Want a 4TB external SSD with RAID 6, wireless tracking, passkey unlocking and an e-paper display built in? You can get it for the price of TWO PlayStation 5 Pros.

External storage drives can be a part of your tech arsenal that you use daily or rarely. SSD versions are small, lightweight and very durable, but they're also not expensive. The new Pro Mini from Iodyne, via The Verge, has a price tag of $1500 minus five dollars.

It's true that this is for the 4 TB version (the 8 TB model is a relative bargain, at $2,195), but what are you getting exactly for the same price of a good RTX Super gaming PC, or two PS5 Pros. What you get is a lot of tech features. Whether any of them interest you depends on your personal preferences.

It has active cooling, which is something that, to my knowledge, not many external SSDs have. The Iodyne Pro Mini is a solid-state, high-tech device that does not use fans. You might wonder why such a device requires a cooler, but I suspect that it is because Iodyne designed the custom processor and NAND Flash chips.

I don't believe it's the data transfer speed despite using USB4. Iodyne claims that it can transfer data at a rate of 3GB/s. This is faster than external SSDs, which typically reach a maximum of 2GB/s. However, this is not super quick. It's still not a bad deal and, since it's USB4, you can use it in any USB port as well as Thunderbolt.

The Pro Mini is targeted at professional content creators, so its other features are all focused on security. You can unlock the Pro Mini using an NFC passkey from your phone. It also has optional support for Apple's and Google's device tracking network (done via Bluetooth signalling).

The XTS-AES 256 (pdf warnings) algorithm is used to encrypt any data on the drive. There's also RAID 6 redundancy which indicates that there are a bunch NAND flash chips in the aluminium casing.

The 2.1-inch electronic display with a resolution of 240 x146 completes the list of 'oooh that's fancy!' features. The screen is powered from a battery which recharges each time you plug it in. It can display anything, from a name and date up to the amount of memory used and QR codes and barcodes.

Iodyne doesn't provide any information about the Pro Mini's exact dimensions and weight, but you can see from the video above that it does not appear to be particularly heavy or bulky. To be honest, the whole thing looks neat, even if it's not something that I would ever need. But that price...oh, boy, that is a lot of cash.

Iodyne uses a lot of proprietary components, but it also uses a lot of off-the-shelf parts. It's still a lot of money to spend on something when you can buy two 4 TB LaCie Rugged Pro SSDs ($629.99 at Amazon) for the price.

The LaCie drive does not have the same features as the Pro Mini.

If you are in a market where performance and security is critical and you have a need for all these features, it may be a good fit. Iodyne only accepts pre-orders for the moment, and only through certain channel partners. The first orders are expected to ship early next year.