Mike Wuerthele
The Orico 20Plus MagPro Magnetic iPhone Portable SSD is a speedy-enough SSD for your iPhone, that is let down by the incredibly sorry state of Apple's Files app.
Apple's had external drive support on the Mac forever, and it's been added to the iPhone relatively recently. It can be awkward, though, to run a cable to a drive and conveniently use the drive while shooting video.
While it doesn't carry data, the MagSafe ring on the back of iPhones made for the last four years offers an interesting solution. If designed properly, an SSD enclosure can just attach back there, and a short cable run can make it accessible to the iPhone.
The Orico 20Plus is one such drive. Orico sells the 20Plus MagPro in three capacity options, starting at 512GB and rising to 1TB and 2TB.
I'm testing the 1TB version of the drive.
Orico 20Plus MagPro Magnetic iPhone Portable SSD review - Design
As the name explains, it's a small drive that attaches to the back of an iPhone using the built-in MagSafe wireless charging magnets. The intention is that it can be put in place, hooked up, and be available to record media externally, without getting too much in the way.
Orico 20Plus MagPro iPhone SSD review: Next to Apple's MagSafe batteryMeasuring 2.9 inches by 2.6 inches and 0.47 inches thick, it neatly fits on the back of all current-generation iPhones without going over the edges. The rounded top and sides make the case reasonably easy to hold onto while gripping the iPhone.
You have a choice of Blue or Silver color, with the latter more likely to fit in with most iPhone colors and cases. And, if you want to slap this on the back of your MacBook screen, it comes with a magnetic ring to make that happen. No more sticky velcro.
Orico 20Plus MagPro iPhone SSD review: Magnetic ringI don't have any complaints about the fit and finish. I'd prefer a metal case simply for thermals, but the Orico 20Plus gets the job done.
Orico 20Plus MagPro Magnetic iPhone Portable SSD review - Connectivity and Storage
At the base is a single USB-C port, used with the accompanying six-inch flat USB-C cable that comfortably reaches the iPhone's port.
Orico 20Plus MagPro iPhone SSD review: Custom-length USB-C cableOrico claims it is capable of up to 20Gbps of throughput at a maximum. And, it does, assuming you have a Windows computer with USB 3.2 2x2 support.
However, it is careful to point out that it can only reach a maximum speed of 10Gbps on the Pro models of iPhone due to what it calls "interface protocol limitations." This is true on the Mac also, because of what Apple has chosen to implement in its Thunderbolt controller.
Regardless, While limited to 10Gbps, there's still more than enough bandwidth available to use it for external video recording via the camera app.
Orico 20Plus MagPro Review: Speed testingOur testing bore this 10 gigabit speed out on Mac, and in our testing, the choke-point is the 10 gigabit per second USB-C connection, and not the media or the RAM cache on the drive. Simple enough.
Orico 20Plus MagPro Magnetic iPhone Portable SSD review - Good enough
You're best served on the Mac with a full Thunderbolt drive. Get at least 3 gigabytes per second out of it read and write, and you're good to go.
The iPhone is a bit less demanding on this front. The main offender why is how the iPhone handles external storage.
After all these years, the Files app is still garbage. And, there's no universal compatibility with it. Outside of videography, any given app needs to be specifically interoperable with Files to use this drive.
For instance, my favorite third-party PDF reader supports Files, but requires import into the app's data storage, killing the ability to use the drive as a massive book repository. My favorite comic book reader app does not support Files at all.
And, import speeds to the iPhone or iPad can be glacial. This doesn't appear to be the fault of developers or any given external drive and has more to do with how iOS and iPadOS handle and transfer files.
This all sounds incredibly negative, and it is. But, none of it is a strike against the Orico 20Plus and more about Apple's still half-assed Files app on iPhone and iPad.
I think this is a great and innovative SSD for iPhone, especially if you're doing any kind of high-resolution videography. There are better, faster, and cheaper options for Mac, though, and there's no real reason to get it for the iPad.
Line up your use case for how Apple wants you to use external drives on the iPhone, and you're good to go. Go outside that at your own peril.
Orico 20Plus MagPro Magnetic iPhone Portable SSD - Pros
- Great MagSafe connection to the iPhone
- MagSafe sticker in the box
- Small size
- Does exactly what it says it will do, at the speed it promises, but...
Orico 20Plus MagPro Magnetic iPhone Portable SSD - Cons
- That speed is better on Windows than Mac
- No real reason to get this drive, unless you're shooting video on the iPhone
- Apple's Files app is garbage
Rating: 4 out of 5
Where to buy the Orico 20Plus MagPro Magnetic iPhone Portable SSD
The Orico 20Plus MagPro Magnetic iPhone Portable SSD is available through Amazon. At review time, the 1TB version we reviewed sells for $109.99.
-m.jpg)
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Charles Martin
Amber Neely
Andrew Orr
Christine McKee
6 Comments
Why do we always get statements like "the Files app is garbage" without any context or explanation? I have a trillion complaints about Apple's often halfassed software, bugs that stick around for years despite reports, etc... but I use the iPadOS Files app on a daily basis and have very few issues with it. Maybe actually explain how Files hamstrings you in this instance?
The only substantive comment seems to be that third party apps don't all support FIles, but... that is not a comment on the quality of the app itself.
My feeling is that Apple had to design a file management tool for iOS and iPadOS that was usable enough on the lowest common denominator user interface, which for iOS and iPadOS is the finger based touch control that works with chubby fingers. The current generation file managers are greatly helped by the assured presence of a precise pointing device like a mouse/trackball/trackpad with at least two buttons (or the equivalent trackpad methods) with multiple windows and a GUI tree control.
If Apple was only focused on maximum functionality with the lowest common denominator being fat fingers, they should probably look at the better file management tools from back in the DOS days, e.g., Norton Commander, for inspiration and update the concept for what iOS and iPadOS make available to UI designers. I really don't think Apple would purposely design a user interface that continued to garner negative feedback year after year without significant improvements unless they felt that their hands were tied due to platform limitations. Maybe they are not actually getting as much negative feedback as we think they are. I don't know. Does Android do a better job?
I've never warmed up to the Reminders app at all. I've never felt that iOS and iPadOS worked particularly well with removable external storage devices. I've tried a couple of those thumb drives that have both USB and Lightning connectors on them. They all required a special app on the host device to treat the attached drive as an extension to the native file system. In one case I ended up losing files because the vendor's little app somehow marked iCloud synchronized files on the thumb drive as deleted and they were deleted everywhere.
Hey, we now have Apple Intelligence, so why are we still complaining about the basic plumbing level stuff any more?
I’m slowly starting to use the files app more and more, both on the iPad and the iPhone. I haven’t wrapped my head around it well enough yet to criticize it much.
I haven’t tried this yet. Can I open two instances of the Files app in Split View and then drag and drop files to different folders? That would be helpful.