Flash drives are one of the fastest means of transferring large files from one PC to another. They are reliable, portable, and compatible with both PC and Mac, yet they are cheaper than many other backup devices. So why are flash drives so cheap?
Flash drives are cheap because prices have dropped steeply with new technology. As technology advances every year, older technologies become cheaper, and manufacturers have learned to produce flash drives quickly and cheaply
This article will explore a few topics related to this question, such as the usefulness of a flash drive, its types, its lifespan, and what to look out for when buying one.
Are Flash Drives Still Useful?
Considering the rapid decrease in the price of flash drives, you might ask yourself if flash drives are still useful.
As I mentioned earlier, prices of things drop drastically as technology progresses, so the usefulness of your flash drive doesn’t necessarily reflect its cost. Despite the price decrease, flash drives are not obsolete.
Here are a few reasons why flash drives are still useful in this modern era.
- With your flash drive, you can read and write large amounts of data to your USB drives and collect data from the drive faster than most cloud-based backup drives.
- You can access the data on your flash drive without relying on any internet connection.
- You can store large amounts of data for a long time. In contrast, you might not be able to access your cloud storage without paying some subscription fees.
- Rather than flash drives being obsolete, we have old ones with older technology and new ones with new technology.
Your flash drive remains useful in storing, transferring, and backing data. You may consider an external hard drive, such as an SSD, for the same purpose. Still, it won’t give you the same portability a flash drive would. Flash drives also have a lower chance of getting damaged.
Present-day data storage needs are changing rapidly, and data is becoming unstructured. Unstructured data requires higher performance from storage devices, and flash storage is much faster than traditional hard drive discs.
A white paper speculates that flash drives will be a better data storage for the future, stating that the flash drive will be the primary enterprise storage by 2027.
Why Flash Drives Are Cheap
As I stated earlier, computer accessories’ prices drop with technological advances. The capacity of flash drives not only increases, but it increases faster every year. At the same time, scientists and engineers devise easier and cheaper ways to manufacture flash drives.
Today, we’re able to make smaller electronics than we could a few years ago, which allows flash drives to have a faster controller, faster memory, and larger memory modules.
Even though they both use flash storage, flash drives are cheaper than SSD. The main reason is that SSDs are designed to be much faster and have longer data retention and lifespan.
However, if you’re wondering why a specific flash drive is cheaper than other options—for example, when you compare an off-brand pen drive to a SanDisk—, then you might be looking at a device made with lower-quality chips. They might also be made of large chips that failed testing, so they disabled half of it in order to sell it as a lower-sized drive.
It’s worth noting that, regardless of its quality, a flash drive is not the best device for storing data in the long term. HDDs, although much slower, are still the best choice for this purpose.
What Is the Lifespan of a Flash Drive?
You can store data on your flash drive for up to 10 years. Your drive gets worn out based on how much data you write and erase on it.
The lifespan of your flash drive does not necessarily depend on the purchase price. Although some brands promise a longer lifespan, usage is the most significant factor.
The maximum write and erase data cycles on flash drives range from 10,000 to 100,000. Each time you add or erase something on your flash drive, it counts as one cycle.
This data cycles limit depends on the memory technology used in creating that particular flash drive. When you start experiencing some malfunctioning or sudden loss of data, this could mean that your flash drive is getting close to or has surpassed its set amount of cycles.
However, aside from the memory technology used, if you abuse or do not maintain your drive properly, you can also cause your drive to have a shorter lifespan than it’s supposed to.
What To Look for When Buying a Flash Drive
Technology is improving rapidly, so when buying a drive, consider buying the latest version. Drives over time have upgraded not just in size but in capacity, and the latest version usually has a better performance.
Here are some factors to consider before getting a flash drive.
- USB Port: 2.0 USB has a black block, while 3.0 has a blue block and 3.1 a red block. If you have 3.0 USB ports in your computer, you’ll want at least a 3.0 flash drive to get the most out of it.
- Data Transfer Speed: Transferring large amounts of data can take time. However, the higher versions of USB flash drives, such as 3.0 and 3.1, offer higher transfer speeds than 2.0.
- Storage capacity: Flash Drives come in different storage sizes. Your choice depends on your needs. Larger drives are more useful for backing up data.
Final Thoughts
Truly, flash drives are cheaper than many other backup systems, but their value is not in their market price. Flash drives are reusable, durable, quick, convenient, and portable.
Flash drives come in different types, sizes, and form factors, each suited to a particular purpose. Your purchase decision will depend on your needs and preferences.
Flash drives can last a long time—they can store data for up to ten years. Although brands promise a specific longevity, usage is also a significant factor in the lifespan of a flash drive.
