SanDisk Dual Drive Luxe USB Review: Handy, Compatible Accessory With Premium Metallic Finish

There are many storage variants available on the SanDisk Dual Drive Luxe USB, starting from 32GB for Rs. 849 and up to 1TB for Rs. 13,529. We recently came across the 128GB version of the flash drive, which ships for Rs. 1,869. Apart from its compatibility with various devices, many other factors are worth discussing the Dual Drive Luxe drive, which we've detailed in this review.

Classic All Metal Body

The SanDisk Dual Drive Luxe USB looks like your regular pen drive in an all-metal body. The drive features both Type-A and Type-C support and can be changed accordingly. There's an easy swivel mechanism, which can be swiftly turned depending on where you wish to plug it. Once turned, there's a soft ‘click' sound that confirms the pen drive mode is changed and ready to use. The top layer protects the other side of the drive.

The drive is also small and compact, which is a reason to get misplaced easily. For the same reason, SanDisk has provided a keyring hole that can be attached with your other keys, and prevent it from being lost. At the same time, since the SanDisk Dual Drive Luxe is an all-metal body, it can easily get scratches.

Another aspect I noticed while using the SanDisk Dual Drive Luxe is that it heats up pretty fast. While the metal body presents a premium design, it is also a good conductor of heat. The pen drive began to heat up pretty fast when connected to a smartphone. At first, I thought the heating issue could be limited to only certain smartphones (I had connected to the LG V40 ThinQ). But later the heating issue continued even when connected to my laptop. And let me tell you, the pen drive was quite hot!

Satisfactory Compatibility

One of the best features of the SanDisk Dual Drive Luxe is its compatibility. The drive can be used to easily transfer files from USB Type-C devices and also from USB Type-A computers. The pen drive can be connected with most Android smartphones, it only requires the USB Type-C support. For PCs, the SanDisk Dual Drive Luxe pen drive can be connected via the USB Type-A 3.1 port.

The flash drive supports Windows OS, macOS, Android OS, and Linux. However, the pen drive can't be used with the iPhone - and it's understandable! The drive can still be connected with a few Apple iPad models.

SanDisk Dual Drive Luxe USB Performance

SanDisk claims the read speeds of the Dual Drive Luxe USB is up to 150MB/s, which is significantly fast for the USB 3.1 Gen 1 drive performance standard. We ran a benchmark and tested the speed of the pen drive in real-life.

The CrystalDiskMark benchmark was used to test the performance of the flash drive. According to this test, the pen drive offers a maximum read speed of 151.42 MB/s and a maximum writing speed of 25.79 MB/s. The SEQ1M Q1T1 read speed showed 73.61 MB/s and the write speed was 25.37 MB/s. The benchmark test shows that the read and write speeds are close to what SanDisk claims. Further, the scores also note that the drive can read and write large files swiftly.

Real-Life Performance

The real-life performance of any accessory could vary due to many factors, and benchmark scores could further vary with the actual performance. However, the SanDisk Dual Drive Luxe USB has a consistent performance on both smartphones and PC. I copied an HD movie sized 2GB to the flash drive via the USB 3.0 slot. The average writing speed was 22.1 MB/s.

To check the writing speed, I used a 1.2GB FHD movie and the speed was 140 MB/s, which is quite fast, considering it had a couple of files and sub-folders inside it. I also checked the read and write speeds to and from an Android smartphone, and that too was quite fast. I also played HD videos on the smartphone, directly from the pen drive, and there was hardly any lag while playing it.

Verdict: Go For It

The SanDisk Dual Drive Luxe ticks all the right boxes when it comes to a pen drive. Apart from the heating issue, the flash drive is a perfect accessory to take along. Plus, it's available at an affordable price of Rs. 1,869 for the 128GB storage variant. The drive is also available in different storage options, up to 1TB, which costs Rs. 13,529.

One might think for this price, you can get an SSD hard drive. But do note that hard disks are much more pricey and they aren't as easily compatible like this pen drive. If you're looking for a sleek, lightweight pen drive that suits both your PC and Android needs, the SanDisk Dual Drive Luxe is the right choice.