Berlin – September 08, 2026 -- Lexar marked its 30th anniversary at IFA 2026 by unveiling the Muse Ultra-Slim Portable SSD, a card-like external drive the company calls the world's thinnest portable SSD, alongside new AI-optimized storage hardware.
The Muse SSD tapers to just 1mm at its edge
The drive measures 3.8mm at its thickest point and narrows to 1mm toward the rim, housed in a single-piece metal unibody with no visible seams. A magnetic sleeve using N52 neodymium magnets attaches the SSD to the back of compatible MagSafe iPhones, while a bundled SnapLink magnetic cable connects it to USB-C devices via Lexar's proprietary PogoPin data connector.
Speeds reach 1,050 MB/s for read operations
The Muse delivers read speeds up to 1,050 MB/s and write speeds up to 1,000 MB/s. It works with iPhone, iPad, Mac and other USB-C devices, and on compatible iPhone models it supports direct external 4K recording in Apple ProRes format at 120fps. iPhone compatibility requires an iPhone 15 series model or newer with a USB-C port; MagSafe attachment and ProRes recording support vary by device and case. The SSD arrives in 512GB and 1TB capacities starting in the fourth quarter of 2026, with regional availability and pricing subject to change.
New Gen5 chips target local AI workloads
Lexar also showed its AI Storage Core platform, featuring a Gen5 SSD and Gen5 USB stick built for AI-optimized performance. Both reach bandwidth up to 11 GB/s, aimed at running larger local AI models, faster model switching and low-latency data access. The underlying Gen5 controller, a Storage Processing Unit built on a 5-nanometer process, uses a DRAM-less architecture. Lexar's Luma Bridge technology applies workload scheduling and predictive prefetching to handle large Mixture-of-Experts models, cutting DRAM capacity requirements by roughly 40 percent.
Lexar pushes further into European business and EV markets
Beyond consumer products, Lexar is expanding its European localization efforts and moving beyond traditional retail. The company is offering a client SSD portfolio with PCIe Gen3 and Gen4 options for system manufacturers and business customers. It also introduced a USB stick series built for electric vehicle dashcams, designed for continuous loop recording, durable firmware, EV compatibility and reliable operation across varying temperatures.
Lexar's IFA 2026 lineup is on display in Berlin at Hall 20, Stand 101, through September 8.