Accessories: 4 out of 5
Much like its predecessor(s) there is a lot to like and very little to dislike with the entire Mobile Drive series in general and the Mobile Drive Secure in specific. As such, the fact that LaCie still are not including a USB Type-A adapter is easily overshadowed by the fact they do include excellent bonus features like free data recovery for the full warranty period; a free month to Adobe Creative Cloud… and of course free backup and recovery software that also allows for full drive encryption (via the AES-256 Self-Encrypting Drive this model rocking). So while not perfect, it certainly is above average.
Read performance: 22 out 25
Even in the 2TB capacity range there is no denying that there are faster external storage solutions available today. One just has to be willing to pay big bucks for an SSD based option. There is also no denying that there are a couple of faster 2.5inch based options also available. Once again, one has to be willing to pay the premium that goes along with 72000RPM performance. Especially if you want SED. Self-Encryption with decent performance and a decent asking price is the tricky part that few get right, and yet this is where LaCie shine bright. As such, for its class, the LaCie Mobile Secure series is rather good. Could still be better… but overall above average is how we would classify its read performance.
Write performance: 34 out of 40
Once again, the improvements in the hard drive combined with more mature bridge controller firmware do allow this SMR based device to do what few can: meet our personal standards for portable, HDD + SED, performance. So while we do wish LaCie would have gone for a CMR/PMR drive, we can understand and accept it as a reasonable compromise for this class of drives.
Warranty: 9 out of 10
The combination of a three warranty with three years of data recovery services is a winning one. Always has been, always will be. Other companies with their piddly little two year and no recovery included could learn a thing or two from Seagate/LaCie and their commitment to customer satisfaction. With that said… we seriously doubt many will need either as this is a rather robust drive. However, such value-added features do go a long way towards justifying the slightly elevated (by 2024 standards) asking price.
Value: 18 out of 20
It is funny but while LaCie has been considered Seagate’s more premium line the fact remains that LaCie has not increased their MSRP in a couple years now. Yes. No ‘inflation price adjustments’ needed to put the overall value in perspective. Instead LaCie is doing what few in the industry are willing to do: not needlessly price gouge their buyers. Thus this 2024 edition is easily the best value option LaCie Mobile we have seen… ever. We sincerely hope this trend continues in the future and in 2026/2027 we are still paying 2020 prices for a LaCie!
Final Score: 87 out 100
With its combination of good enough capacity and good enough performance, with aesthetics that are only exceed by its excellent value the LaCie Mobile Drive Secure is easily the best LaCie Mobile Drive to be released to date. We just wish other companies were willing to go above and beyond like LaCie do and offer everything a professional could want and yet do so at darn near home user pricing. Color us impressed.
