Sharge is a Chinese accessory manufacturer that likes to push the boundaries of design. Its Sharge 170 power bank has a uniquely aggressive style, and it manages to turn heads whenever I travel with it. The brand branched out into SSD enclosures earlier this year with the Disk, which is basically a housing designed to slot in an M.2 2230 drive.
The Disk Pro is the natural evolution of that product. The product is an external SSD that doesn't look anything like its rivals; I recently tested the Neil Poulton-designed LaCie Rugged SSD4, and while that drive stands out because of the vibrant silicone shell, the Disk Pro is in an entirely different league.
Thinking of the Disk Pro as another external SSD is reductive, as it manages to be so much more than that. Yes, it has 1TB of storage and a built-in USB-C cable that makes connecting to phones and tablets highly convenient, but you also get active cooling in the way of an integrated fan. The biggest highlight is that the SSD gets an HDMI port alongside two USB-A ports, turning it into a portable dock. Oh, and did I mention it has magnets at the back that lets you attach it to the back of your phone?
Essentially, this is an external SSD and a dock all turned into one. The Disk Pro just debuted on Kickstarter, and it costs $189 for the 1TB model that I'm using. There's also a 2TB model that costs $289, and a 4TB variant that costs $469.
Obviously, design is a key talking point with the Disk Pro; Sharge once again managed to deliver a product that stands out visually. The external SSD has a see-through design with bright accents and a yellow USB-C cable that's integrated into the chassis, and it looks cool.
There's a physical button on the SSD to toggle the drive; this is useful if you just want to use the Disk Pro as a dock instead of needing the storage. The built-in fan only activates when needed, but the dedicated button lets you enable turbo mode, allowing it to run constantly.
The Disk Pro isn't that much bigger than a regular external SSD, and the versatility that you're getting is unmatched. While it may not be that useful when connected to a phone, the real potential of the Disk Pro is with handheld gaming consoles. The ability to increase the storage while having the flexibility to connect to a keyboard and mouse and plug into a monitor or TV via HDMI — all from the same device — is just great, and the Disk Pro shines in this regard.
As an external SSD, it doesn't get anywhere as fast as its rivals; bandwidth is limited to a maximum of 1000MB/s, and that's less than a third of what the Rugged SSD4 and other external drives manage. That said, the transfers are more than adequate in the context of moving data around, and I didn't see any problems with this when using the Disk Pro with my Pixel 10 Pro XL and Galaxy Z Fold 7.
I got the 1TB model of the Disk Pro, but you can get it with up to 4TB of storage, giving you the ability to significantly boost the built-in storage of your phone or handheld console. Another differentiator is the magnets; the ability to securely attach the SSD to a phone makes it all the more convenient while traveling, and this is a big win.
On the whole, I like what Sharge did with the Disk Pro; the product is marketed as a portable SSD, but it also doubles as a dock if you need it, and the built-in cooling ensures it doesn't overheat. I used it for the better part of two weeks, and overheating wasn't a problem whatsoever. If you want an all-in-one device with storage and USB ports, the Disk Pro is a good choice to consider.
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