The PNY Elite-X Type C Drive is a cheap, quick, and extremely portable storage solution for anyone who needs a few dozen Gigabytes in their pocket.
PNY Elite-X Type-C Drive review
Almost every Apple device now has a USB-C port, and having a small drive brings some backup storage to everything you have. PNY's Elite-X Type-C Drive could be the right addition for some users wanting easily carriable external storage capacity.
PNY Elite-X Type-C Drive - Design and use
The Elite-X Type-C is available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256 GB capacities, with the 64GB tested for review purposes.
It's an almost dangerously small USB-C drive, one as thin as someone's pinky finger. Still, it is useful for sharing files across your and others' iPads and Macs.
PNY Elite-X Type-C Drive review - Push down on the top of the drive to use it
Apple and many other companies make it very easy to share everything across the cloud, but a USB drive still does the job for quick, personal, and secure information transfers.
The hole at the end of the drive allows you to put it on a keychain or string to make it harder to lose, and the push/pull design makes it easy to use while keeping the drive safe.
The jet-black color is pleasing, even if fingerprints are left on it easily. The black only contributes to the "easy to lose" factor of the product, so keep it close and attached to something, preferably.
I used the Elite-X to keep a backup of my school and work files, including textbooks and my Obsidian vault. It's especially useful for quickly sharing large volumes of PDFs and files with different people when AirDrop doesn't do the trick.
As a side note, there wasn't an opportunity to test the Elite-X with an iPhone 15, but it should work fine since it's a fairly standard drive with no quirks or extra features. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max also supports USB 3, which would take full advantage of the speed of the drive.
PNY Elite-X Type-C Drive - Specifications
| Specifications | PNY Elite-X Type-C Drive |
|---|---|
| Capacities | 64GB, 128GB, 256GB |
| Interface | 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C |
| Read Performance | Up to 200MB/s |
| Transfer Speed | Up to 100MB/s |
| Size | 2.22 x 0.5 x 0.25 inches |
PNY Elite-X Type-C Drive review - The drive in use with a 2022 MacBook Pro
PNY Elite-X Type-C Drive - Connectivity and speed
The Elite-X Type-C claims to have a read speed of up to 200 MB/s and a transfer speed of up to 100 MB/s. These figures appeal to users who regularly handle big files or need to quickly transfer a lot of data.
PNY Elite-X Type-C Drive review - Blackmagic disk speed test
The practical testing on Blackmagic confirmed these claims and surpassed expectations with a read speed of 214 MB/s and a write speed of 100.9 MB/s. This performance in real-world conditions, along with the versatility of the type-C drive, demonstrates that the Elite-X is a versatile drive that can be used anywhere and anytime with all your devices.
PNY Elite-X Type-C Drive - Quick storage for everyone
I'm impressed with the adaptability of the Elite-X drive, and its cheapness for all three versions is nothing to complain about.
Retail stores often overprice their SD cards and USB drives, but this drive will do wonders for anyone who just wants a cheap way to back up and share some photos, music files, etc, easily.
PNY Elite-X Type-C Drive review - Use with an iPad
PNY Elite-X Type-C Drive Pros
- Cheap
- Extremely portable
- Good read/write speeds
- Compatible across Apple ecosystem and more
PNY Elite-X Type-C Drive Cons
- Hard to use outside USB-C devices
- Easy to lose
Rating: 4 out of 5
Where to buy the PNY Elite-X Type-C Drive
The PNY Elite-X Type-C Drive (64GB) is available on Amazon and B&H Photo from $9.99.