Best Thunderbolt 3 External Mac SSD Drives In 2022

I've tracked the Mac compatible Thunderbolt 3 solid-state drive market, it struggles and fails to take dominance. I've seen major brands enter with a product, then discontinue their Thunderbolt 3 drive a year later. It seems that next-generation USB 4 is going to eventually crush Thunderbolt slowly, much like what happened with Apple's FireWire a decade ago. Below are the only 8 TBolt 3 external SSD's I could find listed on Amazon after hours of searching and scouring their listings.
What that leaves us is only the most known and entrenched players like LaCie, OWC and GTech are holding turf while lesser brands slug it out. What's surprising is Sabrent delivering the cheapest 1TB Thunderbolt 3 SDD drive and does it using the latest chipset. It supports both 40 GBps Thunderbolt 3 or 10GBps USB 3.2 Type-C connectivity for assured cross-platform compatibility now, and into the Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 future.
The Sabrent Rocket XTRM-Q 1TB SSD with Thunderbolt 3 or USB 3.2 chipset $219 USD. Speeds up to 2700 MB/s in Thunderbolt 3 Mode or up to 900 MB/s in USB 3.2 Mode,
Sabrent Rocket 1 Terabyte TBolt 3 SSD
Best Bang For The Buck
Major Brand, Highest Price: LaCie's Rugged Pro Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C drive that supports either TBolt3 or USB 3.2 protocols. Wins the least bang for the buck award at $349.
Lacie 1 Terabyte TBolt 3 SSD
Thank gawd it isn't wrapped in that ugly ORANGE silicone shock protector
OWC Envoy Pro FX 1TB Thunderbolt 3 USB and 3.2 SSD $299
OWC 1 Terabyte TBolt 3 SSD
Super-Cooling Heatsink Fin Enclosure For Reliability
Fantom Extreme 1TB Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2 Support $299
Fantom Extreme 1 Terabyte TBolt 3 SSD
5-Year Warranty.
TEKQ Lowest-price matching Sabrent, but chipset is Thunderbolt 3-Only $219
TEKQ 1 Terabyte TBolt 3 SSD
Cheap but has TBolt 3-only chipset
G-Drive (Sandisk Pro) is holding out with their stylish but Thunderbolt 3-Only chipset. $319
G-Drive 1 Terabyte TBolt 3 SSD
Needs newer chipset, but the case design is the most stylish
Archgon 1TB Thunderbolt 3-Only SSD $299
Archgon 1 Terabyte TBolt 3 SSD
Good heat dissipating aluminum enclosure
Plugable 1TB Thunderbolt-3 Only SSD $349
Plugable 1TB TBolt 3 SSD
Not price competitive at ll as a Thunderbolt 3-Only drive
Tags: cheap mac external ssd, thunderbolt 3 ssd for mac, apple compatible thunderbolt 3 drive, mac thunderbolt 3 ssd, cheapest ssd, cheap thunderbolt 3 drive