Greatest Exterior SSD For Mac 2024

We preferred the sturdy little XS2000 drive that Kingston launched again in 2022, however it was fairly costly and used a model of USB referred to as USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, which isn’t absolutely supported on the Mac in the intervening time. Drives that use ‘Gen 2×2’ will nonetheless work with a Mac, however the Mac gained’t get the complete velocity that the drive is able to. Nonetheless, Kingston has now launched a extra reasonably priced mannequin known as the XS1000. It is a extra typical USB-C drive, utilizing commonplace USB 3.2 Gen 2, so it’s a superb, reasonably priced choice for Mac customers who simply desire a compact, light-weight backup drive.

The XS1000 is likely one of the smallest and lightest SSDs that we’ve seen thus far – in reality, it appears to be like extra like a little bit USB thumb drive, somewhat than a high-capacity backup drive. It measures simply 13.5mm thick, 32.5mm extensive and 69.5mm lengthy, and weighs solely 28.7g, so you’ll be able to simply slip it into your shirt or trouser pocket while you’re touring. It’s not fairly as rugged because the costlier XS2000 – which had an IP55 ranking for water and mud resistance – however the plastic and steel casing feels sturdy sufficient to deal with a couple of knocks while you’re touring, and Kingston gives a five-year guarantee as nicely.

It’s very competitively priced too, costing $84.99/£74.99 with 1TB of storage, or $109.99/£99.99 with 2TB. The drive’s USB interface gives a quoted write velocity of 1000MBs, whereas the learn velocity is barely greater at 1050MB/s. It didn’t fairly match these speeds in our exams, however its write velocity of 875MB/s and browse velocity of 950MB/s will nonetheless be fantastic for routine back-ups with Time Machine. Our solely criticism is that Kingston solely features a USB-A-to-USB-C cable with the XS1000, so that you’ll want to purchase an adaptor or a brand new cable in case your Mac solely has USB-C. Skilled customers may favor a sooner drive, or a extra rugged design, however in case you simply need an reasonably priced backup drive that may go touring with you then the XS1000 is nice worth for cash.

Many transportable drives use a normal USB-C port for connecting to a Mac or PC, however SanDisk’s Professional-G40 opts for a high-speed Thunderbolt 3 port to supply most efficiency for skilled customers who have to work with giant video and graphics recordsdata (and, after all, it’s backward-compatible with USB-C as nicely).

The Professional-G40 was first launched in 2022, and was already on our listing of the perfect SSD drives for Mac, however this present mannequin gives each improved efficiency and better capability to your work recordsdata. The design hasn’t modified although, with a compact, transportable drive that measures simply 12mm thick, 58mm extensive and 111mm lengthy. It weighs simply over 120g – relying on the capability you select – so you’ll be able to slip it right into a jacket pocket or right into a carrying case alongside your MacBook with no hassle in any respect. The drive can also be extraordinarily robust, with a sturdy steel case that’s rated IP68 – one of many highest scores potential – for resistance to water, mud and different particles. Western Digital, which now owns the SanDisk model, additionally claims that the drive can survive drops from a top of 3m, and may face up to crushing stress of as much as 4000lbs. The drive even features a five-year guarantee as nicely.

The 2022 model of the Professional-G40 offered learn and write speeds of 2700MB/s and 1900MB/s respectively when utilizing the Thunderbolt cable included within the field, however the present mannequin is rated at 3000MB/s for learn and 2500MB/s for write speeds. Our exams confirmed it to be completely spot-on for write efficiency, persistently hitting 2500MB/s. The learn efficiency didn’t fairly hit the quoted 3000MB/s, settling at simply over 27000MB/s, however that’s nonetheless far sooner than most USB-C drives, and gives the form of efficiency that skilled customers want for backing up their work recordsdata.

That mixture of excessive efficiency and ultra-rugged design does imply that the Professional-G40 is sort of a bit costlier than many USB-C drives, so it’s most likely overkill in case you simply want an reasonably priced transportable drive for backing up private recordsdata. Nonetheless, skilled customers will likely be happy to search out that the value of the Professional-G40 has been decreased just lately, with the 1TB mannequin now costing $299.99/£294.99, whereas the 2TB model is $449.99/£441.99. And, as talked about, there’s a brand new 4TB model to supply additional capability, priced at $699.99/£687.99.

We usually set up evaluations of transportable drives and desktop drives individually, however the brand new SanDisk Professional Blade is a modular SSD storage system that could be very a lot designed for skilled and inventive customers, and lets you swap between transportable and desktop modes as required.

You can begin by shopping for the Professional Blade SSD Magazine, which is a solid-state storage module that’s accessible in 1TB, 2TB or 4TB sizes (the 1TB was discounted from $179.99 to $119.99 on the time of our assessment). The SSD Magazine is pre-formatted in APFS format for Mac customers, and is hard sufficient to resist being dropped from a top of three meters or 9.8 foot, and face up to 4000lb (1814kg) crush stress, making it preferrred for outside use. Nonetheless, the SSD Magazine modules can’t connect with a pc on their very own, so SanDisk gives two choices for transportable and desktop use.

For transportable use you should purchase the Professional Blade Transport, which is a compact case for the SSD Magazine, and is provided with a USB-C port for connecting to your Mac. The Transport measures simply 130.4mm lengthy, 71.5mm extensive and 16mm thick, so you’ll be able to simply slip it into your pocket or a carrying case similar to some other transportable drive. It’s additionally potential to attach the Transport to a digicam that has a USB-C interface in an effort to report high-res video somewhat than having to hold a number of smaller SD reminiscence playing cards.

While you get again to the workplace you even have the choice of inserting the SSD Magazine modules into the Professional Blade Station ($499.99/£490.99). This desktop storage system doesn’t embody any built-in storage of its personal, however it has 4 slots that help you insert SSD Magazine modules (not included) offering as much as 16TB of high-speed solid-state storage. The Professional Blade Station has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, with one used to attach your Mac, whereas the opposite port can be utilized to daisy-chain extra storage units if required. The Professional Blade Station is pretty costly – provided that it doesn’t embody any storage of its personal – however it offers you the choice of making a high-speed, high-capacity SSD storage system to be used in your workplace, while additionally with the ability to take away the person SSD Magazine modules and use them as transportable drives each time you could.

Western Digital – which owns SanDisk as of late – claims that the Professional Blade Station can present learn and write speeds of 3000MB/s and 2600MB/s respectively. Our exams really recorded a learn velocity of 2600MB/s and write velocity of 2300MB/s, however that’s nonetheless one of many quickest SSD drives we’ve ever seen, making it a superb choice for artistic customers who want a quick storage system that they will use each within the workplace and on the street.

The LaCie Transportable SSD is an choice for individuals who don’t want James Bond ranges of safety. Accessible with 500GB, 1TB or 2TB of storage, the Transportable SSD has a brand new design in comparison with its predecessor. Reasonably than sharply angular corners and edges of the now discontinued LaCie Cellular SSD, the compact Transportable SSD has easily spherical corners – maybe following Apple’s current fetish for rounded corners on icons in Large Sur and Monterey.

It’s smaller and lighter than earlier drives from LaCie too, measuring simply 0.4in/10.6mm thick, 1.9in/50mm extensive, and 3in/80mm lengthy, and it weighs a mere 1.5oz/45g, so it’s preferrred for carrying round together with your MacBook or iPad while you’re touring.

The drive has a single USB-C interface, and features a USB-C cable, however the low value signifies that there aren’t any added extras, akin to an adaptor for older Macs which have USB-A (3.2) connectors.

LaCie hasn’t minimize some other corners, although. The Transportable SSD has a stable, sturdy design that ought to be capable of deal with a couple of bumps in a backpack or briefcase, and it performs very nicely too.

LaCie quotes learn and write speeds of 1000MB/s, however repeated exams with the BlackMagic velocity check app confirmed the Transportable SSD comfortably cruising alongside at round 1,300MB/s with no hassle in any respect.

That mixture of velocity, compact design and aggressive pricing makes the Transportable SSD an awesome choice for anybody that wants a conveyable backup drive for his or her Mac or iPad.

Learn our full assessment.

The light-weight, compact design of solid-state drives makes them an awesome choice in case you want a conveyable back-up drive to make use of together with your MacBook while you’re touring. Nonetheless, transportable SSDs do are likely to have restricted storage capability, typically with a most of simply 1TB or 2TB. In distinction, the SanDisk Desk Drive gives each high-speed SSD efficiency and excessive capability too, beginning with a minimal of 4TB for $379.99/£359.99. If that’s not sufficient then you may also step as much as 8TB, for $699.99/£663.99.

Because the title suggests, the Desk Drive could be very a lot designed for desktop use in an workplace, and it’s bigger than most typical SSDs, standing 40.2mm excessive and 99.2mm on either side, and weighing 268g. The drive itself remains to be small and light-weight sufficient to slide right into a backpack or touring bag alongside together with your MacBook, however it does require a mains energy provide as nicely, so this isn’t a drive that’s going to depart the workplace fairly often (we did attempt to energy it via a USB-C port on our MacBook Professional, however that didn’t work).

It’s additionally a little bit disappointing that the Desk Drive simply has a single USB-C port for knowledge switch. At this value, a few additional ports would have been a helpful bonus, particularly for MacBook fashions that solely have a few USB-C ports of their very own.

We didn’t have any complaints concerning the Desk Drive’s efficiency, although. SanDisk quotes a velocity of 1GB/s, though the outcomes we received have been nearer to 925MB/s and 910MB/s for write and browse speeds respectively. That’s not as quick as some high-end SSDs which can be designed for skilled customers – akin to SanDisk’s personal Professional Blade system – however it’s nonetheless so much sooner than a traditional arduous drive, and the Desk Drive will likely be an excellent choice for individuals who merely want a quick backup drive that gives loads of storage for photographs, movies and work recordsdata.

Seagate’s OneTouch arduous drives are a well-liked selection with many customers. The OneTouch SSD is the smallest and lightest transportable drive we’ve ever seen and is obtainable in black, silver or blue.

When sitting flat on the desk it measures simply 2in/50mm extensive, 2.7in/70mm deep and a mere 0.4in/10.6mm thick. And it weighs solely 2.6oz/74g, so you’ll be able to simply slip it into your pocket and carry it round together with your laptop computer or iPad while you’re touring. It’s sturdily constructed too, with Seagate claiming that it may face up to being dropped from a top of 6.5 foot/2m.

The OneTouch drive has a USB-C interface, however Seagate consists of each USB-C and USB-A cables in an effort to use it with most Macs and PCs straight out of the field.

It really works with Apple’s Time Machine for automated backups, however Seagate additionally consists of its personal ToolKit app, which has a ‘sync’ choice for backing up particular folders. The drive additionally features a one-year free subscription to the Mylio photo-organizer app, and 4 months with Adobe’s CC Pictures plan, usually $9.99/£9.98 a month on an annual plan (learn our information to getting the perfect deal on Adobe Inventive Cloud).

The drive is obtainable with 500GB, 1TB or 2TB of storage, so it gives loads of room for backing up giant libraries of photographs, movies or music. It doesn’t fairly match Seagate’s quoted velocity of 1GB/s, however it recorded learn and write speeds of 835MB/s and 915MB/s respectively in our exams, which nonetheless put it among the many quickest solid-state drives that we’ve examined just lately. And, with its ridiculously gentle and compact design, the OneTouch will likely be preferrred for backing up all of your vital recordsdata while you’re on the transfer.

LaCie’s Rugged drives have been widespread with Mac customers for a few years, due to their mixture of high-performance and that now-familiar orange sleeve that helps to maintain the drive secure while you’re working open air. Nonetheless, the Rugged vary has principally used typical arduous drives prior to now, that are slower than the most recent solid-state drives, in addition to being larger and heavier. Welcome the Rugged Professional SSD, which is primarily geared toward artistic customers.

The Rugged SSD vary begins at round $180/£180 for a mannequin with 500GB storage, however we have been in a position to assessment the SSD Professional, which stands out from the remainder of the vary with its matte-black sleeve. It’s fairly costly, costing £409.99/$419 with 1TB of storage, and a hefty $739.99/£699.99 for the 2TB mannequin, however it justifies that value with a fair harder design and the most recent, super-fast solid-state drives designed for skilled video work.

Switching to a solid-state drive signifies that the SSD Professional is now the smallest mannequin within the Rugged vary, measuring simply 3.8in/98mm lengthy, 2.5in/65mm extensive and 0.6in/17mm thick. It solely weighs 100g/3.5oz, so you’ll be able to simply slip it into your pocket or bag while you’re touring and barely even discover that it’s there.

Regardless of its compact design, that new black sleeve is severely robust and rated IP67 for resistance to water and mud, permitting it to outlive in 3.2 foot/1m of water for as much as half-hour. It may deal with being dropped from a top of 9.8 foot/3m, and may even resist the burden of a two-tonne automotive driving over it. It features a five-year guarantee in case something does go unsuitable, which incorporates one go to to LaCie’s data-recovery labs if you could retrieve vital knowledge.

The Rugged SSD Professional consists of only a single Thunderbolt 3/USB-C interface, however most of its excessive value is all the way down to using the most recent NVMe solid-state drives, which offer high efficiency for high-end video purposes, akin to modifying 8K or super-slow-motion video recordsdata (which could be monumental, as they shoot at as much as 240 frames per second on the most recent iPhones). The drive didn’t disappoint, recording constant write speeds of 1780MB/s, and a fair sooner 2480MB/s for learn speeds – with each figures leaving nearly each different SSD drive we’ve ever examined trailing in its wake. And, when backing up our iTunes music library, the Rugged SSD Professional blew us away by backing up 5GB of music recordsdata in simply 5 seconds – look away for a few seconds and also you’ll miss it!

After all, not everybody will want that form of efficiency – particularly at this value – however in case you work with high-res video and want a quick, robust drive for outside work then the Rugged SSD Professional is in a category of its personal.

LaCie’s Rugged vary of arduous drives and SSDs has lengthy been widespread with individuals who want a sturdy back-up drive that may deal with tough climate and circumstances when working open air. The Rugged drives have all the time tended to be somewhat giant and hulking, although – just like the Rugged SSD Professional (under) – so LaCie has now produced a extra compact choice within the type of the brand new Rugged Mini SSD.

As you may anticipate, the Rugged Mini appears to be like very very similar to its rugged relations, with LaCie’s distinctive shiny orange rubber sleeve serving to to maintain the drive secure. However, after all, it’s so much smaller than earlier fashions, measuring simply 17.3mm thick, 66.9mm extensive, 105mm lengthy. It solely weighs 114g as nicely, so you’ll be able to simply slip it right into a jacket pocket or backpack while you’re touring.

Regardless of that compact design, the Rugged Mini remains to be robust sufficient to deal with some tough remedy. It’s rated IP54 for water and mud resistance, so it ought to be capable of deal with life open air in case you’re engaged on location for a photo- or video shoot. And, due to that rubber sleeve, it may deal with drops of as much as 3m and even survive being pushed over by a 1-tonne truck. And if that’s not robust sufficient, the drive comes with a three-year guarantee that features LaCie’s Rescue Information Restoration Service, to assist restore any misplaced knowledge.

The drive’s USB-C port will work with any Mac or PC that additionally has USB-C or Thunderbolt. However, like a variety of drives that we’ve seen just lately, it makes use of a model of USB referred to as USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, which isn’t absolutely supported by Macs in the intervening time. Which means that Macs gained’t be capable of get the complete 2000MB/s speeds supported by that interface, and our exams confirmed this, recording write and browse speeds of 900MB/s and 970MB/s respectively. We’ve seen stronger efficiency from some rival drives, however these speeds must be completely sufficient for routine backups while you’re on the street, and the sturdy design of the Rugged Mini makes it a superb choice for individuals who want a drive that they will use open air frequently.

Pricing is a little bit complicated, although. Within the US, the Rugged Mini prices $84.99/£74.99 (1TB), $109.99/£99.99 (2TB), and $159.99/£149.99 (4TB). We’ve seen a lot decrease costs from Amazon and different on-line retailers, so it’s undoubtedly price buying round earlier than shopping for.

Western Digital’s Passport drives have all the time offered transportable, light-weight designs, and the My Passport SSD combines compact design with sturdy efficiency and extra security measures.

Accessible in a wide range of colours, the My Passport SSD gives as much as 4TB of solid-state storage, though the 1TB mannequin that we assessment right here prices $74.99/£94.99.

The drive measures simply 0.35in/9mm thick, and weighs 1.6oz/46g, so it’s sufficiently small to slide right into a jacket pocket while you’re on the transfer. Nonetheless, it’s additionally robust sufficient to outlive being dropped from a top of two metres.

The drive is provided with a USB-C interface, however WD features a USB-C cable and a USB-A adaptor with the drive, so you’ll be able to nonetheless use it with older Macs that don’t have USB-C. The solid-state drive gives good efficiency too, recording a write velocity of 935MB/s and browse velocity of 908MB/s, making it an awesome choice for backing up your vital recordsdata on the transfer.

It’s safe too, as WD’s Discovery app lets you set a password for the drive so as preserve your recordsdata secure. There’s a second app as nicely, known as WD Unlocker, which is constructed into the drive itself, and lets you enter the password in an effort to use the drive with one other Mac or PC if you could.

When the drive was first launched there have been complaints that the WD apps hadn’t been correctly up to date to 64-bit code for the most recent variations of the macOS, however we examined the drive with our workplace Macs and didn’t encounter any issues.

Learn a full assessment over on our sister web site Tech Advisor.

SanDisk has been making a push for the skilled market with a few of its current merchandise, however it’s additionally well-known for merely offering good worth for cash with merchandise such because the SanDisk Transportable SSD. In reality, the Transportable SSD is so low-cost that SanDisk doesn’t even trouble promoting a 500GB mannequin on its web page, leaping straight as much as 1TB for a really aggressive $101.99/£104.99, whereas even the 2TB mannequin prices simply nicely below $200/£200.

The Transportable SSD lives as much as its title too, because it measures simply 10mm thick, 47mm extensive and 97mm lengthy, so you’ll be able to slip it right into a jacket or perhaps a shirt pocket and barely even discover that it’s there. The light-weight plastic case doesn’t really feel fairly as sturdy as we’d have preferred, {and professional} customers who work open air so much may favor a drive with a extra rugged design. Nonetheless, SanDisk states that it may survive being dropped from a top of two metres, and there’s a useful little rubber hook on one nook to assist preserve it secure, so it ought to be capable of survive basic day-to-day use while you’re out and about together with your laptop computer. The one oddity is that the drive has a USB-C interface, however SanDisk solely gives a USB-C-to-USB-A cable, so that you’ll want your personal adaptor or cable in case your Mac or PC solely has USB-C ports.

It’s not the quickest solid-state drive round and, to be trustworthy, even SanDisk’s  quoted velocity of 520MB/s appears a little bit optimistic. The drive’s write efficiency was a little bit erratic, however averaged round 300MB/s, whereas learn efficiency was greater and extra constant at 430MB/s. Once more, skilled customers may favor a sooner drive in the event that they’ve received deadlines looming, however the Transportable SSD remains to be so much sooner than a traditional arduous drive, and it’s a superb choice for anybody that simply needs a light-weight, reasonably priced back-up drive for his or her Mac.

There are three variations of Samsung’s T7. The usual T7 is a compact, light-weight SSD that appears similar to the previous T5 – though it boasts greater efficiency, so be sure to verify the mannequin numbers earlier than shopping for. We examined the T7 Defend, which is a extra rugged mannequin, wrapped in a sturdy rubber sleeve designed for outside use. Each of these fashions can use Samsung’s Transportable SSD app so as to add password safety to your recordsdata, however there’s additionally a 3rd mannequin known as the T7 Contact that has a built-in fingerprint sensor for additional safety and comfort.

Accessible in black, blue or silver, the T7 Defend prices $129/£110 with 1TB of storage, however we’re seeing nice reductions now it’s been out some time. It has a USB-C interface for connecting to your Mac, however Samsung features a USB-C cable and a USB-A adaptor in an effort to use it with older Macs which have USB-A. The rugged protecting sleeve signifies that it’s a little bit bigger than the opposite T7 fashions, measuring 0.5in/13mm thick, 2.3in/59mm extensive and three.4in/88mm lengthy, and weighing 3.4oz/98g. Even so, it’s nonetheless sufficiently small to slide right into a jacket pocket or backpack with no hassle in any respect, and many individuals will respect the additional safety that it provides.

The T7 Defend is rated IP65 for water- and dust-resistance, and Samsung claims that the shock-resistant rubber sleeve can survive drops from a top of three meters.

It’s a superb performer too. Samsung quotes learn and write speeds of 1,000MB/s, however our exams with the Blackmagic disk device really recorded a learn velocity of 1,780MB/s, and a write velocity of 1,300MB/s, which makes the T7 Defend an awesome backup choice for individuals who have to work open air with their laptop computer.