Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review

Strontium's Nitro iDrive allows you to add storage to your Apple iOS device. Performance is pretty solid, but is the asking price too high?

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: Strontium
3 minutes & 19 seconds read time
TweakTown's Rating: 83%

The Bottom Line

Strontium's Nitro iDrive is the highest performing iOS solution we have tested to date, but does lack a little in the app with its high price per GB.
Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review 99

With our review of our first look at Apple iOS capable flash storage, with the SanDisk iXpand now online, we had the chance to look at yet another solution in that same market segment. As with many storage markets, Strontium continues to release new solutions and today we check out the Nitro iDrive.

As the title suggests, the Nitro iDrive is an iOS-capable flash storage solution. Capacity options range from 16GB to 64GB solutions with marketing numbers of 85 MB/s read and write performance only being said as lower than 85 MB/s depending on your host device. Being an iOS capable solution the iDrive does feature the 8-pin lightning connector, along with the standard USB 3.0 connection.

As we saw in our review of the SanDisk iXpand solution, these iOS drives need the support of an application to work correctly. With that said, the Strontium solution too has an app called iFlash drive, which comes from the PhotoFast line up. MSRP of the Strontium Nitro iDrive in the 64GB capacity is set at $99.99 and features a two-year warranty.

Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review 02

Packaging for the Nitro iDrive is rather substantial for a flash solution. As you can see, we have a full plastic shell protecting the drive. Capacity is listed to the top right with iOS compatibility listed at the very top.

Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review 03

The back houses marketing information, along with capacity limitations. To the far right, we have a QR code for the app.

Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review 04

Scope of delivery is rather simple with just the flash drive and small pamphlet.

Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review 05

The Nitro Plus has a smaller footprint over the last solution we tested, the iXpand from SanDisk. They have also chosen to place a connector at each end of the flash drive.

Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review 06

Above, we see the eight-pin lightning connector for modern iOS devices.

Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review 07

After downloading and launching the app for the iDrive, we were greeted by this splash screen seen above.

Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review 08

Once inside the app, everything is very simple and streamlined. Across the bottom, we have descriptions with the top portion of the screen denoting where you are looking.

Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review 09

As you can see above, we have swapped over to the iDrive with 63.4GB of free space. From here, you can transfer files to and from your iOS device.

Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review 10

The Strontium Nitro iDrive is factory formatted with the FAT32 file system. This does limit file sizes to under 4GB. Useable capacity after formatting is 59GB.

Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review 11

Starting off our testing, you can see just how quick the Nitro iDrive is. Here we reached 86 MB/s read with write at 17 MB/s.

Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review 12

Over on the MacBook Pro, we connected up the iDrive and found we only received 72 MB/s read and 15.4 MB/s write.

Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review 13

Price/performance of the iDrive put it right in the middle of the pack at 87.4%, three percent over the only other iOS solution from SanDisk.

With this being our second look at an iOS capable storage solution, I am certainly glad to see Strontium used the USB 3.0 connection on the drive. This drastically cuts down on the transfer time between the drive and your PC. Moving on, I found the build quality of this drive to be solid, but the capped design does mean there is a risk of losing the provided protection of your ports, especially when there is no included way to tether them to the drive itself.

Performance of the drive is substantial with read numbers upwards of 85 MB/s. However, like the previous solution, write performance is at the lower echelon of what we would expect. Another denominator of the drive's performance comes with the app. With the SanDisk solution we tested, I was very pleased with how well the app was laid out and the features. With the Strontium, the app is just a straightforward solution to allow you to transfer data between your devices, no frills, so there is some work to be done to add to the package as a whole.

Overall, the Strontium Nitro iDrive is the better performing iOS solution at this point in time, but the price is upwards of $2 per GB. With that said, the iFlash drive app is ample enough to get the job done, but could use a little more on the features side.

PRICING: You can find the 64GB Strontium NITRO iDrive USB 3.0 for iOS, Mac and PC for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.

United States: The 64GB Strontium NITRO iDrive USB 3.0 for iOS, Mac and PC retails for $95 at Amazon.

Australia: Find other tech and computer products like this over at PLE Computer's website.

Strontium Nitro iDrive 64GB iOS Flash Drive Review 100
Performance 83%
Quality including Design and Build 84%
General Features 82%
Bundle and Packaging 87%
Value for Money 79%
Overall 83%

The Bottom Line: Strontium's Nitro iDrive is the highest performing iOS solution we have tested to date, but does lack a little in the app with its high price per GB.

PRICING: You can find products similar to this one for sale below.

USUnited States: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com

UKUnited Kingdom: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.co.uk

AUAustralia: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com.au

CACanada: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.ca

DEDeutschland: Finde andere Technik- und Computerprodukte wie dieses auf Amazon.de

Tyler joined the TweakTown team in 2013 and has since reviewed 100s of new techy items. Growing up in a small farm town, tech wasn't around, unless it was in a tractor. At an early age, Tyler's parents brought home their first PC. Tyler was hooked and learned what it meant to format a HDD, spending many nights reinstalling Windows 95. Tyler's love and enthusiast nature always kept his PC nearby. Eager to get deeper into tech, he started reviewing.

Newsletter Subscription
We openly invite the companies who provide us with review samples / who are mentioned or discussed to express their opinion. If any company representative wishes to respond, we will publish the response here. Please contact us if you wish to respond.