In this guide we'll look at the top external hard drives that offer quick and easy as well as affordable ways to expand the storage space of your Mac or MacBook. Macs, iMacs and especially MacBooks are notoriously difficult when it comes to upgrading the internal hard drives, which means if you're running out of storage space it's best to move some of your files onto a external hard drive, and in this list of the best external hard drives for Macs, we look at external drives that have been especially made for Apple MacBooks and Mac computers. This means they are all compatible with Apple's file system, and many make use of the range of high speed ports that Macs come with, such as Thunderbolt.
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We've also chosen these hard drives based on their ease of use, affordability and dependability. This last consideration is perhaps the most important, as when you're entrusting your important files to an external hard drive, you need to be confident that it won't break and lose your data.
While transfer speeds aren't the quickest, due to its USB 3. Thunderbolt, USB 3.
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If you want to make use of your Mac's Thunderbolt port, then this is a great option, as it provides twice the speeds of standard USB 3. It still uses a traditional hard drive, rather than an SSD, and while this means speeds aren't quite as fast as possible, it at least keeps the price down, while offering large capacities. There's also a USB 3. USB 2. This is one of the fastest high capacity hard drives you can plug into your Mac, with a huge 4TB of storage space that zips along its USB 3.
The all-aluminium enclosure gives the drive a premium look and fell, while also protecting your data from knocks and drops, and keeping the drive cool when used. As it uses a solid state drive, the read and write speeds of this drive are much faster than external hard drives that use traditional hard drives. It does mean the price is higher, but if transfer speed is the most important consideration when looking for the best external hard drive for your Mac, then this is the drive to go for.
These drives can be truly tiny, weighing just a few ounces and with their largest sides measuring less than 3 inches long, like with the Samsung Portable SSD T5.
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Others use spinning platters and are a bit larger, like the LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive , but they still fit easily in a purse or even a coat pocket. Portable drives get their power from the computer to which you connect them, through the interface cable, so there's no need for a spare wall outlet.
The 8 best external hard drives and SSDs for Mac and PC users in 12222
If you buy a larger desktop drive with two or more spinning platters, you'll almost certainly have the ability to configure the drive as a RAID array using included software. Depending on which RAID level you choose, you can prioritize capacity, speed, or data redundancy, or some combination thereof. A collection of spinning drives configured with a RAID level designed for faster access can approximate the speeds of an SSD, while you should consider a drive with support for RAID levels 1, 5, or 10 if you're storing really important data that you can't afford to lose.
Hit the link above for explanation of the strengths of each RAID level. How an external drive connects to your PC or Mac is second only to the type of storage mechanism it uses in determining how fast you'll be able to access data. Unfortunately, these connection types are constantly changing, and the internet is littered with outdated references to legacy interface types such as eSATA and FireWire.
Right now, the fastest mainstream connection type is Thunderbolt 3, which is handy assuming you have a newer laptop or desktop with a Thunderbolt 3 port. All late-model Apple laptops have them, but they're much scarcer on Windows machines. As an added bonus, a desktop drive that supports Thunderbolt 3 might also come with additional DisplayPort and USB connections that allow you to use the drive box as a hub for your keyboard, mouse, monitor, and other peripherals.
If you'd rather save money than time transferring your data, if you're buying a desktop drive with a single platter-based mechanism inside, or if you have a PC that lacks Thunderbolt 3, you'll want to make sure your drive has a USB 3. Nearly every recent drive we reviewed supports USB 3. If you carry your drive around frequently, you'll want to pay attention to how rugged the drive is. Some models include plastic bumpers, and some even meet military standards for shock and dust protection. And of course, if you're carrying your drive around with you, you want it to look nice. Perhaps the only thing you don't need to pay much attention to is the warranty.
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If your drive breaks because you damaged it, the warranty likely won't cover it. Even if the drive fails because of a manufacturing defect, most warranties simply replace the drive and don't cover the cost of recovery services that attempt to rescue your data from the broken drive.
Also know that you can find external drives that do way more than just store your data. Some include SD card readers to offload footage from a camera or drone in the field, while others have built-in Wi-Fi and can double as an all-in-one home media server. See our roundup of the best wireless hard drives and SSDs. Some of that kind even come with extra-large batteries that can charge your smartphone while you're on the go. Some are SSD-based, while others are platter. For more options, also take a look at our guides to the best network-attached storage NAS devices , the top cloud storage services we've tested, and, for PC builders and upgraders, the best internal M.
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Physical Size Matters: Desktop or Portable Drive? Need Redundancy or Extreme Speed? Do You Need to Go Rugged? More About Our Top Picks. Rated to survive 4-foot drops. Certified waterproof and dustproof. Comes with USB 3. Warranty limited to two years. SSD option is still unreleased. Bottom Line: Comes in a variety of large capacities. Three-year warranty. Requires external power adapter. Excellent performance. Includes USB 3. Android-, Mac-, and Windows-compatible. While a comparable good per-gigabyte value, the drive itself is expensive.
Spiffy look. Pocket-size, all-metal shell. USB Type-C interface at both ends of cable. Fast performance. Resists water, dirt, and dust. Storage space tops out at GB. Not appreciably faster than USB 3. Excellent connectivity options and transfer speeds. Solid build quality and attractive aluminum finish. Easy disassembly. Cooling fan can be disabled. No software required for Macs. Hardware RAID controller. Only 27W of power delivery.
With its wealth of ports, the Akitio Thunder3 RAID Station is both a connectivity hub and a capacious external hard drive for multimedia content creators. Built-in USB cable. Dust and water resistant. Hardware encryption.