Sony says its USB hub is the world’s fastest SD card reader
It’s hard to spice up USB hubs when they’re practically ubiquitous. Sony’s solution? Make it indispensable to pro photographers. The company’s newly announced MRW-W3 hub is billed as the “world’s fastest” UHS-II SD (and microSD) card reader, supporting read rates up to 300MB/s. Whether or not it lives up to the boasts, it should easily transfer your camera’s giant RAW photos and 4K videos. This isn’t a one-trick brick, either — it’s meant to handle many of your laptop’s other needs while you’re on the road.
The hub supports 100W power delivery to handle monitors and other particularly demanding peripherals. You’ll also have USB-C and USB-A connectors to connect devices new and old, not to mention HDMI output for video up to 4K at 30 frames per second. Even the case is resilient, with IP68 dust and water resistance as well as an aluminum “wave” design that improves grip and reduces scratches.
Sony will sell the MRW-S3 sometime in the fall alongside new SF-M Tough SD cards (in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacities) that can take advantage of the hub’s speeds. The tech giant hasn’t provided a price, but that might not be an obstacle. If you own a high-end mirrorless or DSLR camera that can seriously tax the fastest card readers, the price of the USB hub will seem trivial by comparison.
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