There are now several companies selling USB thumb drives for iPhone and iPad since the first ones with built-in Lightning connectors debuted late last year. By connecting a small and lightweight thumb drive directly to your iOS device, you can avoid limitations of onboard storage and cloud services and instead store and stream media like music, video, and photos using the drive’s additional storage.
A few things to consider when searching for the right Lightning drive: some have a battery that requires charging, companion apps for managing and streaming content from an iOS device vary in quality, and I found some have designs that make using the drives and your iOS device at the same time easier than others. Lastly, pricing varies quite a bit based on the the options below with drives ranging from 8GB to 256GB and other options offering bring-your-own storage using a micro SD card slot.
SanDisk iXpand
-Lightning and USB 2.0 connectors
–iXpand Sync companion app for iPhone/iPad
-Stream videos/music from connected drive
-Auto camera roll backup
-Password protected files
-Needs to be charged
-Cover to protect USB connector when not in use
-Supports iOS, PC and Mac
–16GB ($59), 32GB ($75), 64GB ($99), 128GB ($149)
Our Take: SanDisk has one of the best companion apps out of all the products on this list and some of the best prices. But the drive requires charging and has a design that forces the drive, and your iPhone attached to it, to sit awkwardly in your hand or on a table (as pictured above).
Hyper iStick
-Lightning and USB 2.0 connectors
-Stream videos/music from connected drive
-Auto camera roll backup
–iStick companion app for iPhone/iPad
-Retractable connectors
-Supports iOS, PC and Mac
-Colors: Silver, Black, White
–8GB ($79), 16GB ($68), 32GB ($139), 64GB ($195), 128GB ($349)
-(Full review)
Our Take: Hyper’s iStick was originally one of the first on the market after raising over $1 million through Kickstarter last year. The product remains pricey but offers a more straightforward design that isn’t obtrusive like SanDisk’s design. When one connector is in use (Lightning or USB), the other end automatically retracts into the body of the drive. The app leaves a lot to be desired, however, and the prices mean you’ll likely want to opt for our top pick, Leef iBridge…
Leef iBridge
-Lightning and USB 2.0 connectors
–iBridge app for iPhone and iPad
-Plastic, silicon and aluminum construction
-Stream videos/music from connected drive
-Auto camera roll backup
-Capture photos directly to Leef
-Cover to protect connectors when not in use
-Supports iOS, PC and Mac
-Colors: Black
–16GB ($59), 32GB ($79), 64GB ($119) ,128GB ($199), 256GB ($399)
Our Take: Our favorite design out of all the products on the list, the Leef iBridge’s wraparound design (pictured above) allows it to stay out of the way when the drive is connected and you want to continue using the device. SanDisk attempted a similar design, but iBridge did it successfully. Considering the design, pricing, a 256GB option, and solid companion app, Leef’s iBridge is our top pick out of all the Lightning thumb drives on the list.
But other options are available and coming soon:
iKlips
-Lightning and USB 3.0 connectors
-Companion app for iPhone/iPad
-Covers to protect connectors when not in use
-Stream videos/music from connected drive
-Auto camera roll backup
-Supports iOS, PC and Mac
-Colors: Silver, Gray, Red, Gold
-16GB ($55), 32GB ($69), 64GB ($125) , 128GB ($209)
Our take: It’s still an about-to-launch Indiegogo project, but if you’re not satisfied with any of the other options on the list, iKlips plans to outdo the competition with USB 3.0 transfer providing read/write speed of 140/20 MB/s. The other products on the list are using USB 2.0 opposite the Lightning connector. The prices listed above for iKlips represents 30% off the retail price for early bird preorders.
Amazon also has a few from little-known brands, like this one from Aizbo that accepts a micro SD card:
Aizbo i-Flash Drive with micro SD
-Lightning and USB 2.0 connectors
–Companion app for iPhone/iPad
-Covers to protect connectors when not in use
-Stream videos/music from connected drive
-Supports iOS, PC and Mac
-Requires inserted SD card for storage ($28)
Options like this can be paired with inexpensive SD cards like these.
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This is the first time I’m hearing of devices like these. I have an iPhone 6 and the first iPad Air. With this device, can you back up music to it, then plug it into another USB device to play the music? I keep reading that you can stream music and videos, but can you just store music on the stick, sort of as another back up drive?
You can stream music, videos, and photos from the drive to the connected iOS device. So imagine you had a ton of video files you wanted to watch on a plane. Bring the drive and stream right to the connected iPhone or iPad via companion app without taking up space on your device.
When you plug into your Mac or PC, it will act like a regular USB thumb drive.
Hope that helps.
Hi Jordan,
Does this also work with the new iPad Pros?
I’m missing the Imation Link Power Drive which additionally features a 3’000mAh battery for recharge and a iPhone/iPad stand with not that much of a bigger footprint than the SanDisk “Stick” for the same price…!
Your prices are way off. I clicked the $59 for the sandisk one and on the amazon site it says $82. Big difference.
The prices listed are suggested retail in most cases (where available). Prices on Amazon might vary slightly (usually for the better). Try SanDisk’s site: http://shop.sandisk.com/store/sdiskus/en_US/pd/productID.310022400?ClickID=a9o55laosskaz555lstonvavno5zo9z5wlrr
Best Buy has a 32GB one you cant get elsewhere (supposedly), and I got it on sale for $59 when it came out. Love the devices. Great tool to get photos off of a phone rapidly also if needed to with the synching of the photos.
“…since the first devices with built-in Lightning connectors debuted late last year.”
How way off is that???
The iPhone 5 had Lightning.. that was September 21, 2012!!!!
You’re thinking of the Lightning PORT. And I was referring to thumb drives with built-in Lightning connectors. But I’ve tweaked the wording to make that more clear. Thanks for reading.
I have been using an AirStash+ for years for unlimited storage on IPads and iPhones!
I have several 64- 128 GB SDcards and wirelessly share movies, videos, music etc with up to 5 devices at same time. Great for sharing AND backing up photos on the road!
What if I have an ipad 2. Are there any USB flash drives that can connect dually to my computer and my ipad 2?
Yes, you can try these:
http://amzn.to/18OHOSh
http://amzn.to/1xas07M
With the Leef, are you able to copy movies from the drive to the ipad/iphone? If the Leef doesn’t do this, do the others?
Yep, you can do this with Leef (and most of the others that I’ve tested). Here are some Leef app screenshots showing the features you’re interested in:
http://goo.gl/7LSzrO
Can I store pdf and ePub files?
Do any allow a “pass thru” mechanism to permit charging while in use?
Do any of these allow using the video capabilities of the iPhone and capturing to the external drive in real time?
I love the Sandisk iExpand…I used it on a trip across the country and never had to re-charge it during my travel. Pretty much does everything I want it to do, play music, videos, transfer files. Works well with WorkFlow app. Transfer speeds are very good and great one to carry around when traveling.
Enjoyed the article, Jordan. Had no idea how many of the different USB drives were out there for the iPhone. I bought a different one from a Indiegogo campaign in December. I like it so far. Simple design and easy to understand user interface. I haven’t had any experience with the ones you mentioned, so I can’t comment on how they compare. Link to that campaign is below.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ipocket-drive-hard-drive-for-iphone-ipad-itouch/x/6291433
iKlips is now on Indiegogo actually http://igg.me/at/iklips/x/6562940
Very Informative & Interesting post. Premier Promo Now offer amazing designer USB flash drive which we are using our routine life.
I wish this one is available here in our country. I’m also looking forward for this new Indiegogo Project http://goo.gl/wZB0jf . Very helpful specially to students!
Hi Jordan
I was wondering if you have heard of a device by the Power company called the Ipocket drive? I’m getting confused as which flash drive to purchase, as there are so many to choose from now. Any recommendations? Thank you.
good job on the review. straightforward and easy to digest! i wish these are more affordable, though. lol
When will we see a tiny memory stick with a Lightning connector, like the Kingston micro duo, and other micro sized USB drives?
Is there an adaptor that can be used with Leef IBridge so it can be used on iPhone 4S with 30 pin plug?
How about the Sandisk Connect wireless flas drive? No connector needed and it has it’s own wi-fi!
Can these store other file types from apps like Dropbox, Polaris Office, etc. or, could I opt to save a file from an email attachment directly to the use? I want to copy . pes files from my iphone to the usb, then plug it directly into my embroidery machine. Right now, I have to use my computer to transfer the files to the flash drive. I shop primarily on my iPhone- so if I could download the files to my flash drive from my iPhone- it would make the process much easier & more streamlined. Thanks for your reply:)
The problem with those devices is that you don’t really stream music/photos/videos from the drive to the iPhone but just read the files through their own music/photos/video players which don’t have the capabilities of the iPhone’s one. With Leef player, for instance, you can’t make or import playlists and therefore there is no way to shuffle play selected songs. Just the content of an album or all the songs present on the device.
Excuse me, Will leef ibridge be compatible to lifeproof fre case? And what about sandisk?
I was thinking of sandisk but had no idea the leef allow taking photos directly to the drive.
I need it mainly for PDF, photos, music and some videos. Also I am gonna use it for PDF above 90MB because it is for school books.
Are there any issues relating to the installation of Apps from The Apple Store on these drives?
I have 16gb iphone 6S plus,would it read if I’m going to use the iBridge 64gb flash drive?
I’m using a 16gb iphone 6S plus,would it read files if I’m going to use Leef iBridge 64gb flash drive?
I visited Fry’s and they looked at me like I was crazy. They had no idea what I was talking about. There all over eBay but people are commenting they they didn’t work for some users. Getting a refund from china, not likely with you paying the return shipping.
how about the PHOTOFAST the pioneer in since 2009 check the review one of the best ubs for ios device.
Hi guys so I’m not sure if anyone is going to respond to me but fingers crossed they will.
I’m looking to buy one of the above but not for photos/music/etc. I’m after it because on the new iPad pros you can do exceptional amounts of Microsoft excel, word etc all things office. I’m currently studying a business admin course and as you can imagine it’s revolved around Microsoft office and since both of my computers (laptop and desktops) have both died at the same time at home :'( :'( trying to get homework done at home is a nightmare and I’m falling further and further behind in the course to the point where I’m afraid of dropping out.
Something I don’t want to do, since I’ve spent the last 5 yrs secluded alone in my bedroom doing nothing but sleeping, eating, watching tv, going to the toilet, watching tv, sleeping, more sleeping, maybe some tv, peeping out of my room to say hello to fellow family member’s, perhaps having a shower, maybe eating something, most likely not. Going back to sleep. Watching more stuff.. Going back to sleep, etc. (you get my point).
After my brain collapsed on itself literally and sent me legally blind at the age of 25 in a matter of a couple of weeks. I was halfway through a Uni degree. I had to drop out of it, hand in my drivers license, hardest day ever…sell my car (obviously.. Can’t have blind people driving haha), lost all of my friends because I could no longer drive to them and not drive them around so they ditched me and didn’t even bother supporting me through 10 rounds of brain surgery..most people in my life didn’t even bother to come to the hospital.
anyway so as you can imagine after all that and then having to go blind and loose one of my senses… And sorry I know it sounds like I’m having a pity party, I know there’s plenty of ppl worse off than me, I’m just trying to explain why I don’t want to drop out of this course because I’ve had enough time sitting and pondering for the last 5yrs and just because a small little issue like not having computer access like this, shouldn’t mean I should be disadvantaged. So any info anyone can give me, would be greatly appreciated. P.s I’m sorry if this sounds a little disjointed, I have a little bit of brain damage and my text msg’s don’t make great sense these days so I’m not sure how posting on these forums will go hehe thanks
Hi guys so I’m not sure if anyone is going to respond to me but fingers crossed they will.
I’m looking to buy one of the above but not for photos/music/etc. I’m after it because on the new iPad pros you can do exceptional amounts of Microsoft excel, word etc all things office. I’m currently studying a business admin course and as you can imagine it’s revolved around Microsoft office and since both of my computers (laptop and desktops) have both died at the same time at home :'( :'( trying to get homework done at home is a nightmare and I’m falling further and further behind in the course to the point where I’m afraid of dropping out.
Something I don’t want to do, since I’ve spent the last 5 yrs secluded alone in my bedroom doing nothing but sleeping, eating, watching tv, going to the toilet, watching tv, sleeping, more sleeping, maybe some tv, peeping out of my room to say hello to fellow family member’s, perhaps having a shower, maybe eating something, most likely not. Going back to sleep. Watching more stuff.. Going back to sleep, etc. (you get my point).
After my brain collapsed on itself literally and sent me legally blind at the age of 25 in a matter of a couple of weeks. I was halfway through a Uni degree. I had to drop out of it, hand in my drivers license, hardest day ever…sell my car (obviously.. Can’t have blind people driving haha), lost all of my friends because I could no longer drive to them and not drive them around so they ditched me and didn’t even bother supporting me through 10 rounds of brain surgery..most people in my life didn’t even bother to come to the hospital.
anyway so as you can imagine after all that and then having to go blind and loose one of my senses… And sorry I know it sounds like I’m having a pity party, I know there’s plenty of ppl worse off than me, I’m just trying to explain why I don’t want to drop out of this course because I’ve had enough time sitting and pondering for the last 5yrs and just because a small little issue like not having computer access like this, shouldn’t mean I should be disadvantaged. So any info anyone can give me, would be greatly appreciated. P.s I’m sorry if this sounds a little disjointed, I have a little bit of brain damage and my text msg’s don’t make great sense these days so I’m not sure how posting on these forums will go hehe thanks I really appreciate any help anyone can give me any advice on this… Especially since it’s such an old post.
Kelly, other than a virtually duplicate posting, you did fine. Very clear what you were asking. That said, I too am new to these devices having first heard about them yesterday. I applaud your perseverance and good attitude in the face of having lost much of your ability to see. More power to you if business admin brings you joy. I wanted to offer the idea of looking into careers that not only don’t require the ability to see / have work arounds for lack of sight but that the lack of sight is beneficial. Yes, such careers exist. When one “sense” is diminished, the brain shifts to expanding the capacity of (some/all of) the other senses.
The profession I know best is massage. For many who have become (or were born) blind, their sense of touch is heightened. This is of great value for a massage therapist. While blind massage therapists are primarily located in the Far East, they do exist in the west. And being blind is a positive selling point. Along those lines, the same is true for Physical Therapists and Chiropractors should you be inspired to go a more medical (and higher paying) route.
If you are at all intrigued by this idea, I suggest you do web searches for “blind massage therapy” … chiropractor, and … physical therapists. Many have gone these paths before.
Can any of these usb sticks be used on a iPad to connect to the iPad & the plug in a USB & use on Microsoft office APP’s that are now available through iTunes. To be able to get documents downloaded off the USB and into the apps such as Microsoft word and excel etc?? I’m currently studying Business Admin and this would be an incredible help & such a good time saver if it did & I could buy one. Don’t want to waste my money on nothing if it doesn’t work. Don’t need it if it doesn’t do that. Thanks for the help in advance. :)
We are doing a 16 day road trip, 3 mobiles and 2 different camera will all be taking photos. At the end of each day we would like to upload the photos from all devices to the iPad to save them, then at the end of our trip connect a USB dongle flash drive so each of us has all photos. So I guess I’m looking for a device that I can connect our mobiles via USB to Phone cable & Camera SD cards to my iPad Air 2 and save them, then to attach a USB dongle flash drive to the device and save them.
I still have an iPhone 4s. Been having problems with it being slow. Plus my FB app keeps crashing on my iPad mini gen 1. Will these help these issues since I will be freeing space on my devices? Thanks
I have an iPhone 5s and no computer to back my phone up to anymore. Can i back up my phone data to the flash drive, purchase a new phone and put all that data back in to the new phone?
The days of backing up an iPhone with a computer are all but gone for those who do have both. Apple now has iCloud that you can use up to 5 gigs free. Backing up your iPhone is a s simple as plugging in your phone to AC charger in a location with good wifi and locking the screen. While not EVERYTHING gets backed up, you’ll back up all contacts, Mail, Notes, Calendars, Photos, and more. (all caps to say it backs up your data stored in Apple software.) And you will probably have some room to include a few Pages, Numbers &/or Keynote docs. Upgrade to 50gb costs just a buck (price varies out side of USA).
Nice post! Flash drives are different some have a battery that requires charging, companion apps for managing and streaming content from and device vary in quality. I got superb quality from SD Card Duplicators
I bought the idragon lightening + usb mobile flash drive. The problem is the end that goes into the phone is too short to be pushed in and it seems to be too big as well. Are there better choices? I want the best
I am a newbie to Lightning connector equipped flash drives. (first heard of them a couple days ago). For starters, the only use I’d have for such a device (and one I definitely want to pursue) is the ability to greatly expand my music selection while on the road. What I seem to be getting from the reviews and user comments is that I will not be able to expand my iPhone’s or iPad’s collection of playlists in the Apple proprietary “Music” app. Rather that these devices provide their own music player apps to play any music on the drive. And the feedback I’ve sees to dates suggests that these third party music players leave much (just about everything) to be desired. And ditto for video files.
Is this accurate? Can I as an alternative use the drive to import & replace music/video files currently in my IOS device? And is the same true for Photos?
I hope I’m not pissing-in-the-wind. The earliest posts from two years ago were oft responded to by Jordan but none have since then (not counting a couple I replied on).
Can these accessories be used to transfer files? Meaning, if I have the word app on my iPhone and I want to transfer a document from my computer, could any of these accessories do this successfully?
I’m totally a newbie to this kind of iPhone flash drive that can backup iPhone. I used to backup my music or photos to computer via DearMob iPhone Manager. It is quite inconvenient when there is no computer for backup indeed. If these recommended USB flash drive can allow me selectively choose which file to backup, I will get one.