Here’s a really cool portable SSD I saw at this year’s IFA: the Lexar Professional Go with Hub. Aimed at mobile content creators, videographers, and filmmakers, this external storage device lets users increase a phone’s storage capacity on the fly.
It’s small, versatile, and while it’s primarily aimed at iPhone users, this slim SSD is compatible with any iPhone, iPad, and Android device with OTG and USB-C. When connected to a computer, it works on macOS and Windows.
In addition to quickly adding additional storage, the Professional Go’s hub shows off some smart design choices that make it easy to connect peripherals when working in the field (scroll through the gallery below for close-ups).
Compact mobile storage
Okay, so it's not the first SSD for a phone (it's not even Lexar's first entry into the space), but it's one of the best designs I've seen. The device started life on Kickstarter, with backers pledging $968,607, and it's not hard to see why it surpassed its $10,000 goal.
Phone storage fills up very quickly. Some phones no longer have SD ports because users were forced to subscribe to cloud storage. Working with mobile media, large files, and slow or no external signals is a common modern tragedy. That's the problem Lexar's Professional Go with Hub seeks to solve.
The Professional Go is surprisingly compact up close, measuring 4.4 x 2.5 x 8mm, while attaching the hub adds an extra inch to its length. In the hand, it’s also pretty light, as it should be. While it may not be a super-rugged hard drive, it does boast an IP65 rating, making it water and dust resistant.
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The storage itself comes in 1TB and 2TB, with Lexar quoting read/write speeds of up to 1050MB/s and 1000MB/s. It slots into the phone’s charging port and tucks neatly into the back. In an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, the SSD sits flush, as it’s designed specifically for those phones. Testing it in a Motorola Android phone, I found that while it’s not quite flush, it fits very nicely without leaving too noticeable a gap. In the hand, it feels about as unobtrusive as an odd piece of plastic and metal on the back of a phone can be.
For professional video content, the hub is the star of the show. This little square, which connects to the storage component via one of the four USB-C ports, allows users to connect lights and microphones for filming on the fly and supports power delivery up to 30W. With the hook-shaped connector, it also allows for more freedom when using rigs and shouldn’t interfere with stabilizers.
At first glance, the Professional Go with Hub has plenty going for it, whether you’re shooting film or just giving your phone some much-needed storage. In the box, users receive the rubber-covered SSD, Hub, two USB-C adapters, USB-C cold shoe adapter, wrist strap, and holster. We’ll be posting a full review shortly to see how close it comes to those 10Gbps transfer speeds.
