Apacer has recently released a USB Type-C reversible-plug AH180 Dual Flash Drive. The company is trying to dominate the starting USB 3.1 Type-C market which comes with two USB interfaces: USB 3.1 Type-C and USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A. Apacer AH180 supports mobile OTG functions and can easily expand the capacities of compatible smart phones, tablets and tablet PCs.
One of the biggest highlight of this product of course is that it is a USB Type-C ready which is a future-proofing technology that's been released by Apacer just recently. USB Type-C devices are starting to roll-out, the sample devices in the market are: new MacBook releases, Nexus 6P and some other laptop that supports the USB Type-C.
Build & Design
The Apacer AH180 is a very small USB 3.1 Type-C flash drive and you can tell by its look that the design is inspired to Marvel's superhero Iron Man given in the gold coating and red plastic cover.
The red plastic cover is hard ans swivels around to cover either the USB Type-C or Type-A end.
The Apacer AH180 is so small as you can see in the picture, it is smaller than the common USB plug.
The Apacer AH180 also acts as an OTG storage for smartphones such as the image above where it is connected to the Nexus 6P, one of the smartphones which now supports Type-C devices.
Performance & Benchmarks
To test the full capability of the Apacer AH180, we use benchmark program/s to test its capability and see how it performs. Below is the test system specification of the PC / Laptop that is used to conduct this benchmark:
We performed three benchmark tests and the results were:
We also tested a real file to manually copy transfer (WRITE test) a 1GB video file from my PC to the Apacer AH180 which averages 16.6 MB/s in a file transfer.
On the second test, a 1GB video file is transferred (READ test) from the Apacer AH180 to the PC and the transfer averages to 40.7 MB/s.
So far the READ and WRITE tests performed well and the transfer speeds are good and the benchmark result and the manual transfer are almost same in speed tests.
Features
Specifications
Verdict
Apacer AH180 is a very small, light and first to hit the USB Type-C dual flash drive market. It is a good solution for people who have USB-C devices such as smartphones where in the Apacer AH180 acts also an OTG device that is readable by a phones, tablets and computers.
Pros
Cons
Overall Rating: 3.8 out of 5
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| Apacer AH180 |
Build & Design
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The Apacer AH180 has a USB Type-C on one end and a USB Type-A on the another, thus you can use it either on Type-C devices (such as Macs, Nexus 6P, etc.) or Type-A (such as the port in a PC or Laptop).
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Performance & Benchmarks
- CPU: Intel Core i3 (1.7GHz, 4 CPUs)
- Model: Dell Inspiron 3442
- Memory: 4GB RAM
- Graphics Card: NVDIA GEFORCE
- Hard drive (internal): 500GB
- SSD to test: 1TB Transcend ESD400
- OS: Windows 8.1
- USB: USB 3.0
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1st Test
Read: 43.46 MB/s
Write: 14.26 MB/s
2nd Test
Read: 43.65 MB/s
Write: 11.27 MB/s
3rd Test
Read: 43.41 MB/s
Write: 12.58 MB/s
Average Test Score
Read: 43.50 MB/s
Write: 12.70 MB/s
We also tested a real file to manually copy transfer (WRITE test) a 1GB video file from my PC to the Apacer AH180 which averages 16.6 MB/s in a file transfer.
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Features
- Dual Interface of USB 3.1 Type-C & USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A
- Reversible for Type-C Connector
- Compatible with USB On-The-Go (OTG) Feature
- 360-Degree Capless Swivel Design
- Storage Expansion of Your Mobile Device
- American SuperHero Style
Specifications
- Capacities: 16GB/32GB/64GB
- Interface: USB Type-C & standard USB heads：
- Type-A connector for USB 3.1 Gen 1, Backward compatible with USB 2.0 specifications
- Type-C connector for USB 3.1 Gen 1
- Notice: The 2 connectors cannot be plugged in any devices simultaneously.
- Operating Systems Supported:
- Windows 10/8.1/8/7/XP, Linux Kernel 2.6.x or above, MAC OS 10.4.x or above, Chrome OS
- Android 5.0 or above (For USB Type-C ready mobile devices and must support OTG function)
- Functionality: Compatible with USB On-The-Go (OTG) feature Plug and Play
- Performance (max.):
- Super speed up to 5Gbit/sec for USB 3.1 Gen 1
- High speed up to 480Mbit/sec for USB 2.0
- Dimension: (L)32.8 x (W)12.1 x (H)8.1mm
- Weight: 3.6g
Verdict
Apacer AH180 is a very small, light and first to hit the USB Type-C dual flash drive market. It is a good solution for people who have USB-C devices such as smartphones where in the Apacer AH180 acts also an OTG device that is readable by a phones, tablets and computers.
Pros
- Very handy, lightweight and small
- Fast read and write speeds
- USB Type-C and standard USB compatible
- Has an attractive design for a USB
- It is USB On-the-Go already
- Supports multiple Operating Systems
Cons
- For now there are few devices which supports USB Type-C
- Easy to lose
- Could be faster in transfer speeds
Overall Rating: 3.8 out of 5
