Description
- apacity Estimate: Holds roughly 1 million photos, 1,000 hours of HD video, or 1 million songs.
- Technology: Uses traditional spinning magnetic platters (Hard Disk Drive / HDD), offering the best cost-to-capacity ratio but slightly slower speeds compared to SSDs.
- Connectivity: Typically uses USB 3.0/3.2 Gen 1 (or USB-C on newer models) and is usually bus-powered, meaning it doesn’t need an extra wall power adapter.
- Portability: Portable 2.5-inch models fit in a pocket and weigh around 150–250 grams, whereas larger 3.5-inch desktop models require an outlet but offer larger capacities.
- Compatibility: Most are preformatted as exFAT or NTFS, making them instantly compatible with Windows, macOS, and sometimes gaming consoles like PS4/PS5 or Xbox.

