Lexar has unveiled the Muse Ultra-Slim Portable SSD, a magnetic external drive designed to sit on the back of MagSafe-compatible iPhones while recording directly to external storage. The drive supports direct Apple ProRes 4K recording at up to 120fps on compatible devices, with quoted read speeds of up to 1,050MB/s and write speeds of up to 1,000MB/s.
The Muse measures 3.8mm at its thickest point and tapers to 1mm at its edges. Lexar uses a metal enclosure, stacked NAND memory and a thin PCB to keep the drive close to card-like proportions rather than the bulk of a conventional portable SSD.
Instead of a standard fixed connector, the SSD uses Lexar’s proprietary PogoPin interface and a magnetic SnapLink cable held in place by N52 magnets. The arrangement is intended to keep the drive attached to the phone while avoiding a dangling cable during mobile video capture.
Lexar plans to offer the Muse Ultra-Slim in 512GB and 1TB capacities during the fourth quarter of 2026. Pricing has not been announced.
Storage concepts for local AI
At IFA 2026 in Berlin, Lexar also showed an updated AI Storage Core platform, including Gen5 SSD and Storage Stick concepts rated for speeds of up to 11GB/s. The platform combines a 5nm SPU controller developed by Longsys with Lexar’s Luma Bridge technology, targeting locally run AI models where fast data loading and lower DRAM requirements can be important.
Lexar says the architecture can reduce DRAM demand by roughly 40% in certain AI scenarios. The company also presented USB storage products for dashcams and electric vehicles, built for continuous recording, multi-camera capture and high-temperature operation. Further details on the commercial rollout of the AI-focused storage products have yet to be announced.
