My parents used to tell me wild stories about working in the computer industry back in the 70s and 80s—when “portable” meant pushing around machines the size of dishwashers, and storage was so limited that a few megabytes took up an entire metal cabinet. It’s a bit surreal thinking about those stories now, especially as I look at something like this ultra-compact USB-C SSD from SunEast that can hold up to 512GB of data in something barely bigger than a thumbnail. It’s an absolute marvel of modern tech—and the kind of thing that makes me pause and appreciate how far we’ve come. You could load this thing up with thousands of songs, photos, or video clips and still have space to spare—all in a gadget you could lose in the folds of your jeans.
SunEast, a Japanese company known for budget-friendly flash storage, clearly built this drive for use with phones and tablets, but there’s no reason it wouldn’t shine as a tiny add-on for laptops or desktops, especially if you want a discreet, always-plugged-in backup drive. Measuring just 20mm by 10.6mm, it’s ridiculously small—even smaller than many USB dongles—and still manages to operate at USB 3.2 Gen 1 speeds. In practical terms, that means it caps out around 450MB/s read speed, which is decent for such a tiny package. According to DigitalTrends, it’s not available for purchase just yet, even in Japan, but it will launch in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB flavors. If it gets a proper international release—and hopefully it does—it’s going to be a perfect companion for travelers, digital nomads, or anyone who wants to carry a ton of media or backup storage without lugging around bulky gear.