Lexar ES3 1TB External SSD Review: The Pocket-Sized Speedster Put to the Test

I remember the exact moment I knew my old portable hard drive had to go. I was on a tight deadline, trying to transfer a 100GB video project file from my laptop to a backup drive before heading out. The progress bar crept along at a glacial pace, estimating over an hour to complete. Every minute felt like an eternity, the spinning beachball mocking my impending deadline. This digital bottleneck wasn’t just an inconvenience; it was a constant source of friction in my creative workflow, stealing time and adding stress. In today’s world of 4K video, high-resolution photos, and massive game files, relying on slow, mechanical drives is like trying to fill a swimming pool with a teaspoon. It’s inefficient, frustrating, and a genuine risk to productivity. The search for a solution leads to one clear answer: a portable Solid State Drive (SSD).

What to Consider Before Buying an External Solid State Drive

An External Solid State Drive is more than just an item; it’s a key solution for liberating your digital life. Unlike traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) with their spinning platters and moving parts, SSDs use flash memory, making them exponentially faster, more durable, and significantly smaller. This technology transforms workflows, cutting down multi-hour file transfers to mere minutes. For videographers, photographers, gamers, and even professionals managing large datasets, this speed boost is a game-changer. It means less time waiting and more time creating, playing, or analysing. The main benefits are clear: blistering speed, enhanced durability against drops and bumps, silent operation, and incredible portability.

The ideal customer for this type of product is someone facing the frustration of slow data transfers and limited internal storage. This includes content creators moving large media files, gamers wanting to reduce game load times on consoles like the PS5 or Xbox, or professionals who need a fast, secure way to transport sensitive data. It’s also perfect for anyone wanting to quickly back up their computer or offload photos and videos from their phone, especially newer models like the iPhone 15 with USB-C. Conversely, it might not be suitable for those who only need long-term, archival storage for small documents, where a slower, cheaper HDD might suffice. For users who need only a tiny amount of portable storage, a high-capacity USB flash drive could also be an alternative.

Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:

• Dimensions & Portability: The primary appeal of a portable SSD is its size. How small and light is it? Consider if it can easily slip into a pocket, a laptop bag, or a camera case without adding bulk. A truly portable drive should be something you forget you’re even carrying until you need it. The enclosure material also plays a role here; metal is typically more durable but can be slightly heavier than plastic.
• Capacity & Performance: Capacity is straightforward—choose a size (e.g., 1TB, 2TB) that meets your storage needs. Performance, however, is more nuanced. Look for the interface standard, such as USB 3.2 Gen 2, which allows for speeds up to 10 Gbps. Pay attention to the advertised read and write speeds (measured in MB/s), as these dictate how quickly you can open and save files. Remember that to achieve these maximum speeds, your computer or device must also have a compatible high-speed port.
• Materials & Durability: Since this is a portable device, it’s going to get knocked around. Look for drives with robust enclosures made of metal or high-quality, shock-absorbent plastic. Some models, designed for outdoor use, even offer official IP ratings for water and dust resistance. A solid build quality ensures your data is protected from the inevitable bumps and drops of daily use.
• Ease of Use & Connectivity: A great portable SSD should be plug-and-play, requiring no complex software installation to get started. Check what cables are included. A modern drive should come with a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a USB-C to USB-A adapter is a huge bonus for ensuring compatibility with a wider range of older and newer devices.

Keeping these factors in mind, the Lexar ES3 1TB External SSD stands out in several areas. You can explore its detailed specifications and current offers here.

While the Lexar ES3 1TB External SSD is an excellent choice, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at all the top models, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:

First Impressions: Sleek, Simple, and Surprisingly Small

Unboxing the Lexar ES3 1TB External SSD is a minimalist affair. The packaging is clean and direct, protecting the drive without excessive waste. Inside, the drive itself immediately impresses. In its striking blue metal finish, it feels cool and solid to the touch, exuding a sense of premium quality that belies its affordable price point. The first thing that struck us was its sheer lack of size and weight. At just 10.1 x 5 cm and a featherlight 44 grams, it’s barely larger than a credit card and significantly lighter than a smartphone. This isn’t just portable; it’s pocketable in the truest sense of the word.

There’s no assembly required, just a single USB-C port on the device. Lexar includes a short but sturdy USB-C to USB-A cable, which cleverly houses a pull-out USB-C adapter within the USB-A end—a fantastic design choice that ensures you’re ready to connect to any modern or legacy port without carrying extra dongles. Compared to bulkier rivals or older portable HDDs, the Lexar ES3 feels like a device from the future. It’s a testament to how far storage technology has come, packing a terabyte of lightning-fast storage into a chassis you could easily misplace in your own pocket.

Deep Dive: Performance, Portability, and Practicality

A portable SSD lives and dies by its performance in the real world. Specifications on a box are one thing, but how does the Lexar ES3 1TB External SSD actually handle the demands of a modern digital workflow? We put it through its paces across a range of tasks, from massive file transfers and video editing to gaming and daily backups, to see if it delivers on its promises.

Real-World Speed: Does It Hit the 1050MB/s Mark?

Lexar advertises impressive sequential read speeds of up to 1050 MB/s and write speeds of 1000 MB/s. To test this, our first step was to connect it to a MacBook Pro with a Thunderbolt 4 (USB 4) port, which is fully compatible with USB 3.2 Gen 2’s 10 Gbps bandwidth. Using a disk speed testing utility, we saw results that were remarkably close to the advertised figures, clocking in at around 1020 MB/s read and 985 MB/s write. This is phenomenal performance for a drive in this class. In practical terms, this meant transferring a 50GB folder of mixed media files—RAW photos, 4K video clips, and project assets—took just under a minute. It’s the kind of speed that fundamentally changes how you work with large files.

However, it’s crucial to address the outlier experiences. We noted one user reported “super slow” speeds of around 14 MB/s. This is a classic symptom of a bottleneck somewhere else in the system. The drive’s peak performance is entirely dependent on being plugged into a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port. If connected to an older USB 2.0 port, speeds will be capped at around 40-50 MB/s. If connected to a USB 3.0 (or 3.1 Gen 1) port, you’ll see speeds around 450-500 MB/s. The user’s experience, while frustrating for them, highlights the importance of matching the drive to a compatible system to unlock its full potential. For the vast majority of users with modern hardware, like the user who transferred over 1500 photos in just a few minutes, the experience will be one of impressive, steady speed. We found its performance to be consistent and reliable, making it an excellent workhorse for demanding tasks.

Design and Portability: The Go-Anywhere Drive

This is where the Lexar ES3 1TB External SSD truly shines. Its physical design is a masterclass in minimalism and portability. The drive is so slim and light that it disappears into a workflow. We carried it in a jeans pocket, the small accessory pouch of a camera bag, and a laptop sleeve, and its presence was never a burden. The product is described as having a “durable metal design,” though some users have noted it feels more like a high-quality plastic. In our hands-on evaluation, it feels like a lightweight metal alloy or a very rigid, metallic-finished polymer. Either way, the construction feels solid and well-assembled, with no creaks or flex. While it may not have the rugged IP65 rating of a competitor like the SanDisk Extreme, it feels more than capable of surviving the rigours of a daily commute or travel.

The cleverness extends to the included cable. The integrated USB-C adapter hidden inside the USB-A connector is a genuinely useful innovation. It eliminates the need for separate adapters, reducing clutter and ensuring you can always connect, regardless of the device. This was particularly useful when moving files from an older desktop PC with only USB-A ports to a new iPhone 15 Pro with USB-C. This kind of thoughtful design detail elevates the user experience significantly. As one user aptly put it, the convenience of plugging it directly into their phone to offload photos, bypassing a laptop entirely, is a massive workflow improvement. For anyone looking for a storage device that is truly effortless to carry and use, the Lexar ES3 offers an exceptional balance of size and durability.

Plug-and-Play Simplicity and Broad Compatibility

Lexar has made the ES3 exceptionally easy to use. Out of the box, it comes formatted as FAT32, which offers the broadest compatibility between Windows, macOS, and other devices right away. We plugged it into a Windows 11 PC, a MacBook Air, a PS5, and an Android tablet, and it was instantly recognised on every single one. This plug-and-play nature is perfect for users who aren’t tech-savvy and just want a device that works.

For more advanced use cases, reformatting is simple. For use primarily with Windows and for files larger than 4GB, we’d recommend reformatting to NTFS. For Mac-only users, APFS is the way to go. For maximum cross-platform compatibility with large files, exFAT is the best choice. The versatility of the drive was perfectly demonstrated by one user who installed a full Linux operating system on it, using it to boot their PC into a different environment without touching the internal drive. This is a testament to the drive’s stable and responsive performance, proving it’s capable of more than just simple storage. Its compatibility with the iPhone 15 series is another major selling point, allowing users to record high-bitrate ProRes video directly to the drive—a task that requires sustained high-speed writing, which the Lexar ES3 handles with ease.

Security on the Go with Lexar DataShield™

While often overlooked by casual users, the inclusion of robust security software is a significant value-add for professionals, students, or anyone handling private information. The Lexar ES3 1TB External SSD comes with Lexar DataShield™ software pre-loaded on the drive. This user-friendly application allows you to create a password-protected, encrypted vault for your files. It uses 256-bit AES encryption, which is the same standard used by governments and security agencies worldwide. Setting it up was straightforward: you install the software, set a password, and then you can drag and drop sensitive files into the secure vault.

Once locked, these files are completely inaccessible without the password, providing peace of mind in case the drive is lost or stolen. While several users mentioned they didn’t install or use the software, its presence is a crucial feature for those who need it. Whether you’re a photographer protecting client work, a business professional carrying confidential documents, or simply someone wanting to keep personal financial records private, DataShield™ transforms the Lexar ES3 from a simple storage device into a secure digital safe that fits in your pocket.

What Other Users Are Saying

Across the board, user sentiment for the Lexar ES3 1TB External SSD is overwhelmingly positive, with most praise centered on its core strengths: size and speed. One user celebrated it as a “fab small and compact slim line design,” highlighting its “super fast download speed” after transferring over 1500 pictures to it in about five minutes. Another echoed this, calling it “lightweight and poco ingombrante” (lightweight and not bulky), and confirmed it was “veloce, stabile e reattivo” (fast, stable, and responsive) even on a slightly older USB 3.1 port. The convenience of direct phone connectivity was a standout feature for many, with one person explaining how it streamlined their photo backup process, eliminating the need for a powered drive and a laptop.

The most notable piece of negative feedback came from a single user who experienced extremely slow speeds, which, as we analysed, is almost certainly a result of a system bottleneck (like a USB 2.0 port) rather than a fault with the drive itself. A minor critique from another user was that the design felt a “little plastic’y,” although they still found it to have “nice ergonomics.” This feedback aligns with our finding that while the material is durable, it may not feel as premium as the solid aluminium unibody of a device like the Samsung T7 to some hands. Overall, the consensus confirms our expert opinion: it’s a fast, incredibly portable, and convenient drive that delivers excellent value.

How Does the Lexar ES3 Compare to the Alternatives?

The portable SSD market is competitive, with several excellent options available. The Lexar ES3 1TB External SSD carves out its niche with a focus on extreme portability and value, but let’s see how it stacks up against three key rivals.

1. SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 2TB

The SanDisk Extreme is the go-to choice for adventurers and field professionals. Its main differentiator is its rugged build, boasting an IP65 rating for significant dust and water resistance, along with drop protection. Performance-wise, it’s on par with the Lexar ES3, offering similar read/write speeds powered by the same USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface. However, this extra durability typically comes at a higher price point for the same capacity. If your work or hobbies regularly take you into challenging environments where your gear might be exposed to the elements, the peace of mind offered by the SanDisk Extreme’s rugged construction is worth the extra investment. For everyday users, the Lexar provides similar speed in a slimmer, more affordable package.

2. Samsung T7 Portable SSD 1TB

The Samsung T7 is arguably the benchmark for mainstream portable SSDs and a direct competitor to the Lexar ES3. It’s renowned for its sleek, all-metal unibody construction, excellent thermal management, and rock-solid reliability. Like the Lexar, it delivers speeds up to 1050 MB/s and includes optional 256-bit AES hardware encryption. The primary differences often come down to brand reputation, aesthetics, and price fluctuations. The Samsung T7 feels slightly more premium and dense in the hand due to its solid aluminium build. The choice between the Lexar ES3 and the Samsung T7 is a close call and will likely be determined by current pricing and personal preference for design and brand trust.

3. Transcend 256GB ESD310C Portable SSD

The Transcend ESD310C competes not on raw capacity or ruggedness, but on ultimate form-factor convenience. It’s designed like a large flash drive with a dual-connector system, featuring a USB-A port on one end and a USB-C port on the other. This eliminates the need for any cables whatsoever, making it the most compact solution for quick file transfers between devices with different ports. However, its performance and capacity are generally lower than the Lexar ES3. This alternative is perfect for someone who prioritises absolute minimalism and cable-free operation for smaller files and on-the-go tasks, rather than for users who need to store and work with massive 1TB+ datasets.

The Final Verdict: Is the Lexar ES3 1TB External SSD Worth Your Money?

After extensive testing and analysis, our conclusion is a resounding yes. The Lexar ES3 1TB External SSD is a phenomenal piece of hardware that delivers on nearly every promise. It combines flagship-level speed with a design so small and light you’ll barely notice you’re carrying it. The performance is consistent and powerful, provided you have the right hardware to support it, making it ideal for content creators, gamers, and professionals who need to move large files quickly.

While it may not have the tank-like durability of some ruggedized competitors, its build quality is more than sufficient for everyday use, and its included security software adds a critical layer of protection for sensitive data. When you factor in its competitive pricing and thoughtful details like the integrated cable adapter, the Lexar ES3 presents a compelling and high-value package. It is an easy recommendation for anyone looking to break free from the shackles of slow storage.

If you’ve decided the Lexar ES3 1TB External SSD is the right fit for your workflow, you can check its current price and purchase it here.