One millimetre is not a number you expect to see on a spec sheet for solid-state storage, yet that is exactly where the Lexar Muse Ultra-Slim Portable SSD tapers off at its edge. Lexar showed the drive at IFA 2026 in Berlin, taking Level 1, Hall 20, Stand 101 at Messe Berlin from September 4 to 8, 2026, and billed it as the world’s thinnest portable SSD.
The number that matters most is the other one: approximately 3.8 mm at its thickest point. The whole thing weighs 40 grams and is built as a precision-machined unibody metal shell, so it behaves less like a gadget and more like a card. That is the pitch, and Lexar leans into it hard. The Muse is meant to live in a wallet sleeve alongside your bank and ID cards, not in a camera bag pocket.
Getting there required a sacrifice that will divide opinion. A USB-C socket simply does not fit inside a 3.8 mm body, so Lexar dropped it. In its place sits a proprietary PogoPin magnetic data connection, fed by a bundled SnapLink Magnetic Cable that latches on through a spring-loaded pin interface and N52-grade neodymium magnets. It is elegant and it works, but it also means the drive is useless without its own cable.
Performance is respectable rather than record-breaking, which is the expected trade for the form factor:
- Read speeds: up to 1,050 MB/s
- Write speeds: up to 1,000 MB/s
- Capacities: 512GB and 1TB
- Thickness: approximately 3.8 mm at its thickest point, tapering to just 1 mm at the edge
- Weight: 40 grams
Lexar also ships a magnetic carry sleeve, again using N52-grade neodymium magnets, which clamps the Muse to the back of a MagSafe iPhone. That turns the drive into a rig accessory without clamps or cages, and it is clearly the scenario Lexar has in mind for video shooters.
Compatibility covers the iPhone 15 series or later, iPad, Mac and other USB-C devices, including compatible Android phones. The interesting part is Apple ProRes: the Muse supports direct external recording of ProRes 4K video at up to 120 fps. On the iPhone side, ProRes recording works on iPhone 15 Pro or later, with 4K 120 fps available on iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro. Recording ProRes straight to an external drive is the only sane way to shoot long takes on a phone, and the Muse is the least intrusive way yet to carry that drive.
The Muse arrives from Q4 2026, with Lexar noting that regional availability may vary. Pricing has not been announced. The launch doubles as a milestone for the company, which is marking its 30th anniversary and picked a drive thin enough to disappear into a wallet as its statement piece.
