SanDisk Extreme Pro USB 3.1 brings SSD speeds to thumb drive form factor

SanDisk is known for pushing the limits of portable flash storage - usually capacity, but this time it went for speed. The SanDisk Extreme Pro USB 3.1 promises SSD-like speeds in a thumb drive form factor.

Using a USB 3.1 interface, the drive offers read speeds up to 420MB/s and write speeds up to 380MB/s. That’s fast enough to transfer a 4K movie in just 15 seconds points out SanDisk while we’d like to point out that these are more SATA SSD speeds (some M.2 drives get into the gigabytes per second range).

Anyway, the Extreme Pro USB 3.1 drive has an aluminum casing and a retractable connector for improved looks and durability. It’s safe too, SanDisk’s SecureAccess software can password protect files on the drive with 128-bit AES encryption while RescuePro Deluxe can resurrect files you deleted accidentally.

SanDisk Extreme Pro USB 3.1

The drive will be available in capacities of 128GB and 256GB and will go on sale later this month. The top model will cost $180 and you can grab one from Amazon, Best Buy, Adorama, B&H and others. Note that $180 is the MSRP, stores that list this drive put it in the $130-$140 range.

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