Digiera LPS200M Portable SSD

As the quality of the latest iPhone and Android cameras increases rapidly, so does the size of the files they produce. My iPhone 15 Pro, for example, is capable of shooting some pretty decent images, but when it comes to video, the quality of the footage can be incredible. However, there is a catch: you need an external storage device connected in order to unlock ProRes and store that footage.

That’s where the Digiera LPS200M 1TB Portable SSD comes into play. This simple puck-like SSD is MagSafe. With the ribbon USB cable, it connects to the back of the phone, and other MagSafe accessories stay put. The Digiera’s depth is a little deeper than some other solutions; however, the puck-like design looks great, and when used in combination with a gimbal—my go-to being the Insta360 Flow—it works perfectly.

With the Digiera LPS200M 1TB Portable SSD attached, you can switch the iPhone to Apple ProRes and start shooting. Every minute of footage creates a 10GB file that would consume the internal storage of most phones in minutes. This is probably one of the main reasons Apple has blocked the feature without an external SSD connection.

In use, the SSD’s speed is unquestionable, with the iPhone keeping up with the recording demands. Back in the studio, footage was downloaded quickly, and the transfer rates proved more than enough for some heavy editing. This all proved that this small SSD is a great choice for anyone wanting to unlock the full potential of their iPhone’s video potential.

If you know what an ice hockey puck looks like, then you’ll have a good idea about the design of the Digiera LPS200M—essentially a disk about 6 cm in diameter and just over a centimetre thick, with one USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 x 2 port on the side.

The SSD is available in four colours: black, grey, pink, and white, which is the colour variant I’m looking at in this review. It’s also available in three different capacities: 512GB, 1TB, and 2 TB. While these capacities might seem quite substantial for an SSD designed for a phone, when you consider the file size of ProRes video, they quickly make sense.

While the Digiera LPS200M is a standard SSD, what makes this small storage device different is the fact that it’s MagSafe compatible. This means that it will securely connect to the back of an iPhone and hold in place without the need for any additional fixings.

Once in place, you can then link the short USB ribbon cable from the SSD to the iPhone. When everything is connected, you can open up the camera app and access the ProRes video setting, which is usually greyed out.

The SSD is very much plug-and-play with your phone. Likewise, plugging the Digiera LPS200M into a computer, either Mac or PC, should make it appear on the desktop like any other SSD. As standard, it comes formatted in the ExFat file format, which offers wide compatibility across devices.

Feature-wise, the Digiera LPS200M keeps things simple, as it is, after all, designed as smartphone expansion storage. However, even with that seeming simple end use in mind, there’s still more to this SSD than just storage.

It’s ultra-compact, for a start. This means that when it’s attached to the back of your smartphone using the MagSafe magnetic attachment, it attaches securely, and the hold between the SSD and phone is strong enough to prevent accidental knocking off.

The connection between the two is made through a USB Type-C connection, which enables sequential read speeds of up to 2000MB/s and impressive write speeds of up to 1800MB/s. It utilises the latest USB Type-C Gen 2 x 2, which facilitates these exceptional speeds. However, it’s worth noting that if you’re plugging this into a computer, you will need a machine equipped with a USB Gen 2 x 2 port rather than Gen 2 or Thunderbolt 3 or 4, as the speed will be downgraded to the still impressive Gen 2.

To ensure the drive doesn’t slow down due to heat, the metal casing helps to draw the heat away from the internal electronics and SSD, keeping up with all demands placed on it.

One of the biggest issues with the latest cameras and the video they capture is that the pro-grade files require pro-grade gear to store them. With 1 minute of footage taking upwards of 10GB of data, it’s easy to see why these larger external disks are so important. To ensure plenty of capacity, the SSD is available in 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB versions.

One of the issues with external SSDs is that, in general use, speed is something you’re not really aware of—until you are. When you do notice it, it’s usually because the system of whichever device you’re using crashes or you experience a complete slowdown in every aspect of your interaction with that device.

Because of the demands of the latest video formats that Apple has unleashed on its latest iPhones, while the internal storage is more than fast enough to keep up with the action, the bulk of the capacity is not. Therefore, the only way you can access the impressive quality of ProRes video is by plugging in an external SSD. And it has to be an SSD rather than an HDD, as the latter just won’t keep up with the action.

To that end, if you try to use the ProRes feature with a slower SSD, you might find that while it will initially work, the heat buildup will cause thermal throttling, and then the video and device will slow down, inevitably causing the phone to jam up and probably require a reboot.

You’ll be pleased to know that this is where the small Digiera LPS200M comes into play as it not only keeps up with the pace, but even when pushed filming long sequences over a prolonged period, the device, although warm, keeps going, providing the storage space you need.

When it comes to storage space, when shooting ProRes, you can pretty much guarantee that the phone will eat through an impressive 10GB a minute, so 100GB every 10 minutes. This 1TB disk will be full after 1 hour and 40 minutes—quite an impressive amount of footage for one small device, with both the drive and the camera being compact.

Used with the iPhone 15 Pro, the Digiera LPS200M provides the storage and speed required without issue. While the drive itself gets warm, it remains at a decent temperature and doesn’t get overly hot.

The size of the Digiera LPS200M sits neatly on the back of the phone, although the depth is slightly more than some other iPhone-designed SSDs. Still, when used with the Insta360 Flow gimbal, it all balances out nicely, with the Flow more than coping with the small additional weight of the Digiera LPS200M and the small USB cable.

After finishing with the phone, the footage was then transferred to the MacBook Pro using the USB cable. Here, the speeds seem excellent through the native Thunderbolt 4 ports; however, it’s worth noting that there is a downgrade in performance, as the SSD is USB 3.2 Gen 2 x 2, which, while compatible, doesn’t enable the optimum speeds. Still, with read speeds of 1016.41MB/s and write speeds of 570.51MB/s, it’s okay if a little off the quoted amount.

To see this drive’s true speed, we have to switch to a PC equipped with the correct USB 3.2 Gen 2 x 2 port. Instantly, there’s a leap in performance, with the read speed hitting 2082.77MB/s and the write speed reaching 1845.47MB/s—not just in line with the manufacturer’s quoted transfer speeds but beating them by a few MB/s.

Overall, the performance of the drive is exceptional, with the capacity and speed keeping up with the demands of the iPhone. The design also means that it sits snugly on the back of the phone and holds firm with a secure connection through the ribbon USB cable. The only comment on the design is really the depth, which is a tad deeper than some. However, when it comes to functionality and performance, there’s little to fault.

The market for small external hard drives has exploded, with a range of new and innovative devices appearing. The Digiera LPS200M is one of the better-designed options. Its MagSafe connection means that it sits securely on the back of the phone and is easy to handle.

While the SSD’s depth is slightly greater than some others, such as the Lexar SL500, its MagSafe connection instantly makes it a better option.

When it comes to speed, it does feature the latest USB 3.2 Gen 2 x 2 technology. However, the number of machines that actually incorporate this exact port is limited, with most companies adopting Thunderbolt 3, 4, or USB 4, all of which downgrade the performance to USB 3.2 Gen 2, which, to be honest, is still impressive.

If you shoot video on your iPhone or Android device and need large large-scale to capture the footage, the Digiera LPS200M is a great option. Likewise, if you want an ultra-lightweight SSD, this is a superb choice that will help you elevate your mobile phone videography instantly.