The SanDisk Creator Phone SSD is a MagSafe-compatible portable drive designed for creators, offering durability, wide compatibility, and solid mobile performance.
The SanDisk Creator Phone SSD is a portable, durable, and professional-grade solution designed for creators. With MagSafe compatibility, users can attach the SSD to their phone, record high-res content on the spot, and easily transition to editing as soon as the shoot wraps. The use of exFAT formatting ensures plug-and-play compatibility with Windows, Android, and macOS, including the iPhone 16 Pro series, further streamlining the editing process. Other compatible platforms include, at a minimum, current Windows 10, macOS 14, iOS 17, and Android 14.
MagSafe compatibility enables a seamless transition from capturing content to editing. SanDisk also includes a month of free access to Adobe Creative Cloud with each purchase. Many creatives use Adobe Creative Cloud because it works across multiple devices and platforms.
The Creator Phone SSD utilizes the USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface, which supports transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps when connected to a compatible port. SanDisk rates the drive for sequential read speeds of 1000MB/s and sequential write speeds of 950MB/s. That transfer speed allows users to quickly edit or back up the content on the drive without noticeable slowdowns. Compatibility with Apple ProRes enables the SSD to store and transfer 4K/60fps video with ease. It also comes with a USB-C cable, allowing it to be connected to most modern devices. The short cable has hardened connectors to prevent breakage. However, a cable of a couple of inches might get in the way when connected to the phone.
SanDisk Creator Phone SSD Design and Build
This Sandisk Creator Phone SSD features a durable silicone shell, rated up to a three-meter drop protection, and IP65 water and dust resistance. With a compact size of just 3.25″ x 2.69″ x 0.43″ and a weight of 54g, it is unlikely to be in the way, and the MagSafe feature makes it a breeze to transport. Even with its small form factor, the SSD features a solid build structure, making it ideal for those on location or outdoor productions when the user is on the move.
Backed by a 5-year warranty, the SanDisk Creator Phone SSD is currently priced at $109.99 for the 1TB model and $169.99 for the 2TB (affiliate link) model at the time of this review. For this review, we will focus on the 1TB version.
SanDisk Creator Phone SSD Performance
To gauge its performance, we evaluated the SanDisk Creator Phone SSD transfer speeds using the BlackMagic Disk Speed Test and IOMeter benchmarks (1-queue and 4-queue). We’ll also compare it against other USB 3.2 Gen 2 external drives, including:
Black Magic Disk Speed Test
First up is the standard BlackMagic Speed test disk utility, which measures the real-world performance of external SSDs.
Here, the SanDisk Creator Phone SSD provides decent performance. It delivers a sequential read speed of 945.3MB/s, landing it at the bottom of the list. Similarly, for sequential write, it ranks at the bottom of the list with 920.4MB/s. In both cases, these results fall short of the leading test results in the dataset, providing approximately half the speed of the leaders. Additionally, it lags behind the second-lowest contender by approximately 500MB/s in both read and write speeds. However, for the workloads it is positioned for, it still holds up well.
| Drive | Read | Write |
| Lexar SL600 | 1,890.5MB/s | 1,728.3MB/s |
| TEAMGROUP PD20 | 1,800.7MB/s | 1,633.5MB/s |
| Lexar SL500 | 1,780.1MB/s | 1,633.9MB/s |
| Crucial X10 | 1,784.2MB/s | 1,801.4MB/s |
| Lexar Armor 700 | 1,771.4MB/s | 1,630.6MB/s |
| Crucial X10 Pro | 1,723.1MB/s | 1,564.0MB/s |
| Samsung T9 | 1,566.0MB/s | 1,581.6MB/s |
| SanDisk Creator Phone 1TB | 945.3MB/s | 920.4MB/s |
IOMeter 1 Queue
The next test is the single-queue IOMeter test, which examines sequential and random read/write performance under a lighter load. The speeds here are approximately the same as those in the BlackMagic test on the Sequential 2MB read and write portions. However, there should be some differences in the 4-queue tests.
The SanDisk Creator Phone SSD lands at the bottom of the list. With a sequential read of 952.24MB/s and sequential write of 954.32MB/s, which are roughly the same as the BlackMagic results. Random 2MB read speed indicates 890.86MB/s and a low random 2MB write of only 377.54MB/s. Not significantly different from the other results of the SanDisk Creator Phone SSD, the random 4K read of 3,549.46IOPS and write of 11,416.50MB/s IOPS are lower than the rest of the external drives by a noticeable margin.
| Drive | Seq 2MB Read | Seq 2MB Write | Random 2MB Read | Random 2MB Write | Random 4K Read | Random 4K Write |
| Crucial X10 | 1,814.9MB/s | 1,725.0MB/s | 1,366.1MB/s | 1,145.5MB/s | 6,689 IOPS | 15,286 IOPS |
| TEAMGROUP PD20 | 1,799.88MB/s | 1,497.28MB/s | 1,439.38MB/s | 1,359.07MB/s | 5,198 IOPS | 21,381 IOPS |
| Lexar SL600 | 1,769.56MB/s | 1,423.40MB/s | 1,439.85MB/s | 1,286.14MB/s | 4,879 IOPS | 20,635 IOPS |
| Lexar SL500 | 1,705.97MB/s | 1,427.0MB/s | 1,336.21MB/s | 1,320.19MB/s | 4,901 IOPS | 23,181 IOPS |
| Lexar Armor 700 | 1,692.62MB/s | 1,419.46MB/s | 1,358MB/s | 1,287.16MB/s | 4,902 IOPS | 20,885 IOPS |
| Crucial X10 Pro | 1,591.5MB/s | 1,273.3MB/s | 1,242.8MB/s | 1,104.1MB/s | 4,609 IOPS | 19,988 IOPS |
| Samsung T9 | 1,355MB/s | 1,284MB/s | 1,117MB/s | 1,355MB/s | 4,441 IOPS | 16,643 IOPS |
| SanDisk Creator Phone 1TB | 952.24MB/s | 954.32MB/s | 890.86MB/s | 377.54MB/s | 3,549.46 IOPS | 11,416.50 IOPS |
IOMeter 4 Queue
The 4-Queue IOMeter test, which better simulates multitasking or heavier workloads, is the final performance test.
The Sandisk Creator Phone SSD results indicate it is not competitive with this field of competitors. The 2MB sequential read speeds of 1,051.84MB/s and write speeds of 948.02MB/s resulted in speeds that are outliers within the group. Random read and write performance numbers remained relatively unchanged, with random read speeds of 1,033.41MB/s and write speeds of 373.33MB/s. Random 4K performance once again lagging at 12,138.28 IOPS read and 11,342.05 IOPS write. This may result in a more challenging time handling heavier workloads.
| Drive | Seq 2MB Read | Seq 2MB Write | Random 2MB Read | Random 2MB Write | Random 4K Read | Random 4K Write |
| Lexar SL600 | 2,101.49MB/s | 1,906.68MB/s | 1,959.41MB/s | 1,741.64MB/s | 16,362 IOPS | 60,755 IOPS |
| Lexar Armor 700 | 2,100.67MB/s | 1,906.56MB/s | 1,916.62MB/s | 1,738.48MB/s | 16,357 IOPS | 60,606 IOPS |
| Crucial X10 | 2,008.6MB/s | 1,913.3MB/s | 1,848.0MB/s | 1,226.0MB/s | 20,556 IOPS | 67,315 IOPS |
| Lexar SL500 | 1,997.36MB/s | 1,806.0MB/s | 1,693.18MB/s | 1,643.2MB/s | 15,623 IOPS | 72,622 IOPS |
| Crucial X10 Pro | 1,966.9MB/s | 1,736.2MB/s | 1,863.8MB/s | 1,447.9MB/s | 15,333 IOPS | 67,206 IOPS |
| Samsung T9 | 1,944MB/s | 1,766MB/s | 1,468MB/s | 1,493MB/s | 18,925 IOPS | 32,358 IOPS |
| TEAMGROUP PD20 | 1,505.85MB/s | 1,759.06MB/s | 913.25MB/s | 807.55MB/s | 15,396 IOPS | 63,640 IOPS |
| SanDisk Creator Phone 1TB | 1,051.84MB/s | 948.02MB/s | 1,033.41MB/s | 373.33MB/s | 12,138.28 IOPS | 11,342.05 IOPS |
Conclusion
The SanDisk Creator Phone SSD is a decent portable SSD that showcases its capabilities through its ease of use and compatibility with various handheld and portable technologies. While it may lack performance compared to other portable flash products, it introduces several features that make it an excellent option for creators. With the MagSafe back and the durable rubbery build, it will perform well enough during on-the-go scenarios, for which it is built.
Available at Amazon (affiliate link)
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