The featherweight SC735 weighs just under half an ounce and measures just 0.5 by 1.1 by 2.2 inches (HWD)—about as long as a typical USB thumb drive and roughly twice as wide. It comes in your choice of two color schemes, dubbed blue and gray by ADATA. The “blue” version we reviewed is actually mostly black, with three diagonal blue stripes on top, along with the ADATA name and the word “SSD”—presumably, so you don’t mistake the little thing for a thumb drive or dongle—in small white letters.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The “gray” version of the drive is similar, but the stripes are, as you’d figure, dark gray instead of blue. In either case, the drive’s enclosure is made of textured plastic; it doesn’t feel as sturdy as a metal case would, but it nonetheless meets the MIL-STD-810G 516.6 impact-resistance standard to survive 1.22-meter (4-foot) drops.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
On the bottom of the SC735, you’ll find a sliding switch to extend or retract its USB plug, which locks into place once extended. To retract the plug, press the switch with your thumb and pull it back. I found the mechanism easy to manipulate.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The connector supports USB 3.2 Gen 2, which makes it compatible with Windows, macOS 10.6 or later, Linux Kernel 2.6 or later, Android 13 or later, or recent iPhones—in fact, most any device equipped with a USB Type-C port, including some gaming consoles. (You could plug the SC735 into a USB Type-A port by adding a female-to-male C-to-A adapter, but none is included.) The drive comes formatted in exFAT, but you can reformat it as needed.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
One of the SC735’s big selling points is its handling of phone videos: You can store your movies directly to the drive as you shoot them. This is particularly useful for recording in Apple’s ProRes format, which ravenously consumes space on the iPhone’s drive. Apple switched from its Lightning connector to USB-C starting with the iPhone 15; I had no trouble connecting the SC735 to my iPhone 15 Pro.
(Credit: Tony Hoffman)
