Lexar is joining the IFA 2026 announcements with a wild new portable SSD called Muse. This is being billed by Lexar as the world’s thinnest portable SSD, measuring just 3.8mm at its thickest point. It tapers further down to only 1mm around the edges, which is seriously impressive. That makes it more like a thin metal card than the usual chunky external drive we’re used to, and Lexar says it pulled that off with high-density NAND stacking and a custom ultra-thin PCB architecture. Head below for a closer look and more details.
Lexar’s World’s thinnest portable SSD is here
This new SSD’s slim design doesn’t come at the expense of speed either. Lexar says the Muse can hit read speeds of up to 1,050MB/s and writes of up to 1,000MB/s, which puts it right in line with plenty of USB 3.2 Gen 2 portable SSDs. It’s also fast enough for direct Apple ProRes recording at up to 4K 120fps on compatible iPhones, making it a particularly interesting option for creators who want external storage without hanging a much bulkier drive off the back of their phone.
To get the Muse this thin, though, Lexar has ditched a standard USB-C port entirely here. Instead, the drive uses the brand’s proprietary SnapLink magnetic cable, which connects through a spring-loaded pogo-pin interface. That keeps the enclosure slimmer, but it also means you’ll want to keep track of that cable instead of reaching for any old USB-C lead lying around. It also remains to be seen how strong the magnetic connection would be during transfers.
Lexar is also including a magnetic sleeve that lets you mount the Muse to the back of compatible MagSafe iPhones. That should make it much easier to use for direct video recording, although the sleeve does add some of the thickness back to an otherwise ridiculously slim drive. The Lexar Muse Ultra-Slim Portable SSD is said to arrive in 512GB and 1TB capacities later this year. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, so we’ll have to wait and see how much of a premium Lexar plans to charge for what it says is the world’s thinnest portable SSD.
While you wait for Lexar’s new SSD to hit the market, you might want to check out another recent world’s first from UGREEN. The brand’s new MagFlow Pro is touted to be the world’s first liquid-cooled Qi2 25W magnetic power bank, and unlike the Muse, this one is already up for grabs. You can learn more about it right here.
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