Samsung FIT Plus USB 3.1 flash drive review: A low-profile 'plug-n-go' speed demon

Source: Dan Thorp-Lancaster / Windows Key

Despite the rise of deject storage, wink drives remain a popular way to store of import documents, backups of your music collection, and whatsoever other parts of your digital life you'd rather non leave in the hands of the cyberspace. One expanse that doesn't go enough attention is the ability to use flash drives as quasi-permanent extra storage for your PC, whether it be a laptop or a desktop. An increasing number of low-profile USB flash drives on the market place makes that prospect even more tempting.

That's where the Samsung FIT Plus comes in. It's one of the smallest flash drives out in that location right now, making it a smashing "set up information technology and forget it" option. Even meliorate, it's rated for very fast speeds (for flash drive standards, anyway). But is it worth checking out? Read on to find out.

Samsung Fit Plus Flash Drive

Samsung FIT Plus USB 3.i flash drive

Bottom line: The Samsung FIT Plus is a dandy piece of kit to add to your laptop for an extra flake of storage, just don't expect it to be your workhorse for any intense tasks. The four sizes, ranging from 32GB to 256GB, are too super affordable.

The Good

Very fast read and write speeds
Sleek depression-profile blueprint
Sturdy build
USB 3.1

The Bad

No activity calorie-free
Pocket-sized size makes it very like shooting fish in a barrel to lose
Difficult to remove due to its size

Samsung FIT Plus USB 3.one wink drive: Price and availability

Source: Dan Thorp-Lancaster / Windows Primal

The Samsung FIT Plus comes in four different sizes. You tin option it up in 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB capacities. Pricing starts at $ten for the 32GB size and ranges upward to $42 for the 256GB size.

The Samsung FIT Plus is generally available on Amazon and Samsung's own online store in all four flavors. Yous'll oftentimes spot discounts across both stores. The 128GB model reviewed here, for instance, was discounted from $40 to $22 when I purchased information technology for this review.

Samsung FIT Plus USB three.i flash drive: What'south adept

Source: Dan Thorp-Lancaster / Windows Fundamental

The Samsung FIT Plus is nearly as compact as you can get for a depression-profile wink drive. Considering of its small stature, the Samsung FIT Plus is an excellent candidate for anywhere you lot'd desire to insert semi-permanent removable storage. For many, this might exist a cheap way to add more storage to an aging laptop. For others, the Samsung FIT Plus could brand a great little drive to shop your music collection to heed to in the car (if you've got ane with a USB port).

Either way, it's a versatile fiddling drive. It's too built very well, all things considering. Because it'southward so pocket-size, you tin't really put stress on it like you can another, larger drives. Nonetheless, Samsung has given the drive a bit of a premium feel, withal. It's built to easily blend in, whether on a budget laptop or premium PC.

The Samsung FIT Plus is congenital to alloy in, whether on a budget laptop or a premium PC.

Some other area that makes this drive pretty great is speed. In my testing, the drive lived up to its maximum 400 MB/s read speed in a synthetic benchmark over USB iii.i. Write speeds are always much slower, merely the drive however managed to hitting effectually 60 MB/south in both a synthetic benchmark and when transferring a 5GB file in a more real-world examination.

Samsung Fit Plus Speed Tests Source: Windows Central

While y'all could run your Steam library off of this drive (I can confirm DOOM ran pretty well), those speeds are nowhere near what you'd encounter with a defended SSD. However, every bit a storage drive for documents, music, and any other files that don't require blisteringly fast real-time admission, it's a fantastic trivial bulldoze.

Samsung FIT Plus USB 3.1 flash bulldoze: What's not practiced

Source: Dan Thorp-Lancaster / Windows Primal

Samsung has nailed it when it comes to the design, look, feel, and speed of this drive. Notwithstanding, at that place are a few minor points worth noting before you toss your coin at this bulldoze. Kickoff, in that location's no activity lite. That'due south not a major omission by whatever means, and it might even be an advantage if this bulldoze is going to live in one of your laptop'southward USB ports. Withal, it'due south something that is present on a number of other USB drives, and it helps to ostend the drive isn't doing anything if you're virtually to pull it out without ejecting it from your system tray (as is practiced practice).

There'due south as well the size to consider. It's a bit of a double-edged sword in that it's bang-up for blending in, but terrible for actually keeping rail of the drive. Thankfully, if you are going to be taking it in and out of a PC, there'south a dedicated lanyard-slash-keychain slot on the drive so yous tin can always keep it tethered to something else. If, however, you're similar me and accept lost endless standard-size wink drives over the years, the diminutive size of this one may be a turnoff.

Further, the small size and design of the Samsung FIT Plus makes information technology pretty difficult to remove from tight spaces. You'll likely be okay if you're working with a laptop, where you tin easily and firmly grip it. However, the lack of a lip or any sort of grippy finish on the drive makes it hard to remove from a desktop system, where you may be working around cables and other USB devices.

Finally, information technology'due south worth noting that some user reviews have reported random disconnects with this drive, forcing them to remove it and re-insert information technology to get it to bear witness up in their drive list once more. I oasis't run into this issue, and I doubtable it may have something to do with a Windows organisation setting tripping up somewhere. Though my unit didn't display this behavior, and it appears it was more common on older revisions, it's something worth bearing in mind.

Samsung FIT Plus USB three.1 flash drive: Competition

Sandisk Ultra Fit and Samsung Fit Plus Usb Flash Drives Source: Dan Thorp-Lancaster / Windows Central

While the Samsung FIT Plus is an fantabulous slim USB flash drive, information technology's not the only ane out at that place. One that consistently gets high marks is the SanDisk Ultra Fit. Not only is it of a smaller stature, simply it comes in more sizes (16GB upwards to 512GB) and is a tad cheaper. Despite being a USB three.i bulldoze, its only rated at read speeds up to 130 MB/s, which is quite a bit lower than the Samsung FIT Plus. However, SanDisk designed the Ultra Fit with a lip that makes it much easier to remove.

Some other low-profile selection in the USB 3.1 space is the PNY Elite-10 Fit. It'southward similar in stature to the Samsung FIT Plus and is available in 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB sizes. You're dealing with a slower 200 MB/s rated read speed here, but information technology as well comes with a grippy texture that makes it easier to remove from your PC.

Samsung FIT Plus USB 3.i flash drive: Should you buy information technology?

Source: Dan Thorp-Lancaster / Windows Central

You should purchase this if ...

Yous desire a low-profile flash drive
Y'all desire some of the fastest speeds available in a flash drive
You want to utilize it as semi-permanent storage

Y'all shouldn't buy this if...

You demand an activeness light
Having the fastest speed isn't a priority
Y'all frequently need to remove and re-insert the bulldoze
You demand more robust SSD speeds

The Samsung FIT Plus is 1 of the best USB flash drives you lot can snag if you lot desire a low-contour speed demon. For anyone looking for a semi-permanent fleck of extra storage to add together to a laptop, PC, or even network storage, it's a depression-cost option that should work well. Flash drives definitely aren't good options for more than robust applications, all the same, so go with one of the best external SSDs if you demand something that tin handle more intense workloads than storing and retrieving files.

While other wink drives may undercut the Samsung FIT Plus in price, it's still a great value. We're talking a difference of a couple of dollars here and there, depending on the size, for a desperate increment in speed over its competitors. It's no SSD, only it should suffice for anyone requiring a reliable place to stash abroad important files.

Samsung Fit Plus Flash Drive

Samsung FIT Plus USB iii.1 wink drive

Lesser line: The Samsung FIT Plus comes in four sizes ranging from 32GB to 256GB. They're all affordable and fast enough to be used as a semi-permanent storage drive on your laptop.

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