With Switch 2, iPhone, and laptop tricks, the Sharge Disk Pro 2 is finally a worthy EDC

This isn’t conscionable a drive. It’s a 4K HDMI dock and a USB-C hub too. It’s a veritable USB-C Swiss Army Knife for each your main gadgets: laptop, tablet, phone, Steam Deck, moreover the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.

And this USB multitool has built-in MagSafe shape magnets to instrumentality it to your iPhone, Pixel, aliases thing wherever you’re consenting to instrumentality a magnetic ring. (One stick-on ringing is included.)

In total, this pack-of-playing-cards-sized gadget adds 1 4K 144Hz HDMI 2.1 video output, a 5Gbps USB-A port, SD and microSD paper readers, positive USB-C passthrough charging — positive a slot to adhd up to 8TB of solid-state retention pinch a full-sized M.2 2280 (or smaller M.2 2242 and 2230) instrumentality SSDs.

By plugging successful a azygous cord, I gave my MacBook Pro a 2nd outer monitor, four simultaneous sources of retention (SSD, USB flash drive, SD, microSD), and 80W of USB-C PD juice.

And erstwhile I plugged successful my Android telephone and a USB-C iPhone, some of them saw the SSD and showed up connected my HDMI screen. It besides unlocked 4K60 ProRes video signaling connected the iPhone… much connected that successful a minute.

Some of these features exist together successful other gadgets, and this 10Gbps outer SSD enclosure surely isn’t the fastest successful municipality now that 40Gbps and 80Gbps enclosures exist. With large 100GB and 195GB transfers, my constitute speeds pinch a fund 1TB Lexar NM710 successful the Disk Pro 2 averaged astir 700MB/s.

But that’s still thing to sneeze at, and really galore enclosures double arsenic USB-C HDMI docks, fto unsocial ones that speak Nintendo’s language and magnetically connect to your phone? How galore person a built-in instrumentality to support them cool? And really galore are low-power capable that you tin powerfulness the HDMI and USB ports from your telephone aliases laptop, nary request for a powerfulness cord?

Things get a small tricky pinch the debased wattage, though.

First, Sharge is trading two models of the Disk Pro 2, the “Ultra” that requires astatine slightest 1.5W of USB-C autobus power, and and the “Lite” which needs 5W for its much power-hungry chips (and only does 4K60 complete HDMI 2.0, alternatively of 4K144 complete HDMI 2.1).

Second, to execute specified debased powerfulness tie connected the Ultra, it tin only way 3W of powerfulness from your laptop aliases telephone to a connected SSD, Sharge trading head Leo H. tells me. Reviews show my borrowed Lexar NM710 draws much than that during writes — and judge enough, the Disk Pro 2 unopen down correct aft I started ProRes video signaling connected an iPhone 15 Pro aliases a large transportation connected my Galaxy S25.

(There’s a elemental solution: conscionable plug an outer USB-C artillery aliases charger into the Disk Pro 2. When I did that, I recorded complete 5 minutes of 4K60 ProRes video, nary problem. You could alternatively effort to find a lower-power SSD.)

Third, while the HDMI dock does activity pinch some my Switch 2 and my original Switch, Nintendo’s handhelds explicitly cheque for a comparatively circumstantial outer powerfulness root earlier docking. Sharge is still tweaking the firmware, but says I presently request a 85W aliases higher USB-C PD charger plugged successful for Switch 2 successful particular.

You should besides cognize there’s a agelong region earlier the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 look connected a connected TV, for illustration immoderate different third-party docks, and you won’t get adaptable refresh complaint (VRR) pinch a Steam Deck aliases different PC handhelds. It does 4K144 and 4K120 pinch HDR, but the Steam Deck claims my VRR TV is not VRR-capable pinch the Disk Pro 2 arsenic a go-between.

And while I successfully worked pinch a mouse, keyboard, headset, monitor, webcam, and much plugged into the Disk Pro 2 for respective days — by daisy-chaining an other USB hub — I did occasionally spot the show spell acheronian for a minute, astir erstwhile a day.

There’s still activity for Sharge to do. But it’s the first thrust from the institution that I’d happily adhd to my spell bag.

The original Sharge Disk was a bulky dongle pinch a ridiculously noisy mini fan. The Disk Plus marketed itself arsenic barely-there stylishly bladed SSD enclosure that magnetically attaches to your phone, but the magnets were really a stick-on accessory that made the thrust overmuch thicker. The first Sharge Disk Pro had a powerfulness larboard truthful mini and recessed that astir charging cables wouldn’t fit, and buttons that could really trim powerfulness to the thrust mid-transfer.

The Disk Pro 2 fixes each that. The included cablegram is now detachable, the magnets are built-in, the ports are nary longer weirdly recessed, the instrumentality isn’t noisy by default, you tin move disconnected that instrumentality entirely, the move doesn’t trim powerfulness to the drive, and the thrust has a larger airflow path. Plus, you tin bring your ain SSD — though I’d for illustration toolless swaps to the existent screws.

You won’t ever spot overmuch higher transportation speeds turning that instrumentality connected afloat blast. My 195GB transportation took 4 minutes and 55 seconds pinch the instrumentality connected afloat power, and 5 minutes 5 seconds pinch it disconnected — a quality of conscionable 10 seconds, moreover though I fto it cool betwixt test. The existent quality is the 1 I felt erstwhile trying to prime up the Disk Pro 2 afterwards. Without fan, the metallic sides were burning basking to the touch.

The Disk Pro 2 Ultra is $75 connected Kickstarter for early bird and will beryllium $89 afloat retail. While the emblematic caveats use pinch Kickstarter projects, Sharge has a very coagulated way grounds for shipping (even if it’s deed and miss connected design).