Search Wirecutter For: Search Reviews for the real world Browse Close • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Browse Close • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •. If you need a tiny flash drive to keep on a keyring, or plugged into a laptop as semi-permanent storage, we recommend the thumbnail-sized. It had some of the fastest read speeds of all the drives we tested, but its small file write speeds were about 30 percent slower and its large file write speeds almost 50 percent slower than the DataTraveler Elite G2 in our tests. Its fast read speeds are ideal for expanded storage, but its slow write speeds mean transferring files to the Fit Plus takes considerably longer than to our other picks—which is fine if you’re just using it as extra storage for your laptop.

Like most drives of this size, the Fit Plus lacks an indicator light. It comes with a five-year warranty. If you frequently move large files between computers and need more storage, the is the best high-capacity flash drive we tested.

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(Though if you’re moving large files daily, you may be better off spending more for a, which is almost eight times faster at writing files.) The Extreme Go had the fastest write speeds of the 128 GB drives we tested and quick read speeds, plus it costs about as much as its closest competition. The Extreme Go’s plug retracts into its case, so unlike the Kingston, there’s no small cap to lose. But its durable plastic case is chunky enough to block nearby ports on some laptops, and its indicator light “breathes” constantly when the drive is inactive. SanDisk’s lifetime warranty is the best around, beating out Samsung’s and Kingston’s five-year warranties. Why not USB-C? While we would have liked to recommend an option that works with USB-C without needing a, every USB-C flash drive we’ve tested to date has been slow or poorly made.

We will update as soon as we find one worth recommending. Mac drivers for samsung printers. A flash drive—aka thumb drive or memory stick—is one of the easiest ways to move large amounts of data from one computer to another locally. Unlike with online cloud storage services, you don’t need to worry about login credentials, slow connection speeds, or having someone snoop on your activity. With a flash drive, you walk from one computer to another.

Thumbnail-sized drives are also useful for adding extra storage to laptops when you need extra space but don’t want to lug around. Since flash drives are best used as temporary storage—and they seem to disappear like cheap pens—it makes sense not to spend too much on one. For the occasional data swap between computers, you don’t need a fancy new high-speed flash drive.

Dig around in the bottom of a laptop bag for a generic freebie drive you might have picked up somewhere. But if you’re going to buy a flash drive, don’t buy a USB 2.0 drive—they’re too slow and you’ll save only a few bucks. If you regularly move large sets of data from one device to another—say, complete seasons of TV shows, or large media files like RAW photos and video—and you have a USB 2.0 drive, you should upgrade. The time you save waiting for large copy jobs is well worth parting with a few dollars. Since flash drives are best used as temporary storage—and they seem to disappear like cheap pens—it makes sense not to spend too much on one. Plus, price isn’t always the best indicator of performance, and expensive drives aren’t always worth the money: If you need ultrafast write speeds or more than 128 GB of storage, you’re better off spending more for a that can write files almost eight times as fast, and read them around twice as fast.