SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Review - Review 2022

For fans of Apple phones and tablets, storage is not something to take lightly. The company doesn't do microSD bill of fare slots, so if you want to salve lots of music, pictures, and video, you have to pay a premium for a model with college internal capacity. That's where the SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive ($119.99 for 128GB) comes in. With its big chapters, fast read speeds, and built-in file and media managing director, the iXpand is a seems similar a perfect solution for iPhone and iPad owners pushing the limits of storage of their devices. Only the build is flimsy and the companion app is prone to crashes, and then nosotros can't recommend it wholeheartedly.

Design and Features

As far as wink drives go, the iXpand is rather unique. Information technology houses a USB 3.0 connection on one end and a Lighting connector on the other, linked by a curled, flexible blackness rubber cable. It's small—ii.3 by 0.vii by 0.1 inches (HWD)—and light at just 0.two ounce. It takes upwards less space in your pocketbook or pocket than, say, the SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick ($115.00 at Amazon) (iii.1 by 0.8 by 0.5 inches; 0.8 ounce).

iXpand plug in small

The distinctive pattern allows you to plug the iXpand into your iPhone or iPad with minimal protrusion. The USB 3.0 connector wraps around and nestles the back of the drive then that it stays comfortably out of your way. I tested the iXpand with an Apple iPhone 6s Plus in a Spigen Neo Hybrid example. The example adds a slight amount of majority to the phone (0.ane-inch), but information technology didn't forestall me from plugging in the iXpand. Once continued, it actually does stay out of your way.

Despite a seemingly sturdy build, the iXpand began to show signs of wear after simply a couple of days of employ. The middle, curved part of the rubber cablevision creased and eventually split open, exposing the wires inside. A second iXpand showed creasing later on a similar catamenia of utilise, although it didn't fully divide open. In both cases, the drive connected to role.

Compatibility and App

The bulldoze is formatted in exFAT, giving it broad compatibility with Apple tree devices and PCs. The iXpand is compatible with the iPhone 5 and afterward, as well as the iPad mini and newer—basically, whatever iOS 8 device with a Lightning port. Information technology likewise works with Macs, and PCs running with Windows Vista or afterwards.

You transfer data from your PC to the iXpand (or vice versa) the same style you lot would using whatsoever other flash drive. Simply plug it into a USB port, permit information technology automatically install the necessary drivers, and yous're able to drag and drib files.

The bulldoze can exist countersign protected and offers 128-bit AES encryption for devices with iOS 8, Mac OSX v.ten.6, Windows Vista, Windows seven, and Windows 8. Information technology'southward too compatible with Touch ID, allowing you lot to utilize a fingerprint scanner to unlock the accompanying app.

resized iXpand

Transferring data from the flash drive to your mobile device is besides uncomplicated. Install the gratuitous SanDisk iXpand Drive app, and plug the drive's Lightning connector into your phone or tablet. The bulldoze should be recognized, though you may demand to grant certain permissions for notification and access to the photographic camera. The Drive app and so functions as a file manager, allowing you to easily transfer photos, music, and video from your phone to the bulldoze (or vice versa). There's integrated auto-fill-in functionality, which allows the Drive app to transfer the contents of your camera roll to the drive and delete the internal storage of your device.

You can as well view photos, play music, and watch video directly from the flash bulldoze. The app supports AVI, MKV, MP4, MOV, and WMV video formats, including 4K content. It can as well handle pictures and music in every major format. DRM-protected content cannot be played, however.

The Drive app didn't prove very stable in testing. During our read and write tests, in which we time the transfers of large (1GB+) files, the app crashed frequently or froze partway through transfers. Attempting to navigate folders in the telephone'south internal storage also acquired the app to crash on occasion.

Performance

In terms of performance, the iXpand does well when plugged into a USB 3.0 port, though it's heavily weighted in favor of read speeds. It scored a blazing fast boilerplate read speed of 241.33MBps in our timed file transfer test, in which nosotros copy large files back and forth. Its average write speed is a much more average 18.16MBps. Using a USB two.0 port, the iXpand slows down to average read speeds of 39.29MBps. Write speeds, on the other hand, remains almost unchanged at 17.97MBps. The SanDisk Farthermost USB 3.0 is a stronger performer overall, with 105MBps read and 110MBps write speeds.

With the iPhone 6s Plus, average read speeds were much lower, at 28.47MBps. We were unable to get an accurate write speed result, as the Drive app only allows photos to be copied from the iPhone to the iXpand, and attempting to transfer a large number of pictures e'er resulted in a crash.

Pricing and Conclusions
At $120, the 128GB iXpand works out to an affordable $0.94 per gigabyte. Three additional models are available, simply the value isn't quite as great. The $89.99 64GB model costs $1.41 per GB, the $59.99 32GB model comes to $1.87, and the $49.99 16GB drive is the nearly expensive, at $3.12 per GB.

In that location'south no questioning the value of the iXpand when compared with paying the premium Apple charges for an iPhone with loads of internal storage. The 16GB iPhone 6s is $649. Moving up to the 64GB version, a costs $100 more than—$ii.08 per gig. Even the top-stop 128GB phone, priced at $849, carries a $1.79 per gigabyte cost when compared with the base model. The 128GB iXpand is clearly a more economical solution.

Just even then, it'southward a tough sell. Two review units showed that durability is a business concern, and given how much smartphones get abused in daily life, information technology'southward a big 1. Add in an app that is decumbent to crashing, and the fact that no affair how streamlined the design, an add-on device is not as elegant a solution every bit internal storage, and you accept a device that we can only recommend with serious reservations. If your phone is running low on storage infinite and y'all just tin can't deal with deleting some apps, music, photos, or videos, the iXpand volition give y'all some breathing room. But consider budgeting for a model with more than infinite when it comes fourth dimension to upgrade your device.