The SK hynix Tube T31 is an M.2 SSD in a thumb drive body, and it hit a new low price for Prime Day (Image credit: Harish Jonnalagadda / Windows Central)
As someone who's cautious when it comes to relying exclusively on cloud storage, I can never seem to have enough SSDs and thumb drives lying around for transfers and long-term storage. However, traditional USB flash drives can no longer keep up with the speeds I want, and external SSDs aren't as portable.
The SK hynix Tube T31 solves the issues by combining an M.2 2242 SSD with a thumb drive form factor. It's a handy PC accessory for practically any user, and a 1TB model is now down to a new $62 low at Amazon during Prime Day. That wraps up after today, so don't wait too long if you need some handy and fast removable storage.
SK hynix is a brand that I usually rely on for internal SSD storage in my gaming PCs. I've only had good luck with its products, so I'm not worried about recommending its other products during October Prime Day.
Windows Central's storage and PC expert Harish Jonnalagadda reviewed the SK hynix Tube T31 earlier this year, handing it a Best Award and a perfect five-star score. He remarked:
"The Tube T31 looks like a USB flash drive, but it houses an M.2 2242 SSD that goes up to 1,000MB/s -- significantly faster than any other flash drive. In fact, it holds its own against the best external SSDs, and you get a familiar design with robust build quality and USB-A connectivity. The best part is that you can use it as an external game drive with the Xbox Series X/S, making it as versatile as it is portable. If you need a USB flash drive with a built-in SSD, the T31 is the obvious choice."
My colleague Harish was clearly impressed with the drive, and that was at the full $90 price. There have been a bunch of price drops since the Tube T31's launch, but none have hit the new $62 low at Amazon.
The Tube T31 uses a USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2) connector, which is probably the biggest drawback. But even if you don't have a USB-A port on your PC, you probably have a USB-C to USB-A adapter ready to go. Arguably the best part about it, at least for console gamers, is that you can use it with the Xbox Series X|S or PS5 for game storage.
SK hynix designed the drive to have two-meter drop protection, and it throws in a three-year warranty for extra peace of mind. It's also worth mentioning that SK hynix uses its own controller, DRAM, and NAND flash components in the drive, which is very rare among storage providers.