PNY Performance Prime

The PNY Performance Prime microSDXC flash card reader is a compact memory card reader that has been designed for the microSD format and offers ultra-fast transfer rates for the medium. What PNY has done with this particular reader is make something that is small, ultraportable, and extremely durable, with a full metal build. That means that even if it’s attached using the small lanyard loop, it can be left alongside your keys on a keyring, and it will withstand being knocked around.

It features the older USB Type-A connection port and is 3.2 Gen 1, so fully backwards and forward compatible, with transfer speeds up to 200MB per second and write speeds up to 150MB per second.

Other than that, there is little more to it. It is just a very convenient, ultra-fast, ultra-compact memory card reader for microSD cards, making it an ideal complement to most of the latest action cameras and drones.

As a microSD memory card reader, it is extremely small, but what really makes it stand out is its durability. Despite being made out of high-quality metal and feeling good and robust, it only comes in at a very light 9g—and that’s not with the microSD card inserted, of course. When it comes to the actual measurements, it measures 39mm in length, 7mm in depth (or 10mm if you include the little lanyard loop), and 15mm in width.

The design of this microSD card reader is extremely simple, with the USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A connector at the end of a very short body, which is full metal with just the logo and graphics on. Then, there’s a lanyard loop at the end, which is perfectly suited to connecting to a keyring or tethering to a backpack or pocket. At the back, you have the TF or microSD card slot where you can insert a microSD card. Other than that, the build and handling of the microSD card reader is extremely simple.

When it comes to features, I really like the way that PNY has approached this product. What they’ve done is to choose the USB Type-A connector over the USB Type-C, which I would’ve preferred, but that does mean that it’s ultra-tough and compact and will work with most PC laptops, including the Asus ProArt range that we regularly use in the field.

Unfortunately, it also means that it won’t work directly with any Mac computer, as by standard, those all have Thunderbolt 4 or 5 ports, which are in the USB Type-C format. So, if you do want to use it with a Mac computer, then you will need an adapter to ensure the fit.

Otherwise, away from the transfer rates—which are exceptionally good, with a read of 200MB/s and write of 150MB/s, it ensures that you can quickly offload all your 4K, HD, photo, music, apps, and whatever else you want nice and quickly over to your machine. Likewise, you might want to transfer those files onto the microSD cards, which will do that quite nicely and quickly as well.

The design and build are some of the big features here, with the all-metal design meaning it’s good and robust—again, making this a competent partner for use with action cameras or drones out in the field. It has that high aesthetic build quality that goes with that type of premium device.

It’s also fully backwards compatible, so it will work with most USB 2.0 ports, as well as being fully compatible with much more up-to-date ports—as long as you’ve got that USB Type-A to Type-C connector.

One of my biggest reservations about this microSD card reader is the fact that it utilises a Type-A connector rather than a Type-C, which means, from the outset, we weren’t able to use it directly with any of our Apple Mac machines. A USB adapter or hub was required in order to use it, which just means another bit of kit that you need to carry around—and it really does eliminate the reason for buying an ultra-compact microSD card reader.

However, when we popped out to test the GoPro Hero 13 Black and the Insta360 Ace 2 Pro, I took along the Acer ProArt laptop, which features a USB Type-A port of the correct type to use with this particular key. And to be honest, if you’re on a PC laptop, then it’s going to have the correct port anyway—only Mac users will have the issue.

What was instantly apparent about this USB key was the high-quality build. It’s exceptionally good, with that full metal casing offering plenty of strength and robustness—meaning that when it was attached to my keyring and kept in my pocket, there were no worries about it getting damaged. My one slight concern is that the connector is exposed, and there’s no cap in the box to keep it fully protected. Still, it all seemed good and robust, and for the month that I had it attached to the keyring, it seemed to survive perfectly well.

Attaching it to the machine and starting to download footage proved just how quick this microSD card reader was, with speeds easily topping 190MB per second and only constrained by the UHS-I technology. The write speed was around 90MB per second, but still, for this type of microSD card, that was exceptionally fast.

Really, there’s not a lot more to the performance. It has compatibility issues with Apple Mac computers, but otherwise, with all the PCs that we tried it with, it worked absolutely fine—and the performance was exceptional. So if you’re a PC user and you’re looking for a nice compact microSD card reader that will complement your action camera or drone setup, then the PNY Performance Prime is a superb option—and not badly priced either. It’s also a good complement to PNY’s superb range of Pro Elite Prime SD cards, which I’ve been using recently when testing the latest drones and the action cameras that I’ve mentioned in this review.

Having gone through the review, I think my final thoughts about the PNY Performance Prime are obvious. Primarily, this is a superb microSD card reader with some great features, and that full metal build and robust quality make it a great option. My two reservations are primarily that it’s a USB Type-A connector—not a Type-C—so it can’t be used with Macs, and it doesn’t feature any type of cap, so dust and grit can get inside that connector, which might be an issue.

And to be honest, although I did attach it to my keyring just to check out the robustness of the device, in real terms, it will probably get stored with the spare microSD cards in an SD card case. It is that small, and so it would remain nice and protected. And there’s absolutely no doubt just how fast it is. So, if you are a PC user, then this is a great option. If you’re a Mac user, then I would look for—or wait for—a USB Type-C version. But otherwise, in all other respects, it’s a great option.