PhotoFast iType-C 64GB OTG Review

TweakTown's Rating: 87%

The Bottom Line

PhotoFast's iType-C OTG device is a rather unique solution that could be the only OTG drive you would ever need. If they could only innovate a little with the price and make it more competitive in this crowded market.

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In the last year, there have been a plethora of OTG flash solutions to hit the market. I have been lucky enough to have a go with most of them and came away with a few favorites I use with my personal devices. With that said, to this point, on-the-go solutions have been purpose-built for Android or iOS, but that changes today with a new solution from PhotoFast.

PhotoFast is the OEM behind many of the OTG products you will find in the marketplace from vendors like Strontium and Lexar. They have built up a solid platform that includes an app for Android and iOS, along with a portfolio of products that are quite reliable. The device we have in house today, the iType-C, aims to take over the OTG market and replace any drive you have, no matter the platform.

As mentioned, PhotoFast has big plans for this latest drive and as such has outfitted the drive to take on every platform including Windows, OS X, and Linux, along with Android and iOS. It does this via two simple connections, Lightning and USB-C, which then can be converted with the included adapter to micro USB and USB Type-A. Of course, all this functionality will come at a price.

The MSRP of the 64GB PhotoFast iType-C comes in at $144.99 with a one-year warranty.

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Packaging for the iType-C is full of information including supported platforms and apps.

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On the back, we have a list of what's included in the package.

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The scope of delivery includes the iType-C drive on the left, reading materials, and adapter to the right.

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Our first look at the drive, I get the feeling some of the design cues were taken from the MAX. On the left side, we have the Lightning connector for modern iOS devices and to the right USB-C for modern Android devices.

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Included in this package is the adapter transform the USB-C connector.

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That USB-C connector is converted into two solutions on the opposite end, Type-A USB 3.0 and micro-USB.

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Plugging this drive into my iPhone 7 Plus, we have three apps that come up. PhotoFast-ONE is the main app you will want to download.

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We have gone over this app quite a few times in the last year, but using a true PhotoFast device over a Lexar or Strontium opens some features including Vimeo, Zip, and YouTube. In addition to those, the app opens the ability to download DJI firmware for your Phantom, Mavic, or Inspire UAV.

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On the second page of the app, you have all the included social media backups along with cloud services.

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In the settings page, you have a few options including drive security, formatting the drive, and touch ID for those on iOS.

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The iType-C comes from the factory formatted with the FAT32 filesystem. This is due to its wide compatibility with all platforms. Usable capacity is 59.1GB.

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The performance of our sample reached 93 MB/s read and 73 MB/s write.

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Throwing this drive into our Price/Performance charts for OTG solutions, the price really hits hard. With that said, the iType-C did manage to stick around the middle at 84.2%, just above the iFlashdrive MAX.

Since I received the iType-C in early November, I have used it as my go-to solution to transfer photos and videos from my iOS devices to my PC and NAS. I have found the reliability to be quite good and while I haven't had to test the durability to any extremes, I have dropped it a few times on concrete, and it has survived. On the flipside, I find that if you don't keep the USB-C adapter connected to the drive, it's quite easy to lose and it would have been nice to see a small case included for this solution, just for physical storage purposes.

On the performance, I found this solution to deliver ample performance for transferring media such as photos and videos because let's face it you probably won't hit anything near the limit of this drive with hundreds or thousands of 3M photo files. In the USB Flash benchmark, this solution reached a peak of 93 MB/s read and 73 MB/s write in Windows 10 with the USB-C connection.

Adding to the appeal of this drive is the app. In the past, I haven't been very favorable with this application as it used "in-app storage" that locked you out of your own files outside the app. It appears that policy has now changed adding in a full suite of backup options for whatever services you use whether its Dropbox, OneDrive, etc. In the end, $144.99 MSRP is quite expensive for a 64GB flash drive in today's market, but you do get the benefit of it being widely compatible with every platform.

Tyler's Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: ASUS Z170 Premium - Buy from Amazon
• CPU: Intel Core i5 6500 - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Memory: Klevv CRAS 16GB (4x4) DDR4 3000 - Read our review
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• OS Storage: Intel 730 480GB SSD - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Secondary Storage: Intel 750 400GB U.2 SSD - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Case: Thermaltake P5 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1200 - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 10 - Buy from Amazon