Stop paying for iCloud with this MagSafe SSD

Any creative or tech-savvy person will tell you that storage is one of the most important, but least talked about, pieces of any technical arsenal. As a small photography business owner, I can’t tell you how many hard drives I have littered in boxes stacked in my closet. Sure, hosting those files on servers has never been easier, but there’s still something to be said about having all of your files quite literally within arm’s reach.

Well, I say arm’s reach. It’s more or less a finger’s reach with my most recent handy discovery, the Digiera Endura portable SSD. With as many individual video files as it takes to stitch together just one client video, then export them all together, my Photos app, along with any cloud storage I have, has begun to fill up surprisingly fast. Previously, that meant going home, transferring files to a larger hard drive, then getting back to work on shooting or editing. Now, with the Endura, my backup storage location stays with me wherever I go.

Don’t let the size fool you

With 1TB of storage, you could put your whole life on this gizmo

Remember when we used to think that an entire TB of storage was simply too big to hold in your hands? Those days are long gone. A TB is now fairly standard in terms of SSD space, but even so, the fact that this tiny SSD has that kind of space is impressive, never mind all of its other features, which I’ll get to in a moment.

One of my new favorite ways to use the Endura, though, isn’t necessarily as you might think. I’ve been a LaCie user for quite some time now, but inevitably, when I need to get to my files, I either have to pull it out of my camera bag or accidentally leave it at home. That takes time and ultimately still leaves my hard drive tossed around in my bag, with who knows what landing on it repeatedly. Therefore, I’ve been using the Endura as my uber-portable SSD option, which allows me to simply whip my phone out of my pocket, lay it down on the table, and transfer away. It’s significantly improved my workflow, and today I realized it could also help many parents.

I’ll never lose my photos again

The Endura has helped me hold on to countless memories

I grew up in a family that loved to take photos. My mother was constantly battling with her native storage and finding new places to put old photos, and, in true Progressive commercial fashion, I now do the same. That’s led me to use nearly every option available, from Dropbox to Google Photos and everything in between. I’ve tried them all. Still, though, I prefer to have them on hand, and I’m a buy once, cry once kind of guy, anyway.

The Endura solves all of these issues, and whether it’s silly photos of my cat or a date night I want to look back on with my fiancé, it’s nice to be able to plug into the Endura and relive those great memories. It supports ‘save as you shoot’, too, meaning that I don’t have to spend time transferring my files over to the Endura after the fact.

USB-C compatibility means everything syncs

From my laptop to my cameras, everything works with the Endura

I mentioned that I use the Endura as a replacement for my LaCie drive, but I didn’t mention exactly how much I’ve used it. In the past few days, I’ve used the Endura for everything from product photos and senior sessions to logo and signature designs and large file transfers across several of my devices. I should note that I am deeply entrenched in the Apple ecosystem, but the Endura is also compatible with Windows and Linux.

You could even use the Endura to store console and PC games, drone footage, and just about everything else any SSD can offer, but at a pocket-sized, magnetic punch. It’s coming with me to shoot the Daytona 500 in a few days, too, where it will be put through its ultimate paces.

Who is the Endura actually for

Honestly, it’s a fair question

I struggled with this question when I first got the Endura. Was it made for creators, or those who simply need safer, faster, and more accessible storage? After using it for the past few days, I’ve decided it really does cater to both spaces. If you’re a creator on the go, like me, you need your files to be easily accessible and quick to transfer. Check. If you’re a photo-happy parent who wants to hold on to those precious memories, you need ample space to do so without having to pay a subscription fee every month. Check.

You get the best of both worlds with this little SSD, and when this one fills up (which it probably will do shortly after the Daytona 500), I’ll more than likely look to replace it with another exactly like it.