Sunday, December 22, 2024
Reviews

SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe is a great device for moving files between various devices

The SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe is a handy, reasonably-affordable tool for sharing data between Lightning and USB-C devices such as Macs, iPhones, and iPads.

It can also be used to expand storage on an iPhone or iPad, but having a flash drive constantly dangling from the smartphone or tablet isn’t a great idea as it could easily get broken off. That could not only damage the iXpand, but also the iPhone or iPad if the drive connector gets stuck in the Lightning or USB-C port.

That said, my favorite feature of the all-metal flash drive is its dual Lightning and USB Type-C connectors. This makes it a breeze to exchange data between iPhones, iPads, Macs, even Android device. The iXpand’s swivel design with cap helps protect the connectors, while key ring hole makes it easy to take the drive on-the-go.

What’s more, you can use the iXpand Drive app to password-protect your files and photos across iOS devices and computers. Photos and video are automatically backed up on the smartphone every time you plug in the drive. Alas, you can’t select specific photos and videos to back up, which would have been convenient.

The SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe is, as mentioned, reasonably priced. It comes in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB versions for US$39.99, $47.99, and $74.99, respectively, at Western Digital and Amazon.

Review overview

Functionality10
Design10
Accompanying software8.1

The Pros

  • Great dual port design
  • convenient key ring hole
  • convenient swivel design

The Cons

  • Can’t choose individual photos to back up

summary

9.4If you need a tiny, portable device to backup, store, and transfer data between devices, the SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe is a great choice.

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.