Lexar TouchLock Portable SSD review: An iPhone user’s dream storage device

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I think the days of carrying data in an unencrypted state are almost over. This is very risky, especially if that data is critical in any way or subject to regulatory oversight.

But encrypting and decrypting the drive can also be difficult, and it needs to be as quick and simple as possible. I don’t think this process could be easier than tapping the SSD from your smartphone – and it’s exactly that Lexar TouchLock Portable SSD Works.

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Out of the box, the TouchLock Portable SSD feels small and light. Made of lightweight aluminum, measuring 3.37 x 2.09 x 0.28 inches and weighing just 1.4 ounces, this drive feels space-age. There’s an NFC touchpad on the back, a MagSafe magnet ring on the front for connecting to a smartphone, and a single USB-C port on the bottom.

That MagSafe ring gives you a big clue about the specific use case of this storage drive – a drive that connects to your iPhone.

The outer shell is designed to survive a drop from a height of 6.5 feet, which is great for the ups and downs of everyday life.

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Inside is a 128-bit AES hardware-encrypted SSD that protects everything written to it, so your data is never left in an unencrypted state. The drive is designed with reliability in mind rather than speed, and to achieve this, Lexar developed a custom low-power controller that generates less heat but improves reliability.

Despite not being built for speed, this drive can still reach write speeds of up to 450Mbps and read speeds of 420Mbps. This speed is fast enough that the device can handle 4K ProRes 60 frames-per-second video recorded directly by the iPhone (if you want a fast drive for iPhone, but without encryption, you’re looking at something like this) lexer es3But it doesn’t have built-in encryption).

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This is the first drive in a long time that I had to read the manual to figure out how to use it. I first plugged the drive into my iPhone. Nothing happened. Then my Mac – and, once again, nothing happened. Then I read the manual and found out that I needed to download the appropriate lexer app (iOS And Android), and use the NFC feature on your smartphone to unlock and set the smartphone as the handset that unlocks the drive.

Once this was done, using the drive was easy. You connect it to any device – smartphone, tablet, laptop or computer – tap the smartphone to the NFC pad, and it unlocks in a few seconds. From that point on, the drive functions like any other drive.

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Along with the drive, you get a short USB-C-to-USB-C cable, a USB-C-to-USB-A adapter, and a self-adhesive magnetic ring for attaching the drive to things other than an iPhone.

ZDNET’s shopping advice

Lexar TouchLock Portable SSD comes in 500GB And 1TB modelFor $94 and $143 respectively. I like the unlock mechanism because it’s quick and easy, but there is an initial passcode that you have to remember if you lose your phone or wipe the app or something like that. I also like how small and light the drive is – it’s barely noticeable when connected to an iPhone.

Performance was also more than acceptable, and the Lexar did a wonderful job of keeping heat to a minimum. I’ve tested a lot of SSDs that connect to your iPhone and get extremely hot, adding to the substantial amount of heat already generated by the handset.