There’s nothing interesting about an external hard drive. Those big bricks of digital storage that just sit on your desk, taking up space, are just about the most boring tech-related topic you can imagine, aren’t they?
I didn’t think a hard drive could wow me anymore, until I saw this one. Last month, Sandisk released its smallest storage device yet, the Extreme Fit, a USB-C flash drive that’s smaller than the WiFi dongles you get with wireless keyboards and mice — it’s about as wide a nickel, and just tall enough to barely poke over th…
There’s nothing interesting about an external hard drive. Those big bricks of digital storage that just sit on your desk, taking up space, are just about the most boring tech-related topic you can imagine, aren’t they?
I didn’t think a hard drive could wow me anymore, until I saw this one. Last month, Sandisk released its smallest storage device yet, the Extreme Fit, a USB-C flash drive that’s smaller than the WiFi dongles you get with wireless keyboards and mice — it’s about as wide a nickel, and just tall enough to barely poke over the top of my closed laptop.
Sandisk Extreme Fit USB-C Flash Drive (1TB)
Pros
- Extremely compact, as in it’s smaller than most Wi-Fi dongles.
- High max storage capacity
- L-shaped design lets it sit flush against the side of a laptop
Cons
- Transfer speed could be faster
Key Specs
| Sizes | Transfer Speed | Connection Type | Dimensions (W x H x D) | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | ||||
| 400 MB | ||||
| USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 | ||||
| 0.81 x 0.50 x 0.28 in. (Not including USB connector) | ||||
| 0.07 oz |
The kicker, though — the thing that really got me interested — is that the high-capacity version of the drive can hold up to a Terabyte (1TB) of data. That’s the starting point for most portable SSDs, which are much larger than any form of U.S. currency, and larger than the hard drives you’ll find inside many basic laptops. (The base model of the new M4 Macbook Air comes with a paltry 256GB of storage.)
That’s just so much storage for such a teensy, tiny little drive. It is, quite honestly, enough for most people to use it as backup “cold” storage for the individual files, photos, and videos that they absolutely must keep safe.
Mike Epstein
In an era of cloud storage, external hard drives and portable flash drives, seem unnecessary to most folks. My colleagues and I think keeping an external drive or two handy is still a vital best practice, though, especially if you have files, photos, or video footage that you work with regularly. Laptops break, cloud services go down, and workers accidentally save revisions of documents they should have copied to keep pristine. But the files you squirrel away on your flash drive stay safe until you need them.
The Extreme Fit is probably not a fully capable one-to-one replacement for a larger external hard drive. Like most flash drives, its read and write speeds are fine for individual files, but will need some time for large folders or a full machine backup. Using a USB 3.2 Gen 1 connection, the Ex-Fit can transfer files at up to 400MB per second: That’s a decent speed for a flash drive, but not exactly fast, and certainly a far cry from the 1,000MB+ speeds you get from portable SSDs like Sandisk’s Extreme Portable or the Samsung T9. That said, neither of those fits comfortably in the smallest pocket in your jeans.
Even if you don’t find the dimensions of this thing as interesting as I do, I genuinely think it’s an effective middle ground between carrying an extra battery-pack-sized backup drive in your bag and leaving the safety of your backup files in the hands of Google and Dropbox.
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Mike Epstein is a Senior Commerce Editor at Hearst Enthusiast Group, producing reviews for buying guides Popular Mechanics, Runner’s World, Bicycling, and *Best Products. *Prior to joining Hearst, he was a video game and technology critic for over 10 years, with bylines at IGN, Gamespot, Variety, Lifehacker, Kotaku, GamesRadar, Flavorwire and Digital Trends, among others. Now, he’s a jack of all trades, helping reviewers share everything they know about all kinds of technical gear, from snowblowers, to running shoes and bicycles, and every kind of gadget imaginable.