We all know that the iPhone doesn’t have expandable storage, and likely never will. But that doesn’t mean you can’t work around that limitation if you absolutely need more storage. The dodocool DA50 Lightning to USB memory cable is a simple little gadget with features some may find handy.
Design
Made from a very sturdy woven cable, aluminum, and plastics, this USB memory cable is well built and feels built to last. There’s really not much to it, one end has the Lightning connector, while the other a USB Type-A with a MicroSD slot. Overall it’s a simple design but very well constructed.
- MicroSD card is NOT included in this product.
- This cable CAN transfer data between the MicroSD card inside the cable and a computer.
- This cable CAN transfer data between the MicroSD card inside the cable and Apple Lightning devices.
- This cable CANNOT transfer data between Apple Lightning devices and a computer directly. If you need to transfer data between Apple Lightning devices and a computer directly, please use an original Lightning cable.
- This cable CAN be used for charging Apple Lightning devices while a MicroSD card is inside.
Ease of Use
The DA50 works with an app called KisDisk which is available on the App Store. It’s not a complicated app to use but you will have to poke around a bit to figure things out as the instructions are in Chinese. There are graphics to help you along and it doesn’t take long to get to know the interface, once you navigate around you’ll get the idea very quickly. It’s nothing more than a file explorer really. One other nice touch is the ability to use TouchID or a password to keep your DA50 from being accessed.
Performance
Moving files to and from the DA50 isn’t any different than a normal SD card reader, insert into PC or Mac and move files onto the MicroSD card. Insert into Lightning port on the iPhone open app and access files or move files on or off. File transfer is pretty quick too, 13MB/s read and 8MB/s write on PC and just a bit slower over Lightning at 8MB/s read and 6MB/s write. You can also use it as a charging cable for your iDevice with a max output of 2.1A, though with its relatively short length you’ll have to be close to the power source. Overall the DA50 performs well and should work well for both Mac and PC users.
Price/Value
Currently $24.99 on Amazon, both the price and value are debatable. With no included SD card storage you’re basically paying for an SD card reader, but one that works with the iPhone and is Apple MFi Certified.
Wrap Up
Being able to slap a nice 128GB MicroSD card into this thing and throwing a bunch of music and movies on it is pretty cool. While you do have to use the included app to access everything, it could make for nice travel storage when you don’t want to eat up your iPhone storage or if you have movies you can’t get on your iPhone.
[rwp-review id=”0″]*We were sent a review sample of the dodocool DA50 for the purposes of this review.
Last Updated on January 23, 2017.
