoothly and routinely back up files from your computer or mobile device and sync files between devices. Our extensive performance testing shows that BeeDrive is not fast for general SSD storage, though, making it best as a dedicated backup hub. If you need a speedier general-purpose external SSD, you’ll want to check out the Editors’ Choice-winning Crucial X9 Pro.
Design: On the Surface, a Typical Ultraportable External SSD
Taiwan-based Synology has made its name selling multi-bay network attached storage (NAS) devices, mostly RAID arrays such as the Editors’ Choice-winning Synology DiskStation DS1522+. The BeeDrive and the concurrently released Synology BeeStation are simplified outgrowths of that ethos, designed as personal devices that are alternatives to subscription-based cloud storage. The BeeStation desktop unit contains a single 4TB Synology hard drive, while the much smaller BeeDrive provides the portability that the BeeStation and NAS solutions lack.
The all-black BeeDrive has a stylish look with a square frame, gently curving top and sides, and rounded corners. A status light faces upward at one corner. The BeeDrive measures 0.6 by 2.6 by 2.6 inches (HWD) and weighs just 1.5 ounces. The Synology logo is imprinted on the top, and drive information and certifications are on the bottom.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The one ruggedness feature Synology notes is that the BeeDrive is impervious to drops up to 2 meters (6 feet, 7 inches) onto a carpeted concrete floor. The drive lacks native encryption, though Windows users can encypt the BeeDrive using BitLocker. A USB-C port is in the middle of one side; the BeeDrive has a USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface with a maximum rated throughput speed of 1,050MBps.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Synology sells the BeeDrive in three capacities, ranging from 1TB to 4TB. Some SSD makers add an extra premium for their highest-capacity units; it is good that with the BeeDrive, the higher its capacity, the lower its cost per gigabyte.
Using the BeeDrive: Backup, Sync, and Transfer Options Galore
In a pinch, the BeeDrive—which comes preformatted in exFAT for compatibility with Windows, macOS, Linux, iPadOS, and iOS—can be used as a normal external SSD simply by plugging it into a device’s USB port. (The BeeDrive comes with a USB-C-to-USB-C cable and a C-to-A adapter.) However, that isn’t using this SSD to its best advantage. With the installation of Synology’s BeeDrive software and setting up a free Synology account, the drive turns into something more than a mere SSD: your personal backup hub.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
With BeeDrive for Desktop software installed on your Windows or Mac computer, you can back up data by selecting Computer Backup and then choosing items from a default list (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Video) or making a custom selection of individual folders. After its initial setup, the backup starts automatically each time you plug in your BeeDrive. You can retain up to five different versions of each file, and files deleted from your computer are stored in BeeDrive’s Archived Files folder for easy recovery.
With the File Sync function, you can sync selected folders between two machines (say, your home and office computer). The Mobile Transfer function reveals a QR code that lets you pair your iOS or Android device (with the BeeDrive app installed and open) to BeeDrive for Desktop and back up photos over Wi-Fi, with the option for iPhones to store them as JPEGs instead of the HEIF format that Apple uses, in order to ensure compatibility. You can back up photos from up to five mobile devices in this manner.
You can also transfer selected photos or videos from a mobile device to the BeeDrive using the app’s BeeDrop function, or even BeeDrop photos straight from the camera as they are being shot. In addition, you can use the BeeDrive to back up photos from your iCloud storage, SD cards, and other external drives.
(Credit: Synology)
The BeeDrive offers a compelling range of backup and sync alternatives for users who wish to avoid a cloud subscription or in addition to one. My one qualm in working with the BeeDrive is that it can take a long time to initially back up a large photo library such as the one on my iPhone; using the Focused Backup feature, which keeps the BeeDrive app in the foreground, seemed to speed up the process.
(Credit: Synology)
One quirk is that when I initially installed the BeeDrive software and tried to set up a Synology account, I couldn’t; it seemed to be a problem with CloudFlare authentication. (I could not convince it that I wasn’t a robot, and it would boot me out whenever I checked that box.) I used my editor’s Synology account until a few days later, when I tried again to set up my own account. Suddenly, I was successful.
Synology backs the BeeDrive with a three-year warranty. Although that is a common length, many SSD manufacturers warranty their external drives for five years.
Testing the BeeDrive: A Relatively Slow SSD
We test external SSDs using PC Labs’ Windows 10 storage testbed, a desktop built on an Asus Prime X299 Deluxe motherboard with an Intel Core i9-10980XE Extreme Edition CPU housed in a SilverStone case. The system has 48GB of DDR4 Corsair Dominator RAM clocked to 3,600MHz and an Nvidia GeForce discrete graphics card. We use the motherboard’s 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 port for testing compatible drives such as the BeeDrive; for Gen 2×2 drives, we test using a 2×2 port added via an Orico PCIe expansion card.
We put the BeeDrive through our usual external solid-state drive benchmark suite, including Crystal DiskMark 6.0, PCMark 10 Storage, 3DMark Storage, Blackmagic’s Disk Speed Test, and our folder transfer test. The first three are run on the testbed PC with the drive formatted in NTFS, and the latter two on an Apple MacBook Pro with the drive in its native exFAT format. Crystal DiskMark’s sequential speed tests provide a traditional measure of drive throughput, simulating best-case, straight-line transfers of large files. The PCMark 10 Storage test measures an SSD’s readiness for a wide variety of everyday tasks and produces an aggregate score. Similarly, 3DMark Storage aggregates the results of a number of gaming-related tasks.
The BeeDrive performed as expected for a USB 3.2 Gen 2 external SSD on Crystal DiskMark’s throughput tests, the Blackmagic Mac-based disk speed test, and our folder copy test. But the BeeDrive’s score on PCMark 10 Storage was anything but buzzworthy. This was also the case with the gaming-centric 3DMark Storage benchmark.
If you are just using the BeeDrive for backup and file transfer, these shortfalls are moot, but they limit the SSD’s usefulness as a general-purpose drive.
Verdict: A Slow But User-Friendly Backup Hub
A simple yet effective SSD-based backup solution is an appealing idea, so much so that I was disappointed when, at first, I couldn’t create a Synology account because, in the back of my mind, I was considering buying a BeeDrive if it lived up to its billing. (In addition to the work computer on which I am writing this review, I have three home computers, two tablets, and a smartphone.) Apart from the account-creation snafu, nothing in my testing has dissuaded me from this idea. I have plenty of external SSDs, so if I were to buy a BeeDrive I would want to use it as a dedicated backup hub.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Users with heavy backup needs may want to opt for the BeeStation or one of the desktop NAS rigs that Synology and other manufacturers sell, although they lack the easy portability of the BeeDrive.
The BeeDrive has the throughput speed to support file backups and transfers, but it is slow in performing general storage tasks, and it does not have native encryption. The Crucial X9 Pro, our Editors’ Choice-winning Gen 2 external SSD, did much better in the PCMark 10 and 3DMark Storage benchmarks and it includes AES 256-bit hardware-based encryption. It also costs considerably less than the BeeDrive at its 2TB and 4TB capacities, and it has a full five-year warranty. That said, it doesn’t have the multiple backup options that the BeeDrive provides.
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The Bottom Line
The Synology BeeDrive isn’t a top performer, but this external SSD largely succeeds in its main mission: to back up and sync folders on your computers and mobile devices.
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About Tony Hoffman
Senior Analyst, Hardware
