At a glance
Expert's Rating
Pros
- Fast, compact SSD
- Includes 4-port USB-C hub
- Competitively priced
Cons
- Maximum 2TB storage
- ProRes recording requires iPhone 15/16
Our Verdict
It’s very much a specialist drive for professional users, but the Professional Go drive and its partner hub will make a great additional to your mobile film-making set-up.
Price When Reviewed
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Best Pricing Today
Best Prices Today: Lexar Professional Go Portable SSD with HUB
Most portable drives are designed to be used with Macs and PCs, but Lexar’s Professional Go Portable SSD With Hub is primarily designed for the iPhone. In fact, the company’s website states that it is “specifically designed for iPhone 15/16 users”, and aims to provide extra storage for recording high-quality ProRes video (as only the iPhone 15/16 allow you to record onto external drives). However, the Professional Go is equipped with a standard USB-C port, so you can easily use it with a Mac as well if you want, and it’s certainly small enough to carry around with a MacBook when you’re travelling. You could also use it to back-up your iPhone recordings onto your Mac for safe keeping.
Unlike most conventional portable drives, the Professional Go also includes a compact hub that provides four additional USB-C ports. Like the drive itself, this hub is also designed for use with the iPhone – and, in particular, is aimed at professional film-makers and videographers who may want to connect their iPhone to a high-end camera mounting system or use it with a microphone and other accessories.
The two-piece system consists of the compact Professional Go solid-state drive – which is available with 1TB or 2TB of storage – and the separate hub module. There are also two USB-C adaptors included, which will allow you to mount the hub and drive onto the back of your iPhone, and to use them with an iPhone that is housed inside its own protective case. And, for professional users, there’s a special ‘cold-shoe’ adaptor cable that can be used to attach the iPhone and Professional Go to a professional camera mounting system. There’s also a padded carrying case included and a small lanyard, along with a silicon-rubber sleeve that provides some extra protection for the solid-state drive.
The Professional Go drive on its own measures just 25.5mm high, 43.5mm high and 8.3mm thick, and weighs a mere 13g, so it’s easy to slip it into a pocket if you just want to use the drive on its own when you’re out and about. And, if you’re using it with a Mac or PC, Lexar includes its own DataShield app on the drive, which allows you to create an encrypted folder with password-protection for important files.
The separate hub section is slightly larger, with the drive and hub together measuring 68.8mm high, 43.5mm wide and 8.3mm thick, and weighing 36g, but that’s still small enough to fit into a jacket pocket – and, of course, you’ve got the carrying case to keep it safe, as well as storing the various cables and adaptors. The Professional Go also has an IP65 rating, which means that it’s sealed tight to protect the drive from dust and other particles, and it can withstand water jets spraying up to 12.5 litres of water per minute.
This hub section is what makes the Professional Go stand out from from most portable drives, as it provides four additional USB-C ports that can be used with your iPhone. One port is used to connect the Professional Go drive itself, with another providing up to 30W power supply for the iPhone. The other two USB-C ports can be used to connect additional accessories, such as a microphone or an LED light, when you’re filming.
Lexar states that the drive’s USB-C (3.2) port provides maximum write and read speeds of 1000MB/s and 1050MB/s respectively. Our tests came pretty close to that, recording a write speed of 945MB/s and read speed of 910MB/s, which is good going for such a compact drive, and is fast enough to cope with ProRes recording as well. The Professional Go is competitively priced too, costing £169.99/$239.99 for a model with 1TB storage capacity, and that price includes the hub, accessories and carrying case as well. We’ve also seen the Professional Go drive sold on its own (without the hub) on some online stores, so it might be worth shopping around to see what deals are available.
Should you buy the Lexar Professional Go Portable SSD with Hub (SL400)?
The Professional Go is very much a specialist product designed for professional film-makers, so it may not appeal to people who simply want an affordable SSD for their Time Machine back-ups. However, the bundled hub and accessories mean that the Professional Go will be an excellent choice for mobile film-makers who like to shoot with their iPhone.
Best Prices Today: Lexar Professional Go Portable SSD with HUB
Author: Cliff Joseph, Contributor, Macworld
Cliff Joseph is a former editor of MacUser magazine and a freelance editor with 30(ish) years experience of Mac and PC technology. He first used a Mac working as a magazine sub-editor and found it so much better than using scissors and a pot of glue to make the words fit on the page that he become a convert to the Mac overnight. He has spent the rest of his career following the ups and downs of Apple (and is old enough to remember the time Apple came close to going bust). Cliff writes many of MacWorld’s games reviews - and is currently exploring options for getting Diablo IV to run on a Mac…