How many times have you wanted to transfer information to a USB flash drive and it has practically become a mission impossible? When it’s not due to lack of memory, it’s because a driver is missing on the computer, or because the USB port doesn’t recognize the device. Whatever the problem, USB flash drives are becoming increasingly obsolete with the rise of cloud storage, especially with applications like Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud. Other alternatives that are also gaining prominence are portable SSDs and MicroSD cards. Factors such as storage limits, slow transfer speeds (especially with USB-C or Thunderbolt connections), and compatibility are usually the main problems presented by USB flash drives, which restrict their use.
USB flash drive use
Imagine the scene in a science fiction movie where the villain steals all the data from a laptop using a USB drive. It’s quite common, right? Insert the USB, click on “Download,” and take it out. That easy. However, if we applied reality to that scene, it would be quite different: connect the USB flash drive, wait for the computer to recognize the device, pray that it has all the necessary drivers installed, start transferring the information to the USB, see that there isn’t enough memory, have to split the information into batches… the scene would get quite complicated, wouldn’t it? Well, these are some of the reasons why USB flash drives are becoming less useful.
Additionally, technological advances have brought much more practical alternatives for transporting and sharing data, such as cloud storage. There are many existing applications, among the most notable are Google Drive, Dropbox, and iCloud. Through them, any type of file can be shared, uploaded to a common cloud that can be accessed from anywhere in the world at any time, and they can even be used offline. This greatly facilitates the world of technological storage, also saving a lot of time.
Limitations of USB flash drive units
It is not just about the advantages offered by the cloud storage alternative; flash drives have limitations per se:
- Storage limit. The maximum capacity is usually between 64GB-512GB, which is not enough for large backups, professional data sets, or high-resolution videos. While USB drives with 2TB capacity do exist, the price is usually quite high.
- Low transfer speed. File transfers to USB flash drives are quite slow, especially when compared to SSDs with USB-C or Thunderbolt connections, which can move gigabytes in seconds.
- Compatibility. USB-A ports are becoming less common on laptops, desktop computers, or tablets. They are being replaced by USB-C ports, which are faster. Although adapters exist, the transfer of data slows down with them.
What other alternatives are there to the cloud?
There are still some physical alternatives that offer good results for storage and information transfer.
- Portable SSD drives: these solid-state drives offer incredibly fast speeds and can handle massive files with ease – perfect for video editors, photographers, and IT professionals.
- MicroSD cards: Small, affordable, and highly compatible, these cards are growing in popularity across all industries, from media production to mobile technology.
However, cloud storage remains the winner due to the multiple advantages it offers over any physical storage format. As video killed the radio star, the cloud storage is ending with the USB flash drives.