SanDisk Creator SSD Review: External Storage That Keeps 4K ProRes Rolling

Have you ever seen low strorage wanring on your phone? The reason could me anything, whether you shot lots of videos and snaps, when you go for next video shoot this wanring can come across. Sandisk is trying to solve this issue - the new SanDisk Creator Phone SSD is like a boon for creators to create a back up of their existing data or directly shoot the video in the device, but only if you have iPhone Pro series of device from 15 to latest. 

The idea is simple: keep internal storage free and keep the camera rolling. But is it really worth and deliver the sustained speeds required for serious mobile video work? Let's find out the real world performance.

Design and MagSafe integration

The drive weighs 54 g and attaches securely using built-in MagSafe magnets. During handheld shooting, it stays firmly in place. For non-MagSafe devices, SanDisk includes a magnetic ring. The silicone shell improves grip and adds impact resistance. With an IP65 rating, it resists dust and light splashes, though it is not waterproof.

There is a single USB-C port supporting USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), and the bundled short cable helps keep the setup neat when the drive is mounted to the phone. However, the fixed cable length can feel restrictive depending on how you position the phone while shooting.

Very few portable SSDs currently support passthrough charging. While some newer SSD enclosures and creator hubs offer this feature, most mainstream portable drives, including this one, still require you to choose between charging the phone and using external storage.

Plug-and-play usability and app support

The Creator Phone SSD works straight out of the box, and the SanDisk Memory Zone app on Android and iOS provides a simple way to browse files, transfer media, and manage the drive.

Beyond basic storage use with phones and laptops, its biggest advantage is support for direct-to-drive ProRes recording on compatible iPhone Pro models. ProRes is Apple’s higher-quality video format that preserves more detail for editing, but it also consumes a lot of storage.

Once ProRes is enabled in camera settings, you can switch the SSD to OTG mode in the app and record 4K video at up to 60 fps directly to the drive. For creators, this makes the SSD a practical solution for handling large video files and even choosing a lower-storage iPhone while relying on external storage when needed.

Performance and sustained speeds

In real-world use, the drive delivers reliable, consistent performance across devices. Transferring a 10.7 GB file from an Android phone took 27 seconds, which is commendable for a direct mobile transfer and highlights strong write speeds for quick file dumps. The same transfer from a laptop took about a minute in our testing, though this can vary depending on the system, port, and workload being used. More importantly, transfer rates stayed steady in both cases, pointing to dependable sustained performance rather than short bursts. In practical use, this makes the drive well suited for offloading large files, backing up footage, or handling high-resolution video without noticeable slowdowns.

To complement our real-world testing, we also evaluated the drive using a range of standard benchmarking tools.

Testing was conducted using CrystalDiskMark 8.0.5, ATTO Disk Benchmark 4.01, PassMark PerformanceTest 11, and PCMark 10.

CrystalDiskMark sequential performance

• Sequential Read (Q8T1): 1,047.17 MB/s
• Sequential Write (Q8T1): 959.45 MB/s
• Sequential Read (Q1T1): 852.28 MB/s
• Sequential Write (Q1T1): 891.48 MB/s

These results approach the claimed 1,000 MB/s read and 950 MB/s write figures. For large file transfers, the drive performs as expected for a USB 3.2 Gen 2 NVMe-based portable SSD.

Random 4K results were modest, confirming this drive is tuned for sequential workloads such as video capture.

ATTO large-block behavior

ATTO results show read speeds stabilizing near 890–900 MB/s at larger block sizes. Write speeds range between 500 MB/s and over 800 MB/s depending on block size.

This large-block strength directly benefits 4K and ProRes recording, where data is written in continuous streams.

PassMark sustained write test

In the PassMark disk speed test using 128 KB blocks:

• Average read speed: 867.51–880.06 MB/s
• Average write speed: 392.50 MB/s

The write graph shows an initial burst above 700 MB/s, followed by stabilization around 360–400 MB/s. This suggests an SLC cache that handles short bursts at high speed before settling into steady-state performance.

For creators recording 4K 60 fps ProRes, sustained speeds above 300 MB/s are critical. The drive maintains that threshold consistently.

PCMark 10 data drive benchmark

• Score:598
• Bandwidth: 90.95 MB/s
• Average access time: 266 µs

This test simulates real-world file operations. The results place the drive firmly in the portable SSD category and confirm stable everyday performance.

Built for direct-to-drive recording

On supported iPhone Pro models, including the iPhone 15 Pro series, users can enable Apple ProRes and record directly to the SSD. This is especially valuable for 128 GB or 256 GB variants. Instead of paying a premium for a 1 TB phone, creators can expand storage externally.

The drive comes formatted in exFAT, allowing seamless use across iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS.

Final verdict

This SanDisk Creator Phone SSD review shows a focused tool built for mobile creators. Peak speeds look impressive in benchmarks, but the real story is sustained performance. With steady 360–400 MB/s write speeds after cache behavior stabilizes, the drive handles continuous 4K ProRes recording reliably.

The lack of passthrough charging and full waterproofing are limitations. Still, for creators who shoot frequently on iPhone Pro models, this MagSafe-mounted portable SSD solves a clear storage problem in a clean, practical way.