When it comes to backups, it’s easy to think bigger is better—but I’ve started going smaller.I’m done with bulky spinning disks and rarely even reach for an external SSD.I’m now all about flash drives.
It all comes down to portability Close I don’t use your typical computer.I’m writing these words on my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, a device that has completely replaced my laptop.If you’ve never tried, it’s rather easy to plug in an external hard drive to a phone and transfer files.
USB-C devices just work.Drives with a traditional USB-A cable merely need a USB-C hub to work as expected.But plugging in an external drive to a phone is far more tedious than plugging one into a desktop or laptop.
You can largely use the latter as normal while files transfer, at least until you need to move the laptop.It’s far more awkward to use a phone while it’s tethered to a drive that, in some cases, may even be bigger than it is.By contrast, a flash drive merely sticks out the bottom.
Files can transfer while I’m writing, scrolling through an ebook, or doing whatever else.I don't need to grab a USB cable Or permanently sacrifice one to an external drive The beauty of a flash drive is that it is a self-contained unit.I like them for a similar reason I like doing my work from a foldable phone—I don’t need to double-check that I’ve brought along something else in order to get my work done.
This is because a flash drive doesn’t need a separate USB-C cable the way external SSDs and hard drives do.This isn’t even a matter of making sure I have everything I need when I leave the house.Even when just reaching into a drawer next to me, I prefer to grab a USB drive and plug it in rather than having to first reach for an SSD, then reach again for a cable, put my phone down, and use both hands to make sure everything is plugged in.
I can keep things simple by leaving the USB cable plugged into the SSD, but I’ve broken the USB port on an external hard drive that way before, and let me tell you, that’s a frustrating way to lose access to your data.Flash drive speeds are getting faster And capacities are getting larger Flash drives have a few weaknesses compared to other forms of external storage.One of those is transfer speeds.
Most external SSDs will read and write files much faster than most flash drives.Most—not all.Newer flash drives are hitting store shelves with speeds possibly exceeding those of the external SSD you might have bought just last year.
The PNY Duo Link V3 boasts read speeds of 1,000MB/s and write speeds of 800MB/s.That’s a huge leap from the speeds on the SanDisk Luxe drives I’m currently using.That’s even a step up from the Samsung and SanDisk SSDs I bought a few years back.
PNY Duo Link V3 $29 $35 Save $6 9 Capacity 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB The PNY Duo Link V3 flash drive offers both USB-C and USB-A plugs.With USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds, you can expect up to 1,000MB/s read and 800MB/s write speeds from this flash drive.Coming in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB storage sizes, this all-metal flash drive makes it easy to bring large amounts of fast storage with you anywhere.
$30 at Amazon $31 at PNY $29 at bhphotovideo Expand Collapse Flash drives are becoming more reliable This ain't your grandma's flash drive Flash drives have not been recommended for backups in part because they lack the long-term reliability of external hard drives.I understand this intellectually, but it hasn’t matched my experience in practice.I’ve had multiple portable hard drives stop working over some form of mechanical failure.
I imagine the disks still have the data inside and could be taken to someone who knows how to salvage them, but as for simply plugging the drive into my computer and getting them to work—they didn’t.Meanwhile, my flash drives have continued to truck along for years and years.They have few moving parts, so they're less prone to damage from drops.
There are also tools now for checking for corrupted data.I don't need a terabyte of storage Not right now, at least The size of external storage tends to creep up over time, and that’s not a bad thing.I’m glad we no longer max out at 128GB.
But it remains the case that if you can get by with a smaller drive, that’s a cheaper option than buying a larger one.I personally have yet to need more than 512GB of storage.At a time when 512GB external SSDs are being phased out, 512GB flash drives aren’t hard to find.
Plus, they can be had for nearly half the price of 1TB SSDs, even if I opt for a blazing-fast versions from PNY or SanDisk.That makes it more affordable to buy multiple sticks, ensuring that I have more than one copy of my data in different places.Related This is how I use my Android phone like a flash drive Turn your locked Android into a portable encrypted vault and move files over USB or Quick Share with seamless access.
Posts 4 By Sydney Butler Living the simple life Over the past two years, I’ve significantly reduced the physical size of my digital life.Now that my phone is my PC, I can arrive somewhere with nothing in my hand and no bag on my back, yet I have everything I need to get to work.With a flash drive in my pocket or on a keychain, I have everything I need for backups as well.
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