At a time when storage space commands a premium price, SanDisk’s Extreme Fit drive is worth a look.
SanDisk
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RAMaggedon has quickly made the price of both memory and storage skyrocket, with many SSDs now sporting obscenely inflated prices. As such, more and more folks are looking for cheaper alternative storage options. Enter the SanDisk Extreme Fit. Starting at around $30 for the 64GB model, the largest 1TB edition of this USB 3.2 USB-C drive is priced at $219 (that’s double the capacity of the iPhone 17’s top config). This stick is also absolutely tiny. Just how small is the SanDisk Extreme Fit? Let’s get into it.
What is SanDisk Extreme Fit?
SanDisk
Often regarded as the smallest USB flash drive in the world, the SanDisk Extreme Fit has been designed to sit almost flush inside a USB port. Measuring in at 0.73 x 0.54 x 0.63 inches and weighing 0.1 ounces, the Extreme Fit is an absurdly small drive. SanDisk describes it as a “plug-and-stay” device. Cute wordplay aside, this USB stick is meant to remain hooked up to a laptop in ultra discreet fashion, instantly boosting its storage capacity.
“This is the smallest SiP (System-in-Package) we have and the first time we created a vertical type C connector ever,” states Deepesh Singh, SanDisk’s Principal Engineer of Systems Design says in a statement on the company’s site. The reason the company was able to engineer such an astonishingly small USB-C drive is because its engineers mounted the connector perpendicular to the SiP, which works thanks to a proprietary interposer printed circuit board. Not that it was an easy road to get there, as Singh recalls. “We built several prototypes, but they kept breaking.” Thankfully his team eventually overcame hardware hurdles to arrive upon the Extreme Fit’s final, eye-catching form factor.
How fast is the SanDisk Extreme Fit USB-C?
SanDisk
SanDisk’s tiny drive obviously isn’t going to hit NVMe speeds, but it’s fast for a USB stick. The four models that range between 128GB to 1TB all boast read speeds up to 400 MB/s, while the smallest 64GB drive is limited to 300 MB/s. Write speeds generally hover around 100-250 MB/s, which is respectable for a flash drive. Those speeds are certainly fast enough for transferring photos and other small files, but if you regularly move large 4K video files between devices, you’d be better off with one of the best SSDs.
Is the SanDisk Extreme Fit USB-C compatible with iPhones?
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It sure is. Well, at least with certain models of iPhone. The SanDisk Extreme Fit works with iPhones with USB-C ports (so any model after and including the iPhone 15). You can technically get the drive working with older models with Lightning ports, though you’d need a Lightning-to-USB adapter for that. You can easily transfer files to and from the SanDisk Extreme Fit by using your iPhone’s Files app.
