- External Drive For Iphone Photos
- Best External Hard Drive For Iphone Photos
- Best Photo Drive For Iphone
- Best Hard Drive For Iphone Photos Icloud
Now, your device will upload all your photos to iCloud any time your device connects to Wi-Fi and the battery is charged. With iOS 11 or later, the sync can happen over a cellular connection, too.
Not having enough storage space on your iPad or iPhone is an issue that's all too common. The unfortunate thing is that there's no way to upgrade the internal storage on your device when that happens. You're just supposed to take your best guess at how much space you'll need at the time of buying your phone or tablet. But thankfully, you can now use external storage like a flash drive or hard drive with them. And in this article, we'll look at the ones you should get.
Can iPhone use external storage?
- Most hard drives only claim reliability and durability for mechanical operation over time, but ADATA's SD700 SSD drive offers more substantial protection. This travel-ready external hard drive uses 3D NAND technology to pack tons of space into a small form factor that allows easy pocket entry and removal.
- This makes Google Drive a more affordable option for most mobile photographers as the file sizes of most iPhone photos are still very small compared to DSLR and other cameras. For what it's worth, I have a Google Drive account that I've been using for a few years for both mobile and DSLR work and I still haven't maxed out the free 15GB of.
- HooToo iPhone iPad Flash Drive. This awesome flash drive gives you room to extend your iPhone.
With the release of iOS 13 and iPadOS, the Files app now supports external storage devices. This means you can plug in a flash drive or even the same portable hard drive you have for your laptop and be able to see the contents of the drive. So, if you're the type of person who likes to store music, pictures, or even movies onto your external hard drive, then this is great news for you.
Even with external storage, you don't want to waste the space you have on your iPhone. Your photo library can bloat to dozens of gigabytes. But you can use Gemini Photos to quickly delete duplicate photos and similar pics to free up space.
Download on the App StoreLightning Flash drives for iPhone and iPad
When you're looking to get a flash drive specifically for your iPhone and iPad, it's best to look for one with a Lightning connection. This ensures that you won't need any special cables or adapters, unless you're using a newer iPad Pro that has a USB-C port instead of Lightning connection. Then, of course, you'd need a USB-C to Lightning adapter.
SanDisk iXpand for iPhone Flash Drive: Best iPhone flash drive
The SanDisk iXpand is the perfect Flash Drive for your iPhone and your computer. It has both a Lightning connector and a regular USB connector to plug into your laptop. But what sets this flash drive apart from the others on this list is the Lightning connector is about the same width as your charging cable, which means it should work with most iPhone cases.
HooToo iPhone Flash Drive: Portable flash drive for iPhone
Like the SanDisk, the HooToo Flash Drive has both a Lightning and USB connector on either end of the drive. The HooToo is a little more compact, though, making it slightly more portable. The downside is that this drive is thicker on the Lightning side, so you might have to take your phone or iPad out of its case to use it.
LIY7 Pen Flash Drive: Pendrive for iPhone
The LIY7 Pen Flash Drive is the only drive on this list that is more than just storage. That's right — it's also a pen. But before you jump to the assumption that it's a pen you can use on your iPad or iPhone, know that it's not a stylus. It's a pen for writing on paper.
External hard drives for iPad and iPhone
If you're hoping to get an external hard drive to use primarily with your computer but want to make sure it'll also work with your iPad or iPhone, there's a couple of things to keep in mind. External hard drives are bigger than flash drives, so you want to make sure you get one that's portable. By that, I mean one that is powered by the USB port and doesn't need to be plugged into a power source.
Another thing to be aware of is that all of these drives only work with a standard USB port. This means you'll have to use Apple's adapter to convert it to a Lightning connection.
LaCie Rugged Mini Hard Drive: Best external hard drive for iPhone
The LaCie Rugged line of hard drives is popular for people with laptops. The rugged design, which helps protect it while traveling, has been a significant draw. And that's one of the reasons why it's great for your iPhone and iPad. If you're a heavy traveler and need to use the drive with your devices frequently, then this would be a great drive for you.
Seagate Portable Hard Drive: Easy-to-use iPhone and iPad Hard Drive
Seagate's portable hard drive is great, especially if you plan on mostly keeping it on your desk or in a drawer. While it's compact and lightweight design makes it easy to toss in your bag and take with you, it lacks any extra protection from potential travel damage. So, if you don't need it to travel with you every day, it's an impressive drive and at an even more impressive price.
WD My Passport Wireless Drive: Wireless external backup for iPad and iPhone
Probably the most expensive drive of the bunch is WD's My Passport Wireless Drive, and for very good reason. This is the Swiss army knife of portable hard drives. While you can connect to it via the USB cable, you can also connect to it over a dedicated wireless network. Some iOS apps, such as FiLMiC Pro, will allow you to capture video directly to the drive. And you can even use the drive as a backup battery pack simply by connecting your iPhone to it with the Lightning to USB cable.
iPhone and iPad USB drives
If you find yourself going back and forth between your iPad and iPhone, you'll probably want to get a USB drive that can easily connect to both. For most iPads, any Lightning flash drive will work just fine, but iPad Pro has a USB-C port instead. The drives below are ones that will work regardless of what port your iPad has.
SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive: Wireless thumb drive for iPhone
This first flash drive from SanDisk gets around the port problem entirely by allowing your devices to connect to it wirelessly. But unlike the Western Digital drive mentioned earlier, this is a true flash drive, so it's a little more portable. This is something you can keep in your pocket, and, of course, it has a standard USB connection so you can plug it into any of your devices using a dongle.
iDiskk 4-in-1 Flash Drive: Reliable USB flash drive for iPhone and iPad
iDiskk offers a unique flash drive that has four different connections built in. You can connect the drive to Lightning, USB-C, standard USB, and Micro USB ports. That alone makes this the perfect flash drive if you plan on using this with more devices than your iPhone and iPad.
Samsung Duo Plus Flash Drive: Best iPad Pro external storage
The Samsung Duo Plus Flash Drive has both a USB-C and standard USB connection, which makes it an excellent device for your iPad Pro. And thanks to the standard USB connection on the other end of the stick, you can connect to your computer or even your iPhone with Apple's Lightning to USB adapter.
Now that your iPhone and iPad can use external storage, you don't have to worry as much about running out of space. But before you rush out and buy the cheapest or largest drive you can find, you should think about some of the other uses you might have for it. Maybe you want to use it on both your iPhone and iPad, or you want a flash drive that doesn't force you to take the case off your phone. Or you could be looking for a USB drive that you can use for your iPhone and your computer. After all, that's the beauty of thumb drives — the simple fact that they're portable and can be used with a range of devices.
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Introduction
As photographers, we are heavy data consumers with special needs from an external hard drive, where our work requires both a combination of size and speed. And with the introduction of better and more advanced cameras, with higher resolutions than ever, the file demands are ever-increasing. But, with so many options on the market, how exactly do you find an option that's best for your needs? Buying the right drive isn't as simple as purchasing the most expensive one you can afford. In this post, we've put together a quick guide on what to look out for, and a list of the best options today.
What to look for in a hard drive?
Before we dive in, let's cover a few essential aspects to considering when looking at a hard drive. In total, there are seven things to look for when shopping around.
Traditional Drive or SSD?
The biggest consideration here is that traditional hard drives use mechanical parts, making them more susceptible to damage when dropped. While SSDs (Solid-state Drives) have fewer moving parts making them more durable without needing bulky shock absorbers. And their simple construction also gives them faster speeds, giving you immediate access to your data. A bonus, since they lack any moving parts, accidentally bumping the drive during transfer won't corrupt files.
Format
Most manufacturers pre-configure their drives to support either Mac, Windows, or both. While this is easy to change after that, it's an important consideration if you want a drive optimized for cross-platform compatibility or just your specific system. The standard formats are Mac OS Journaled, NTFS, and ExFat.
Transfer Speeds
How fast of a drive do you need? Drives offer different transfer speeds that vary based on single or large batches transfers of files. Typical hard drives offer 100-200 MB/s read and write speeds while SSDs double that and provide 300 MB/s or more. This increased rate typically cuts transfer times in half from, say 5 minutes, down to 1-2 (sometimes even seconds). And in the real world, it's a significant difference.
Size
How much space do you need? A traditional drive will always give you more capacity for your dollar. And a comparable SSD can easily be double the price. So if you're looking for a large SSD, expect to pay a premium. The best practice here is to buy the largest capacity you can currently afford.
Power Source
Not all hard drives provide bus power directly from the connected device. With that, some of the larger drives will have a separate power supply and will need wall power. If you want maximum portability, this will add extra cables and reduce the portability.
Portability
How often do you plan on taking the drive out into the field? Are you a traveling photographer who's always on the road, looking to backup and store as you go? It would also be wise to pay attention to how rugged the drive in question is—some drives offer weather sealing (IP55, 67, or 68 ratings) and bumpers that absorb shock from falls. However, if pocketability is of no concern, then it'd make sense to get a bigger external drive for use at home.
Extras
Some drives offer extra features such as bundled software, complimentary cloud storage, and data encryption. Others even include additional ports, such as SD card slots, or added functionality such as Wi-Fi or a USB-C port for cleaner and faster connections. If these extra features are a must, then this will also help rule out options.
5 – SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD
SanDisk's Extreme Portable SSD is another entry into the ultra-compact SSD market. Released in the spring of 2018, it's a slim and thin profile that follows the design from their more expensive Extreme Pro SSD. And it's a drive aimed at users wanting a rugged yet portable design. With that, it's both water and dust resistant with an IP55 rating and can withstand a 2m drop without damage. And as an exFAT device, it also works with both Windows and Mac right out of the box. SanDisk offers four storage sizes of this drive, ranging from 250GB-2TB and a three-year warranty.
It uses a USB Type-C connector, which matches the fastest SSD drives around in speed. And it delivers over 500 MBps in read and write speeds. SanDisk has also provided their SecureAccess software so that you can create a password-protected folder with 128-bit AES encryption.
Overall, SanDisk's Extreme Portable is easily one of the best SSDs on the market. And yet thin enough to slip into a back pocket and easily smaller than today's smartphones. And with its high-end performance, rugged build, pocket-sized design, and low price, it's quite the bargain.
4 – WD My Passport SSD
External Drive For Iphone Photos
WD's My Passport SSD is a drive that brings some fashion and appeal to hard drives with its part metal casing. Released in the summer of 2018, it's WD's first SSD, and one that's sleek enough to fit into most pockets. They aim this drive at users looking for portability, with speed. And while it's not IP68-rated for weather resistance, it can take a few drops and is shock-absorbant up to 2m. And the drive is also formatted as an exFat partition for cross-compatibility on Windows and Mac. WD offers four storage sizes for this drive, ranging from 256GB-2TB, with a three-year limited warranty.
It offers USB Type-C, and it's 3.1 Gen 2 ready, which delivers blazing-fast read and write speeds of 540 MBps. And it's also bus-powered, which removes the need for an external power supply. This drive also comes bundled with WD's full suite of pre-loaded software apps. Namely, WD Backup to automatically backup files to the drive. And WD Security to encrypt your dating with 256-bit AES encryption.
Overall, WD's My Passport SSD is a sleek and compact drive that melds style with functionality. And it provides excellent performance at a competitive price point.
3 – WD My Passport Wireless Pro
WD's My Passport Wireless Pro aims to be the ideal all-in-one device. Released in the summer of 2016, it's a drive aimed at users looking for functionality and streamlining their workflow, rather than portability. While it's not weather resistant or shock-absorbant, it's formatted for ExFat for easy cross-compatibility between Mac and Windows. And WD offers four storage sizes for this drive, which range from 1TB-4TB, with a two-year limited warranty.
The drive uses USB 3.0, which delivers a read and write speed of 120 Mbps, respectable for the class. But, it has several unique key selling features. Firstly, it offers an integrated SD card reader, which lets you immediately transfer photos or videos from your camera to the drive, a rare feature for this class. Secondly, the drive also doubles as a 6,400mAh power bank to charge your devices and use neat wire-free connections. And lastly, it has built-in Wi-Fi, so you can use it as a portable media server to wirelessly stream photos and videos to other devices with HD quality. And WD's equipped the drive with WI-Fi password protection to secure your files and Drive Lock to prevent unauthorized USB access.
Overall, while not the fastest drive in this class, WD's Wireless Pro offers unique functionality unmatched by rivals. And it creates a versatile all-in-one package for the photographer looking for more than a standard hard drive. It's designed for a seamless workflow and fills an interesting gap between a variety of separate devices.
2 – WD My Passport Ultra 4TB
WD's My Passport Ultra continues their popular long-standing Passport lineup. Released in the fall of 2018, it's the latest generation in the series and their lightest mechanical drive to date. It now comes with a refreshed design, updated connections, and better software. This drive also comes pre-formatted for NTFS for use with Windows. Mac users will require a quick reformat before use. And WD offers this drive in four sizes, ranging from 1TB-5TB, with a three-year limited warranty.
The drive uses USB-C, which reaches read and write speeds of 120 MBps, respectable considering its a mechanical drive, not an SSD. WD also includes their WD Backup software, which allows you to automate your backup routine on an hourly, daily, or monthly schedule. And their WD Security, which keeps your file private with 256-bit AES Hardware Encryption.
Best External Hard Drive For Iphone Photos
Overall, WD's My Passport Ultra offers roomy portable storage at an attractive price. And compared to rivals, its key selling point is the price you pay per gigabyte. It's an excellent all-around performer for a traditional drive and improves an already reliable product.
Best Photo Drive For Iphone
1 – Samsung Portable SSD T5
Samsung's T5 SSD is a slick and compact drive, that's arguably the most stylish drive around. Plus, at 51g and smaller than the average business card, it's also one of the lightest. Released in the fall of 2017, it's a drive aimed at users looking for maximum speed and portability. It comes formatted to exFat by default. But that allows it to support Windows, Mac, and now Android devices, a rare addition in this class. Samsung also offers the drive in four sizes, ranging from 250GB-2TB and bundles a 3-year limited warranty.
The drive uses USB-C (USB 3.1 Gen 2), which reaches speeds of 540 MBps, 4.9x faster than conventional HDDs. And it includes 256-bit AES encryption, so you can protect your files if needed. These speeds and security come bundled into a shock protected casing that allows it to survive drops from 2m without damage.
Overall, Samsung's T5 is an excellent all-rounder for those who want to stay portable and carry large amounts of data. Samsung has a reputation for strong external drives, and this release inevitably follows suit. It builds on its predecessor's popularity with even more impressive transfer speeds and a compact yet, rugged design. And it shows that big things can come in small packages. If you're looking for the best all-round drive, this is certainly the drive for you.
- Value
Photoshop image extension. Summary
Best Hard Drive For Iphone Photos Icloud
We've put together a list of the best hard drives for photos and photographers.
