Photos and Features
The Crucial X8 is all black and is shaped in a lot of ways like an old cell phone before everyone started going with bigger and bigger models. It’s a rectangle but a rectangle that every single edge has been rounded off. This is basically the exact opposite of the WD My Passport SSD that I took a look at two years ago, where that was boxy. The middle section on the Crucial X8 is aluminum and part of its unibody construction. It isn’t just a sheet metal outside layer, you can fee just how solid it feels as soon as you hold it. It has some weight to it. The two end caps which help give it that rounded off shape have a rubberized coating on them but not a thick rubber coating for drops like the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD. Even without additional drop protection, just with the unibody construction, Crucial does have the X8 listed with drop protection up to 2 meters or 6.5 feet. The X8 is also really interesting in that it is very minimal on its branding and because both sides have the same rounded shape it is all exclusively on the glossy strip along the top on both sides. One has the Crucial by Micron logo and the other side has the actual model name along with the capacity and all of the normally required certifications are also laser cut on it as well. The overall size of the X8 is a little larger than the WD Passport SSD with the length measuring 110 mm for me. It is 53 mm tall and then 11.5 mm thick as well were the WD was 90 x 45 x 10. But even being larger, the X8 is pocketable, especially with the all rounded shape, just don’t forget your cord!
The two ends of the drive do a lot better job os showing the rounded shape, not only do the ends round off the corners, but you can see that the side profile of the unibody center has an oval shape as well. There is just one port directly in the center and they kept things extremely simple with it being a newer USB Type-C Gen 2 plug. With USB Type-C becoming popular with new phones for a few years now it is nice to see Crucial stick with it. They went with it for the performance of course, but even beyond that, It is a lot easier to use with its reversible design and it is more solid and less likely to be damaged.
That brings me to the only accessories included with the X8. You get an extremely short USB Type-C Gen 2 cord that has Type-C connections on both ends. Then with that, you get a Type-C to Type-A adapter. Western Digital did the exact same thing with both of their SSD portables. Though I will say that I would much prefer the adapter have the option to maybe clip to the cord. I use Type-C on my laptop unless I am charging at the time, but often I need the adapter when I share files or need to use the drive on anything but the newest PCs and I have lost the adapters before and finding a replacement that will still transfer at the Gen 2 speeds can sometimes be a pain.
