OWC Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B Reader transfers data at up to 5GB/sec
Feb 22, 2024
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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Other World Computing (OWC) has announced its newest memory card reader. It’s the OWC Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B card reader (buy here), and it transfers up to 5GB/sec (40Mbps). Or at least, it will when CFexpress B cards get that fast.
At the moment, its transfer capabilities exceed every CFexpress Type B card, including the recently released OWC Atlas Ultra, with read speeds up to 3.65GB/sec and write speeds up to 3GB/sec.
Fast, for a new generation of cards
The OWC Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B card reader is one of the first CFexpress 4.0 card readers on the market. It takes advantage of the USB4 protocol to ensure it can send (and receive) the maximum throughput of whatever card you stick into it.
The compact reader is of similar size, albeit a bit thicker, and about the same weight as your average smartphone. It’s compatible with PCs supporting USB4 and Thunderbolt 4, and USB-C-equipped Macs. It works with USB-C smartphones and tablets, including the new iPhone 15 and USB-C iPads. Thunderbolt 3 is also supported on Macs running macOS 11.1.0 and newer.
Backwards compatible with CFexpress 2.0
The OWC Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B card reader Specs supports up to 40Gbps (5GB/sec) transfer speeds as a result of its USB4 interface. This means it’s 4x faster than previous USB 3.2 Gen 2 card readers.
It’s fully compliant with the CFexpress 4.0 specification, and of course, it’s backwards compatible with previous generation CFexpress 2.0 cards. Despite the 5GB/sec transfer speed, your actual real-world speeds will depend on the speed of the card, too.
Price and Availability
The OWC Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B card reader is available to buy now from the OWC website starting at $99.99.
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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