Insta360 Quick Reader Review: Tiny external SSD for action cams and smartphones

Insta360’s new product addresses the limited storage space of action cams and 360-degree cameras such as the X4 Air or Ace Pro 2. The Insta360 Quick Reader comes as a compact external SSD with 512 GB of storage and also works on PCs, smartphones and other devices. We took a closer look at the handy storage solution the size of a 50-cent coin in our test.

Technical data of the Insta360 Quick Reader

The product	Quick Reader
Storage capacity	512 GB
weight	5,4g
Max. Read/write speed (MB/s)	420 MB/s
Connection port	USB-C
Price of	156,99 Euro

Insta360 Quick Reader Test Design and workmanship

Compared to classic external SSDs, the Insta360 Quick Reader is downright tiny. Only a few centimeters small, flat, robust and 5.4 grams light. There is not much to discover. The manufacturer’s logo of Insta360 and Lexar, who are responsible for the memory, are emblazoned on the front.

At the back is a USB-C port for the connection. That’s it. There’s not really much more to tell. The flat design is extremely practical, as the Quick Reader barely protrudes beyond the action cam housing. This reduces the risk of losing the storage solution in the heat of battle.

The scope of delivery also includes three rubberized attachments for different types of cameras, which can be used for fixed mounting. Depending on the system, i.e. action cam or 360-degree camera, you should choose the appropriate attachment, but the Insta360 Quick Reader also works completely without one.

Insta360 Quick Reader in practice test

Thanks to the USB-C direct connection, the Insta360 Quick Reader is ready for use directly on action cams, smartphones, PCs and notebooks. Simply connect and get started, the memory is recognized immediately. Plug-and-play as it should be.

No need to install additional software. Once connected, the Insta360 app on the smartphone confirms that the Quick Reader has been recognized. And that’s it. You’re ready to go. This works wonderfully in practice and makes the workflow much easier.

Especially compared to a microSD card, which requires a corresponding card reader. You plug the Insta360 Quick Reader into your camera, take a picture, remove it and then connect it to your smartphone or PC to transfer the files. This saves time and simplifies mobile workflows considerably.

The Insta360 Quick Reader can also be connected directly to the smartphone and used to expand the often limited internal memory by a whopping 512 GB. This is very practical, as it also allows you to record with your cell phone directly via the external storage solution.

However, due to its design and shape, the storage does not work with most phone cases. For example, I had to peel my Pixel 10 Pro out of its leather case so that the storage solution could fit into the smartphone via USB-C. This could have been solved a little more elegantly.

Performance test of the Insta360 Quick Reader

The Insta360 Quick Reader comes with 512 GB of storage space and is connected directly via USB-C. We tested the performance of the external storage device using benchmarks such as CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD.

It is noticeable that the memory lags far behind modern external SSDs in terms of pure speed. Even quite inexpensive models such as a PNY RP60 Extreme (our test) achieve a significantly higher speed of 2,000 MB/s reading and 1,800 MB/s writing, but are of course also many times faster.

The Insta360 Quick Reader, on the other hand, offers speeds of up to 420 MB/s according to the manufacturer. This is of course significantly slower, even though it leaves classic microSD cards such as a Samsung PRO Plus (our test) far behind, which read at a maximum of 180 MB/s and write at 130 MB/s.

In terms of speed, the Insta360 Quick Reader sits somewhere between external SSDs and microSD cards. The speeds are absolutely sufficient to save large 4K or even 8K videos without any problems.

However, you shouldn’t expect much more, especially as the access times of 0.129 ms reading and 0.286 ms writing are rather leisurely. Nevertheless, there were no problems when backing up large videos during my test. However, significantly higher speeds can be achieved with an external SSD. The better choice for smartphone creators in particular.

Insta360 Quick Reader test: Conclusion

With the Insta360 Quick Reader, the manufacturer offers an interesting storage solution that offers a real advantage, especially for use with action cams and 360-degree cameras. A compact expansion by a whopping 512 GB of memory, which is hardly bulky and does not restrict the mobility of the cams.

The broad compatibility and the fast and simple transfer from or to the PC or notebook make the workflow much easier.

However, the speeds, although absolutely sufficient for most scenarios, are at a mixed level: faster than a microSD card, but significantly slower than external SSDs. The Insta360 Quick Reader is well suited for what it is made for. The compact design is particularly appealing. However, the price is too high compared to the performance in this category.