The SanDisk iXpand is a cost-effective, small form, high capacity USB drive that gives iPhone users another option when it comes to running out of space.
We liked the design of the drive, with the back-on-itself styling, but the metal USB housing would touch the glass back of the iPhone X that we tested it with and that’s just not on; scratching your phone that cost you close to, if not more than, a thousand pounds just doesn’t bear thinking about.
We’d also like to see a much sturdier locking mechanism for the Lightning male connector, that could double up as a buffer to prevent the device scratching the back of your phone. Also, as another added bonus, it’d enable you to tag it onto your keyring and take it with you.
While we complain about the likelihood of the drive scratching your phone, you’re more than likely using a case anyway and that won’t be an issue. However, the software isn’t great, at all. It’s sluggish and very invasive if you don’t want to use the drive straight away; it’ll constantly ask for access to the app while the drive is connected. Not to mention that it takes hours to perform a backup of around 25GB of photos. We’re not entirely sure of the exact timing, but it was definitely in excess of 3 hours, amounting to around 2.5MB/s – 3MB/s.
If, like me, you went for the lowest capacity option when purchasing your iPhone, you might find this device is capable of saving you a large sum of money. At the time of writing, the iPhone 11 Pro, with 64GB is £1049, whereas the 256GB option will run you £1199. Buy yourself a 256GB iXpand and save yourself about £80. However, the software needs some work before we can really recommend this as a truly viable replacement.
The SanDisk iXpand offers a unique way of freeing up space on your iPhone or iPad but it needs some refinement before it’s really usable.
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We liked the design of the drive, with the back-on-itself styling, but the metal USB housing would touch the glass back of the iPhone X that we tested it with and that’s just not on; scratching your phone that cost you close to, if not more than, a thousand pounds just doesn’t bear thinking about.
We’d also like to see a much sturdier locking mechanism for the Lightning male connector, that could double up as a buffer to prevent the device scratching the back of your phone. Also, as another added bonus, it’d enable you to tag it onto your keyring and take it with you.
While we complain about the likelihood of the drive scratching your phone, you’re more than likely using a case anyway and that won’t be an issue. However, the software isn’t great, at all. It’s sluggish and very invasive if you don’t want to use the drive straight away; it’ll constantly ask for access to the app while the drive is connected. Not to mention that it takes hours to perform a backup of around 25GB of photos. We’re not entirely sure of the exact timing, but it was definitely in excess of 3 hours, amounting to around 2.5MB/s – 3MB/s.
If, like me, you went for the lowest capacity option when purchasing your iPhone, you might find this device is capable of saving you a large sum of money. At the time of writing, the iPhone 11 Pro, with 64GB is £1049, whereas the 256GB option will run you £1199. Buy yourself a 256GB iXpand and save yourself about £80. However, the software needs some work before we can really recommend this as a truly viable replacement.
The SanDisk iXpand offers a unique way of freeing up space on your iPhone or iPad but it needs some refinement before it’s really usable.
Pros
+ Looks funky
+ Quirky and unique
+ Reasonably priced
Cons
- Takes a really long time to back up
- Software is sluggish and intrusive
- Likely to scratch the back of your phone
+ Looks funky
+ Quirky and unique
+ Reasonably priced
Cons
- Takes a really long time to back up
- Software is sluggish and intrusive
- Likely to scratch the back of your phone
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
Stay connected with the Vortez Social Media pages:
Join in with the discussions on Discord
