Lexar Muse Is a 3.8mm Portable SSD Arriving in Q4 2026 at 1,050MB/s
Lexar opened IFA 2026 in Berlin on Friday with the Muse, an external SSD that measures 3.8mm at its thickest point and tapers to roughly 1mm at the edge — a shape the company is calling the world's thinnest portable SSD. It arrives in 512GB and 1TB capacities in the last quarter of 2026, and Lexar has not announced a price for either one.
The target buyer is obvious from the specs. Anyone filming on a phone and dumping footage as they go has been stuck choosing between a chunky drive magnetted to the back of the handset and a dangling cable. The Muse is 80 x 48 x 3.8mm — closer to a stack of credit cards than a hard drive — and ships with a sleeve that holds it against the back of a MagSafe-compatible iPhone.
The catch is the connector
To get that thin, Lexar dropped the USB-C port from the drive body. The Muse instead uses what the company calls a PogoPin magnetic data connection: a supplied SnapLink cable clips onto the back through a spring-loaded-pin interface, held by N52-grade neodymium magnets. The same magnet grade sits in the carry sleeve.
That is a real trade-off, not a detail. A proprietary cable means a lost or damaged SnapLink is not a trip to the nearest shop for a spare USB-C lead, and Lexar has not said whether replacements will be sold separately or what a spare would cost. It is worth factoring in before the drive becomes the only copy of a shoot.
Speeds are mainstream, not Thunderbolt
Lexar rates the Muse at up to 1,050 MB/s reading and up to 1,000 MB/s writing. Those are the numbers of a 10 Gbps USB drive, so this is not competing with Thunderbolt enclosures on raw throughput — it is competing on how little space it takes up.
For its intended job that ceiling is enough. Lexar says the drive supports direct external recording of Apple ProRes 4K video at up to 120 fps on compatible iPhone models, which is the workflow that pushed phone owners toward external SSDs in the first place. What Lexar has not published is a sustained write figure, and in a 3.8mm metal shell with no room for a heatsink, sustained write under a long take is the number that will actually matter. Treat the headline speeds as peak until independent testing lands.
What it works with
- iPhone: USB-C models, meaning iPhone 15 and later
- iPad and Mac: listed as supported
- Other USB-C devices: Lexar lists broad USB-C compatibility, so Android phones and Windows PCs should work, though a drive shipped formatted for Apple devices normally needs reformatting to suit another operating system
- MagSafe mounting: only via the bundled sleeve — the bare drive does not stick to a phone on its own
Lexar has said Q4 2026 for availability but has not broken that down by country, and regional availability may vary. There is no confirmed launch date, no pricing in any currency, and no warranty term attached to the announcement yet.
The rest of Lexar's IFA showcase
The Muse anchors a wider stand tied to the company's 30th anniversary. Alongside it, Lexar is showing concept AI-grade Gen5 SSD and Gen5 Storage Stick hardware rated at up to 11 GB/s, built around parent company Longsys' 5nm, DRAM-less storage processing unit and a scheduling layer Lexar calls Luma Bridge, which it claims cuts DRAM capacity requirements by about 40 percent. Those are concepts, not products with dates.
There is also a Dashcam USB Flash Drive Series aimed at electric vehicles that record continuously, with high-endurance firmware for loop recording. Lexar's stand runs from Friday 4 September through Tuesday 8 September at Messe Berlin, Hall 20, Stand 101.
IFA has already produced a run of creator-focused hardware this week, including the RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro with its detachable action camera and Govee's Sky Ceiling Light. If you would rather not carry a drive at all, our roundup of the best cloud storage and backup apps covers the alternative.
Frequently Asked Questions
How thick is the Lexar Muse portable SSD?
The Lexar Muse measures 3.8mm at its thickest point and tapers to about 1mm at the edge, with overall dimensions of 80 x 48 x 3.8mm. Lexar calls it the world's thinnest portable SSD. The body is a precision-machined unibody metal enclosure formed from a single piece of metal.
How much does the Lexar Muse cost?
Lexar has not announced a price for the Muse in any currency. The drive was unveiled at IFA 2026 in Berlin on 4 September 2026 with availability given only as the fourth quarter of 2026, and regional availability may vary. Pricing is expected closer to launch.
Does the Lexar Muse use a normal USB-C cable?
No. The Muse has no USB-C port on the drive itself. It connects through Lexar's proprietary PogoPin magnetic interface using the supplied SnapLink cable, which attaches with spring-loaded pins and N52-grade neodymium magnets. Lexar has not said whether spare SnapLink cables will be sold separately.
How fast is the Lexar Muse?
Lexar rates the Muse at up to 1,050 MB/s read and up to 1,000 MB/s write, which places it in the 10 Gbps class rather than Thunderbolt territory. That is fast enough for direct external recording of Apple ProRes 4K video at up to 120 fps on compatible iPhone models. Lexar has not published a sustained write figure.
Does the Lexar Muse work with Android phones and Windows PCs?
Lexar lists the Muse as compatible with iPhone, iPad, Mac and other USB-C devices, so Android phones and Windows PCs should work once connected via the SnapLink cable. A drive supplied formatted for Apple devices usually needs reformatting to suit another operating system. The MagSafe carry sleeve, however, is designed around compatible iPhone models.
