SanDisk designed its Creator Phone SSD specifically for people recording large amounts of 4K ProRes video with a recent iPhone Pro/Pro Max model. The MagSafe drive magnetically attaches to the back of the handset so it’s out of the way during filming.
It holds up to 2TB of data without making the handset difficult to film with. And transferring data to a Mac for editing is a snap.
I tested the SSD with my iPhone and it worked very well. But the cable is bulkier than it should be.
SanDisk Creator Phone SSD review
With an iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max or the iPhone 15 series equivalents, you can record high-resolution ProRes video and send the data directly to a high-capacity external drive.
ProRes is a high-quality video codec developed by Apple that offers a visually lossless compression, meaning it preserves excellent image quality while significantly reducing file size compared to uncompressed video. ProRes supports various resolutions, including HD, 4K and beyond.
With the SanDisk Creator Phone SSD, recording loads of 4K ProRes video at 60 fps on an iPhone doesn’t require connecting a cumbersome drive to the handset. The slim, lightweight external SSD with MagSafe is designed for the job.
The SanDisk Creator Phone SSD is designed for producing content on the go, attaching effortlessly to your MagSafe-compatible smartphone. Capture stunning 4K at 60fps videos in Apple ProRes and save content directly to your drive to start editing instantly. Rugged and reliable for wherever inspiration takes you, your drive features a durable silicone shell.
- Magnetically attaches to iPhone
- Rugged
- Store a terabyte of ProRes video
- Cable unnecessarily bulky
Table of contents:SanDisk Creator Phone SSD review
- SanDisk SSD designed for iPhone
- The cable problem
- Performance: 4K ProRes at 60 fps
- SanDisk Memory Zone app
- SanDisk Creator Phone SSD review: Final thoughts
- Pricing
SanDisk SSD designed for iPhone
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Most external SSDs can be used with an iPhone, but the SanDisk Creator Phone SSD was created specifically for Apple’s handsets.
It takes advantage of the magnets Apple built into iPhone wireless charging coils — a system called MagSafe. SanDisk’s drive doesn’t need wireless charging, but it uses the MagSafe magnets to cling to the back of the handset. Then all that’s needed is a USB-C cable to connect drive to iPhone.
The external SSD is 3.25 inches by 2.7 inches by 0.4 inches. It weighs 2.5 ounces (0.15 pounds). There are plenty of 2TB drives that are much smaller than this one from SanDisk, but you must understand that its shape is dictated by MagSafe. Those smaller external SSDs can’t magnetically attach to the iPhone.
The accessory has rounded edges and a plastic exterior that make it a relatively comfortable addition to the back of the handset.
And it’s rugged. Storage comes wrapped in a durable silicone shell, and SanDisk promises up to three-meter drop protection, plus IP65 water and dust resistance.
MagSafe provides a strong connection. I can put the SanDisk Creator Phone SSD on my iPhone, hold the two by the drive, and shake it without the accessory disconnecting.
The cable problem
Photo: SanDisk
The primary benefit — really, the whole point — of the Creator Phone SSD is that it sits on the back of your iPhone where it expands the device’s storage capacity without adding too much bulk. As such, it’s unfortunate that SanDisk didn’t come up with a better design for the cable that connects the drive to the handset.
The cable needs to connect two ports that sit just about an inch apart, but for some reason the cable is 7 inches long. That means about 3 inches of doubled-over cable stick out the side of the iPhone. So SanDisk made an SSD that doesn’t interfere with filming with an iPhone, but included a cable that’s very much in the way.
As an alternative, you could plug the PNY Pro Elite V3 external SSD into your handset and it would take up the same amount of space as SanDisk’s cable, and much less SanDisk’s drive.
Still, the longer cable makes it easier to connect the Creator Phone SSD to other computers. Beyond iPhone, it works with macOS, Windows and Android — it’s formatted in exFAT. Just to be clear, the drive uses USB-C so it’s not compatible with older iPhones with a Lightning port.
Performance: 4K ProRes at 60 fps
Essentially, the whole point of the SanDisk Creator Phone SSD is enabling recording additional terabytes of video in ProRes format. Recording high-resolution video with an iPhone onto an external drive requires a fast connection between the two. SanDisk’s drive delivers.
It supports USB 3.2 Gen 2, which offers data transfer speeds at up to 10 Gbps (1.25 GBps). That’s fast enough for ProRes at 4K and 60 fps.
SanDisk Memory Zone app
The SanDisk Memory Zone application lets you make backups of images and contacts onto the external drive.
It’s not required, and if you install it, you’ll have to use the app to give Files and other applications access to the SanDisk Creator Phone SSD every time you plug the drive in. If you don’t install it, those apps always have access to the SSD.
SanDisk Creator Phone SSD review: Final thoughts
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple’s decision to allow iPhone Pro or Pro Max to record ProRes video directly to an external drive makes SSDs like this one from SanDisk a must-have for videographers who use the high-quality iPhone cameras in their work.
It does the job well, it‘s rugged enough to go anywhere, and taking advantage of MagSafe is inspired. If only the connecting cable had been better designed.
★★★★☆
Pricing
Pricing starts at $109.99 for the 1 TB version. The 2 TB version costs $169.99.
Buy it from: Amazon
The SanDisk Creator Phone SSD is designed for producing content on the go, attaching effortlessly to your MagSafe-compatible smartphone. Capture stunning 4K at 60fps videos in Apple ProRes and save content directly to your drive to start editing instantly. Rugged and reliable for wherever inspiration takes you, your drive features a durable silicone shell.
- Magnetically attaches to iPhone
- Rugged
- Store a terabyte of ProRes video
- Cable unnecessarily bulky
SanDisk provided Cult of Mac with a review unit for this article. See our reviews policy, and check out more in-depth reviews of Apple-related items.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
