UGREEN AI NAS iDX6011 Pro Review

The UGREEN AI NAS iDX6011 Pro is aiming to do a lot. At first glance, it’s easy to think that it’s just a traditional NAS built for storage and backups. However, that’s only part of the story. You see, the iDX6011 Pro is a high-powered NAS, yes, but it’s also a super-capable home server and workstation, further bolstered by AI features. For those who want to keep everything local, with fast access, on a machine that can handle tough tasks, this machine seems very promising. Here is my UGREEN AI NAS iDX6011 Pro review.

It’s a beast

Let’s start with the specs so that you know what I’m working with here. Powering the iDX6011 Pro is an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H paired with 64 GB of fixed LPDDR5X RAM. For the NAS storage, UGREEN supplied me with two Seagate IronWolf 4 TB SATA drives, though there’s also support for NVMe SSDs. This is a 6-bay NAS with support for up to 196 TB of total storage, alongside a dedicated 128 GB system SSD that keeps the operating system separate from the main storage pool.

Those internals are held within a frankly stunning enclosure. UGREEN has gone from being a company that I associated with fast phone chargers and battery banks, to a business seriously pushing the envelope in the NAS space and doing so with style.

Before we even get into the AI features, the iDX6011 Pro stands out as a fast, capable NAS, handling huge file transfers while multitasking, thanks in part to the dual 10GbE setup. That dual 10GbE might be the highlight of the input and output selection, but the entire range is impressive.

Dual Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, an SD 4.0 card slot, and OCuLink are all present, which should satisfy those hunting for workstation-grade compatibility. There’s also a PCIe Gen4 x8 expansion slot and a 3.7-inch side display, further helping the iDX6011 Pro feel more premium than a typical NAS.

From the specs, you knew that this system was going to be quick, but what else makes it special? Well, there are the AI features.

Let me nip something in the bud, as I know seeing the word “AI” can cause readers to roll their eyes and become concerned about privacy. However, UGREEN’s built-in AI is designed to run locally, which reduces the need to send your data to cloud services.

Intelligent assistance

There are several AI functions to take advantage of. These all aim to make file management easier. For those who have used NAS before, you’ll know how much of a nightmare it can be to sort through terabytes of data looking for a specific file.

One way of quickly finding what you’re looking for, even if you don’t know the exact name of the file, is with Universal Search. This AI feature asks users for a description of what they are searching for and then does its best to find it.

An AI chat is also available, which acts as a sort of assistant ready to sort or summarize your stored files. You can talk informally with it, as though it’s a real person, and it will react in a usually helpful manner.

I’m also a fan of AI Album, which is specifically aimed at sorting photos. Like most people, I now have years and years worth of photos. Previously, I had them stored on iCloud, but the price of cloud storage got so high that I downloaded them all to store locally. Of course, they are all named “Image_345896.jpg” and whatnot, so they’re a nightmare to sort through and I’ll likely never get around to handling them manually. This is where similar photo detection comes in handy to finally get them in order.

Beyond that, there’s a summarization feature for documents, voice memo transcription, and other handy tools for managing the likely thousands of files you have stored away.

The AI effect

While my time with the iDX6011 Pro has been mostly flawless, especially when it comes to the physical hardware, which never skipped a beat as I transferred large high-bitrate video files and edited them within Adobe Premiere Pro, certain software elements do require more time in the oven.

When I see “AI” in a product name, I’ve grown to expect a lot. AI has gotten ridiculously powerful, and so when combined with a NAS, I’m ready to be blown away. Unfortunately, while Universal Search, AI Chat, and AI Album certainly have their moments of genius, they don’t consistently deliver. Hopefully we see further improvements down the line.

Disclosure: Review sample provided by UGREEN.