TeamGroup PD20M Mag: 30-second review
The TeamGroup PD20M Mag is one of a number of expansion storage devices that have recently been released; however, this is one of the only ones that takes full advantage of the compact nature of SSD and MagSafe technology. The drive is designed to be mounted onto the back of a smartphone, and an internal magnet is used to hold it in position. Then, a USB Type-C cable can be used to connect the phone to the drive; it really couldn't be more simple.
While the drive does add a small amount of additional bulk to the phone, it isn't huge. The neat mount design retains the phone's streamlined look and feel, avoiding the need to attach the drive through Velcro or other means.
The drive performs extremely well in use, enabling the recording of ProRes video on an iPhone 15 Pro while vastly expanding the available storage.
Having reviewed many of the best portable SSDs, we were suitably impressed with this offering from TeamGroup. In our tests, the drive proved impressively quick, achieving test scores close to the 2000MB/s transfer speeds quoted by the manufacturer.
TeamGroup PD20M Mag: Pricing & availability
- How much does it cost? $199.99
- When is it available? Now
- Where can you get it? It is available for sale in the US, UK and Australia
The TeamGroup PD20M Mag is available now, starting at $129.99 for the 1TB model and $199.99 for the 2TB model. You can purchase it directly from the official TeamGroup website by clicking here, or authorized retailers.
- Value: 4.5/5
TeamGroup PD20M Mag: Benchmark
Using a selection of benchmarking software the PD20M achieved a maximum read speed of 2025MB/s using CrystalDiskMark and a write speed of 1774MB/s with CrystalDiskMark.
TeamGroup PD20M Mag: Specs
TeamGroup PD20M Mag: Build & handling
This portable SSD is compact and stylish. The sleek, robust aluminum alloy enclosure protects the internal SSD and aids with heat dissipation when in use. The drive is only available in a titanium gray finish, reflecting the Apple line of products and giving it the same premium look and feel despite its small size and weight.
When it comes to those all-important dimensions, at 70mm x 62mm x 8.2mm and weighing 58g, the PD20M Mag is one of the smallest and most portable drives of its type, ideally designed to be mounted onto your mobile.
To help maximize data transfer speeds, the drive makes the most of USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C technology with a port that enables direct connection to any USB Type-C smartphone port or computer.
- Design 5/5
TeamGroup PD20M Mag: Features
The focus of this compact portable SSD is to be used with your mobile phone to expand its storage for media, as well as enable you to record high-quality video footage directly to the drive. On devices such as the iPhone 15 Pro, an external SSD is required to record ProRes footage since native recording onto internal storage isn't possible.
As such, the PD20M Mag is designed to offer the high performance required by demanding data types and sizes and the durability to be used on a mobile device.
When it comes to transfer speeds, it offers read and write speeds of up to 2000MB/s, enabled by NVMe technology and the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 interface.
The aluminium alloy enclosure has several functions for the drive. Firstly, it's sleek and MagSafe-compatible, meaning that when it comes into contact with the MagSafe area on the back of the phone, it sticks, holding itself in place with no need for fixings. Then, the connection cable can be attached. The sleek design also makes it slim to the body of the phone, and while it does add bulk, it's still comfortable to hold and actually holds securely in place.
As the drive is designed to be plug-and-play, in apps that support external storage, it instantly appears as a destination or can be selected as one from the mobile device's OS interface.
While the drive is designed for use with mobile technology, it's equally at home with laptops and other drive-enabled devices. Again, the small size and weight, along with the fast transfer speeds, offer all the features you could want from a small portable SSD.
- Features: 4.5/5
TeamGroup PD20M Mag: Performance
In performance tests, we started by using the PD20M Mag connected to an iPhone 15 Pro. As usual, it takes a few seconds for the camera app to recognize the drive and then give you access to the option to switch on the ProRes file format. Once selected, the screen colours dull, and contrast reduces, showing that the phone is now primed and ready to film in the Pro format. While the onscreen visuals of this Pro format may look worse than the out-of-the-box options for colour and contrast, when it comes to editing, the greater dynamic range and colour profiles will give you far more scope to edit and colour grade in production.
The ability to connect the drive is straightforward, and both Apple and Android phones enable easy connection. The MagSafe on the iPhone holds the drive neatly and with strength. In use, handling the phone with the drive attached did add a little bulk, but more was needed to make the phone uncomfortable to use or difficult to handle. Likewise, the lightweight, sleek design means that little weight is added to the phone, and it's easy to mount on a DJI OSMO Mobile 6 with no issues.
Connected to the phone and used to boost the storage for filming and photography, the drive works faultlessly, and the design with the MagSafe hold to the phone makes this by far the best design out there at present.
Away from being used as expansion storage for mobiles, the small drive also works well as a standard portable SSD. Again, the small size enables it to be easily mounted to the back of a laptop monitor, although some form of MagSafe mount will need to be attached first. Although small, the speed of the drive is impressive and can be used to edit footage shot on the iPhone; the drive can be used for both storage and editing of the footage with speed to keep up with the demands of the editing process.
In the benchmark tests carried out utilizing the USB Type-C port on an Intel Ghost Canyon, the drive put in an excellent performance, with CrystalDiskMark showing impressive read and write speeds of 2025MB/s and 1774MB/s. AJA System, AS SSD, and ATTO tests showed slightly slower speeds, albeit still impressively fast, showing that it's suitable for video editing and other intensive tasks.
One thing to note with the drive is that the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, while fast, does require a compatible port. For PC users, the port is common, but just make sure that you have the Gen 2x2 and not just the Gen 2; otherwise, the speed will be limited. Likewise, for all Mac users with Thunderbolt 4, while the port is compatible, it also limits the transfer rate speed of USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 devices so that those top speeds won't be possible.
However, any way you look at the drive, for use as a way to expand your phone's storage, this SSD offers a huge amount of capacity and is one of the best designs for this style of drive available. What's more, at the price, it isn't too expensive and will offer you greater versatility with your phone, making it a worthwhile investment.
- Performance: 4.5/5
Should I buy the TeamGroup PD20M Mag?
The TeamGroup PD20M Mag portable SSD is an excellent choice if you wish to use your mobile for filming high-quality videos. The ability to quickly add plug-and-play 2TB of additional storage is a huge boost to your mobile's capabilities. Not only does it vastly expand your phone's capabilities, but the sleek MagSafe design makes it easy to mount and use.
There are the usual issues with transfer speeds around the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port when it comes to Mac systems, but most PC users will benefit from the lightning-fast speeds. Even if the performance is downgraded on a Mac, those transfer speeds are still impressive and more than enough to keep up with the demands of most users, be that just for storage or for more advanced functions such as use with the camera apps.
Overall, an excellent portable SSD that is as useful connected to a mobile phone as it is to a computer, with the quality of data transfer and physical design to ensure that it's a worthwhile investment.
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