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Best USB-C thumb drive Android Central 2021

A good flash drive can be used for many years. I still have a high school USB-A flash drive in my drawer, but it is highly recommended to update one of the best USB-C thumb drives. In addition to being compact, USB-C has the advantage of being compatible with all devices, from the cheapest Android phone to the expensive Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2, without having to unplug any OTG adapter. All you have to do is to insert it and use the file explorer application to move the photos or files to the drive. With this in mind, here are the best USB-C thumb drives to help you get started.

This compact flash drive uses a clever locking and sliding mechanism that allows you to choose between USB-C or USB-A to transfer data. It utilizes USB 3.1 to achieve transfer speeds of up to 150 MB/s, which means you can quickly transfer information from devices that still use the old USB-A port to a modern USB-C Android phone.

PNY Elite Type-C offers capacities from 64GB to 512GB, allowing you to compactly store up to 0.5 TB of movies, music, photos or backup files. Unfortunately, there is no USB-A port, but this makes the package smaller.

Duo Plus provides a capacity of 32-256GB, with only one USB-C port, and a USB-C to USB-A adapter on the other end, you can use it with other peripheral devices. This USB 3.1 drive has a transfer speed of up to 200 MB/s and comes with a 5-year warranty.

This may not be a famous brand, but it looks beautiful, with USB-C and USB-A ports, and 128GB of fast storage space. The write speed of USB 3.0 may be only 25 MB/s, but the read speed is as high as 100 MB/s.

The compact 32-128GB Micro Duo does not require a keychain and can be easily stored on your gear bag or desk. The writing speed here is slower, but the reading speed is still enough to watch movies directly from the drive.

If you already own a USB-C computer like a Chromebook or MacBook, this single-port 16-128GB flash drive is a good choice. The drive slides along an open track, so if dust and lint are scooped up by it, they will escape more easily.

For many years, Silicon Power has been a good alternative to PNY and SanDisk's SD cards, and its flash drives have also proven to be very reliable. This double-headed thumb drive has a beautiful wide key ring cover and claims to be shockproof, dustproof and waterproof.

This dark flash drive hides the USB-C and USB-A ports in its beautifully textured frame, allowing you to keep 32-128GB of data safe while running. This USB 3.1 drive can also read files at up to 130 MB/s.

The read speed of this keychain-sized flash drive is lower than most in the series, at 108 MB/s, but the 27 MB/s write speed is still sufficient to quickly back up and transfer files. You can get a black or silver drive with a capacity of 32-128GB.

You may notice that most of the drives on this list are multi-port flash drives with a USB-C port on one end and a USB-A port on the other end. This makes the flash drive a very simple way for users to uninstall photos and files from an Android phone to a computer, even for old computers that do not yet have a USB-C port.

If you want a flash drive with only Type-C, you can get a smaller or larger capacity drive, such as the SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive up to 256GB is available, which is very attractive to me because it can be offline Save so many movies to watch on those long cross-country flights-when these become a thing again.

Now, when looking at flash drives, you will see that many USB versions are thrown out, and there is a lot of discussion about how fast the drive is. Now, like microSD cards, most flash drives advertise transfer speeds, and you should always transfer them to read speed, not write speed. This is because in fact the write speed of all external storage devices is lower than the read speed, and sometimes the write speed is much lower. However, unlike microSD cards, USB drives are not included in speed categories such as V30 or U3.

When you are looking for a flash drive, if you keep copying large data files, higher writing speeds are important, but as long as most of the time you transfer smaller files or just read files that have been on the drive for a while, Any USB 3.0 or USB 3.1 drive should be fine.

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Ara Wagoner is a writer at Android Central. She used her mobile phone as the theme and poked YouTube music with a stick. When she is not writing cases, Chromebooks or customization, she will hang out in Walt Disney World. If you see her not wearing headphones, run. You can follow her on Twitter @arawagco.

Chris Wedel is a fan of all technologies and gadgets. Living in rural Kansas with his wife and two young boys makes it tricky to find ways to go online and stay online. By leveraging his years of experience in the technology and mobile communications industry, success is guaranteed. Without overcoming connection challenges and testing new equipment, he likes to cruise on gravel roads with some beautiful tunes in his UTV.