I discovered the MagSafe accent you did not know you wanted – particularly for energy customers

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Tremendous-fast SSD that is speedy sufficient to deal with Apple ProRes video recording
• The drive is small, skinny, and light-weight sufficient to connect to an iPhone with out including an excessive amount of bulk or weight
• Methods that do not help USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 will see considerably slower speeds.

The iPhone is a incredible instrument for each budding {and professional} videographers, and it might simply seize gorgeous photographs. Nonetheless, the draw back of utilizing your smartphone for recording video is that you just rapidly notice video information are large, and also you quickly end up battling storage points.

The excellent news is that in case you have one of many newer iPhones with USB-C ports, you may simply add extra storage utilizing an exterior drive. However you then begin working into one other downside — an exterior drive dangling out of your iPhone dampens the interior Christopher Nolan in the perfect of us. Clamps and mounts can be found, however that is simply one other factor to hold (or overlook).

Luckily, the reminiscence and storage specialists at Lexar have give you an answer, and it is somewhat sensible. They’ve mixed their spectacular SL500 SSD with a magnetic silicone case that connects to the MagSafe ring on the iPhone and added a super-flexible USB-C cable to attach the 2 — ensuing within the excellent cinematography setup!

On the core of this package is Lexar’s SL500. I’ve coated this drive earlier than, and it is a beast. It gives USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 efficiency of as much as 2,000 MB/s learn and 1,800 MB/s write.

This drive is quick sufficient for the iPhone 15 Professional and iPhone 15 Professional Max to shoot as much as 4K 60 FPS on to the drive. The SL500 helps Apple ProRes recording, a large file format through which one minute of video shot in ProRes 4K takes up 6 GB of cupboard space — however the element it captures is gorgeous. 

I’ve examined the drive on a number of completely different programs, and my benchmark outcomes had been inside 10% of the speeds listed on the spec sheet, which is greater than acceptable.

The SL500 is skinny and light-weight, roughly the scale of a bank card, measuring solely 4.8 mm thick and weighing simply 43 g. Its slim, stable aluminum unibody building matches comfortably within the palm of your hand, slips unobtrusively right into a pocket, and matches onto the again of an iPhone.

To make it match, a silicone sleeve with its personal magnetic ring permits the drive to clamp onto the MagSafe ring. The connection is stable, and since the drive itself is mild, the package does not add a lot weight or bulk to the iPhone.

Additionally: The thinnest exterior SSD I’ve ever examined can be actually quick, however there is a catch

Lexar has additionally equipped a really versatile USB-C-to-USB-C cable for connecting the drive to the iPhone, a lanyard to forestall dropping the drive, and even a sticky magnetic ring so you may affix the drive to one thing else — comparable to a spot in your desk, the lid of your laptop computer, and even an Android gadget.

The drive is available in 2 TB and 4 TB variations, so you may select the capability that most accurately fits your wants.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The Lexar SL500 SSD was already an excellent SSD and ideal for iPhone videographers. Nonetheless, the magnetic silicone sleeve and equipment rework it into a really neat and streamlined piece of package that leverages the comfort of MagSafe. The package retails for $206 for the 2TB drive, and $329 for the 4TB model.

Additionally: The very best exterior laborious drives you should purchase

If you have already got an SL500 drive and want a mount to connect to your iPhone, I like to recommend the SmallRig 2-in-1 SSD Mount.