SanDisk unveils Ultra USB Type-C Flash Drive

When USB flash drives hit the mainstream, many consumers -- including myself -- were shocked by the small dimensions. I remember staring in amazement, thinking of how many floppy disks would fit on one.

In 2016, however, flash drives are no longer impressive. Many young tech users have never seen a floppy, and the concept of a flash drive could be seen as a dinosaur, because, you know -- the cloud. Today, SanDisk announces a new such drive, the Ultra USB Type-C Flash Drive. Fairly fast, rather pretty, and using the latest USB connection type, it injects some excitement into an -- arguably -- dying medium. Unfortunately, the quoted "USB 3.1" is a bit misleading.

"The new SanDisk Ultra USB Type-C Flash Drive is available in up to 128GB and delivers USB 3.1 performance of up to 150MB/s, making it SanDisk's fastest and highest capacity USB Type-C offering. The USB drive features a slim, retractable design to protect the reversible connector and is compatible with the SanDisk Memory Zone app for Android. The app, which is available for free through the Google Play Store, auto-launches upon insertion of the drive into a compatible device, allowing immediate access to the user's content and easy file management", says SanDisk.

Dinesh Bahal, vice president, product marketing, SanDisk, explains, "we expect to see many new USB Type-C supported devices released in 2016. As more consumers purchase ultra-mobile PCs, smartphones and tablets that feature this new, more advanced USB standard, it is critical to offer a complete ecosystem of compatible products. New offerings, like our SanDisk Ultra USB Type-C Flash Drive, will give consumers the capabilities they’ve come to expect from traditional Type A ports, but with the added benefit of better performance".

The SanDisk Ultra USB Type-C Flash Drive should work brilliantly on Type-C enabled computers, like Apple's MacBook, Google's newest Chromebook Pixel, and various Windows machines. Making it even more versatile, it is also compatible on Type-C Android smartphones and tablets. In theory, it should work on Windows 10 Mobile too, although SanDisk does not specifically list compatibility.

Unfortunately, this drive is not USB 3.1 gen 2, but instead, gen 1. What does this mean? It is essentially USB 3.0 masquerading as 3.1. No, it is not false-advertising, just unfortunate branding approved by the USB Implementers Forum that can lead to consumer confusion. In other words, there is a good chance that your existing USB 3.0 drive is as fast, or maybe faster, than SanDisk's offering. The real benefit here is not speed, but really just the connection type -- if you need it.

If you want to buy this slick-looking Type-C flash drive, it is available from retailers, like Amazon, starting today. Pricing is pretty reasonable and varies by capacity as seen below.

• 16GB $20
• 32GB $30
• 64GB $50
• 128GB $80