Accessory maker Genki has just announced its next project, and it's likely to be of interest to Steam Deck and ROG Ally owners, as well as iPhone videographers looking for more storage.
The SavePoint is a "gaming SSD" that offers up to 2TB of storage and is compatible with a wide range of devices. "Imagine carrying up to 2TB of your favourite games wherever you go," says Genki. "We’ve come a long way since Steve Jobs famously introduced '1,000 songs in your pocket.' With SavePoint, you can store 400,000 songs in a device the size of a Gameboy cartridge. With 10Gbps bandwidth, you can run AAA games directly from the drive and even boot external operating systems."
Connecting to your device using a USB-C cable, SavePoint grants instant access to oodles of storage, but it has other advantages, too – such as offering a way of running alterative operating systems on your Steam Deck, for example.
"Embracing Windows on your Steam Deck might seem unconventional, but it brings a host of advantages," adds Genki. "With SavePoint, you can enjoy the best of both worlds by keeping SteamOS internally and having the flexibility to access a broader range of platforms and compatible games."
In the same way, you can also run SteamOS on non-Steam gaming handhelds. "Windows 10/11 is a really poor user experience on the handheld (probably the same reason most of Steam Deck gamers don't want to spend time in SteamOS desktop mode)," says Genki. Using SavePoint, you can boot into SteamOS without having to touch your handheld's main OS installation.
SavePoint might also be useful for budding smartphone video makers, too, as it "unlocks 4K60 ProRes video recording on the latest iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Apple ProRes codecs provide an unparalleled combination of multistream, real‑time editing performance, impressive image quality, and reduced storage rates. ProRes codecs take full advantage of multicore processing and feature fast, reduced‑resolution decoding modes."
Here's a checklist of all you need to know about the SavePoint, direct from the Kickstarter page:
- Handheld Optimized: Ideal form factor for devices like the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and more.
- Passthrough Charging: Keep your game going and device powered while using SavePoint with up to 100W passthrough.
- M.2 2230 SSD: Up to 2TB of storage in an ultra-compact form factor with transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps to keep up with the demands of modern gaming.
- MagSafe Attachment: Designed to securely attach SavePoint to your consoles (and their cases) with included MagSafe stickers and smartphones.
- Integrated Heatsink: Four unique designs offer not just good looks, but efficient cooling for consistent performance.
- Data Protection: Built-in capacitor to protect your saves if the drive is suddenly disconnected or removed from its power source.
The SavePoint starts at $49.99 for the DIY model (Kickstarter: $39) – you supply your own internal storage. The 512GB model is $119.99 (Kickstarter: $99), 1TB $169.99 (Kickstarter: $139) and 2TB $249.99 (Kickstarter: $199).
[source kickstarter.com]
Comments 11
So basically they made a giant micro SD card.
@Poodlestargenerica
Even worse, it doesn't appear to be compatible with machines that actually need more storage like the NXswitch.
I always struggle with storage on that thing.
so you gotta have this thing hanging off the whole time?
My test these days goes something like, "would I rather just sit, maybe stare at some trees?" 👴
for some reason, playing a handheld with a thing hanging off doesn't pass the trees test these days. And, forget carrying it around which I assume is half the point.
Honestly, I was a much younger man in the Wii days, and I didn't like the "procon with the Mote hanging off" configuration, either. And that didn't even leave the house.
@-wc-
This thing is a solution looking for a problem.
Not really sure why this is an article on this site.
"A company made a USB-C SSD."
Okay.
I have a 2TB Kingston SSD for my Steam Deck with a Windows 11 install on it already, but having the same device with a charging passthrough is a GAME CHANGER.
The way I do it now is plug in a USB-C Y cable, hook up the SSD to one side of the Y and power to the other.
It works, but lots of dangly bits.
@WhensDinner Power passthrough makes it different. Steam Deck only has 1 USB-C port.
@-wc- You can get male-male USB-C adapters for about $5, so I guess it would be possible to just attach this drive to one of those instead... but it would have to be pretty light, or the weight could cause problems.
In general, this kind of thing is a big- and all too often overlooked- problem with portable devices, especially of the Apple variety: what's the point of an ultra-slim device, when you need a USB hub and other adapters to make it fully functional? I'd rather just have a bulky laptop that has all that stuff built in, as that bulky, singular slab is a lot more portable in reality.
@smoreon
you hit on something in tech that i think about a lot, which is that alot of the "advancements" seem to be simply pairing the components together in different enclosures. 🙄 i see it in home hifi, and guitar gear as well.
@-wc- At first glance I was thinking it was just an external USB C SSD. But after reading it over, it seems a bit more useful. It magnetically attaches to your devices, so it would be hanging there like a normal dongle. It has pass through charging, which is a must on handheld PCs that legit get 1 hour of game play on some AAA stuff. You could rig up something yourself with a USB C hub and an SSD, but it would be an awful mess.
Only thing I wish it had which isn’t mentioned is data pass through. Be a bummer to not be able to use this on a bigger screen.
There is a product similar to this by a company called “NewQ” on Amazon, but it also acts as a stand and a USB hub. Down side is, it only works for Steam Deck, and the storage is much slower because it uses micro SD. Also while it has video out, it is HDMI, so you lose the one cable USB C connection if you have a monitor that supports that.
@KitsuneNight The thing is, afaik Switch have to be software modded to be able to use a external drive. But only the now deceased and obsolete SXOS was able to read games from external storage. The current cfw in use doesn't have this option - I read once that it even could read, but devs didn't add this due to legality concerns
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