Lexar Muse - Said to Be the World's Thinnest Card-Sized Portable SSD

I used to think all portable SSDs looked pretty much the same these days, but seeing the Lexar Muse changed my mind a bit. Its thickest point measures just 3.8mm, tapering to as little as 1mm at the edges, giving it a card-like form that looks just like a single card tucked in your wallet. Apparently it's a piece made to celebrate the company's 30th anniversary, and it definitely feels like it was designed with that kind of significance in mind.

📊 Quick Info

Item	Details
Brand	Lexar
Price	TBC (512GB / 1TB, launching Q4 2026)
Materials/Specs	Max thickness 3.8mm, aluminum unibody, magnetic PogoPin connector, up to 1,050MB/s read speed
Key Features	Card-thin ultra-slim body + magnetic leather sleeve for iPhone mounting, supports direct ProRes 4K 120fps capture
One-line Verdict	⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ Lives up to its title as "the world's thinnest portable SSD"

✨ Three-Line Summary

👍 Best Feature: Portability — it's as thin as a single card, so you can just slip it into your wallet or card case
👎 Downside: No standard USB-C port, so it relies heavily on its proprietary PogoPin cable
🎯 Best For: Creators shooting ProRes on their iPhone, and anyone who wants a wallet-thin backup drive

📸 Product Gallery

Main image of the Lexar Muse portable SSD, fingertips holding the thin card-shaped body

The Lexar Muse body, as thin as a single card

Detail 1 of the Lexar Muse portable SSD, attached to the back of an iPhone via the magnetic leather sleeve

The magnetic sleeve lets it attach directly to the back of an iPhone

Detail 2 of the Lexar Muse portable SSD, side-angle view of the aluminum unibody

Even from the side, the unibody finish barely reveals any thickness

Detail 3 of the Lexar Muse portable SSD, close-up of the front logo

A clean front design with nothing but a simple logo

🔍 Why I'm Interested

"As thin as a card" turned out to be true

Going by the specs alone it sounded like an exaggeration, but looking at the images, it really does appear to be close to the thickness of a credit card. If existing portable SSDs were brick-sized wallets for business cards, this one is slim enough to just slot into a card pocket — a form factor that could reshape your whole EDC setup.

Pairs with the iPhone via a magnetic sleeve

What's unique is that slipping on the leather magnetic sleeve lets it attach directly to the back of an iPhone. The idea of it plugging straight into a shooting workflow as a cable-free phone mount feels fresh. For creators capturing ProRes 4K 120fps straight to external storage, this could mean a real reduction in gear weight.

A finish worthy of a 30th-anniversary piece

The aluminum unibody finish, built from a single component with precision stacking, looks premium even just from photos. It doesn't feel like it was simply "made thin" — the craftsmanship itself clearly got real attention.

🤔 What Gives Me Pause

Dependence on a proprietary connector

It reportedly has no standard USB-C port and instead uses a proprietary magnetic PogoPin cable, which is concerning — lose that cable and the drive could become effectively useless. Securing a spare cable seems like it would be essential.

Price and exact launch timing unconfirmed

Beyond an expected Q4 2026 launch, the exact price hasn't been announced. It remains to be seen how much of a premium comes attached to this ultra-slim form factor.

📋 Product Attributes (Subjective Rating)

Design: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Portability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Practicality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Value for Money: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (price unconfirmed)

🛒 Before You Buy

✅ Recommended for

Creators who frequently shoot pro-level video on an iPhone
EDC enthusiasts who want a backup drive as thin as a card wallet

❌ Not recommended for

Anyone who wants to use a universal USB-C cable across multiple devices
Anyone who already has enough storage and doesn't need an additional SSD

🎯 Final Verdict

I figured the portable SSD category was already a mature market with little room for anything new, but the Lexar Muse carved out a clear point of difference on a single axis: thinness. The very concept of an SSD that fits in a card wallet is compelling from an EDC standpoint, and the magnetic pairing with the iPhone has a clear real-world use case.

There's a risk in relying on a proprietary connector, but that can be understood as the price of pushing thinness to its limit. Once the price and real-world transfer reliability are confirmed after launch, this feels like something worth carrying around in your wallet.

Source: Gadget Flow product page