Greatest Exterior SSD For Mac 2023

Samsung’s T5 has been a daily fixture in our checklist of the very best SSD drives for a number of years now. The T5 remains to be accessible in case you’re searching for an inexpensive SSD to your Mac, however Samsung lately up to date its vary of storage merchandise with the brand new T7 mannequin.

There are literally three variations of the T7 accessible. 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 test the mannequin numbers earlier than shopping for. We examined the T7 Protect, which is a extra rugged mannequin, wrapped in a sturdy rubber sleeve designed for outside use. Each of these fashions can use Samsung’s Moveable SSD app so as to add password safety to your information, however there’s additionally a 3rd mannequin known as the T7 Contact that has a built-in fingerprint sensor for further safety and comfort.

Out there in black, blue or silver, the T7 Protect prices $159/£128 with 1TB of storage, or $289.99/£219 with 2TB. It has a USB-C interface for connecting to your Mac, however Samsung features a USB-C cable and a USB-A adaptor, as a way to use it with older Macs which have USB-A. The rugged protecting sleeve signifies that it’s a bit of bigger than the opposite T7 fashions, measuring 0.5in/13mm thick, 2.3in/59mm large 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 recognize the additional safety that it gives.

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

It’s a very good performer too. Samsung quotes learn and write speeds of 1,000MB/s, however our assessments with the Blackmagic disk device truly recorded a learn pace of 1,780MB/s, and a write pace of 1,300MB/s, which makes the T7 Protect an excellent backup choice for individuals who have to work outside with their laptop computer.

Many of the solid-state drives at present accessible use an ordinary USB-C interface, which generally offers speeds ranging between 500MB/s and 1500MB/s. That’s effective for common day-to-day use, however artistic customers typically require higher efficiency for backing up their necessary work information, particularly in the event that they’re working with high-res images or giant 4K – and even 8K – video information.

Because the identify suggests, SanDisk’s Professional-G40 may be very a lot aimed toward skilled and inventive customers, and as a substitute of utilizing USB-C it opts for Thunderbolt 3 to offer even higher efficiency (in addition to additionally being backward-compatible with computer systems that simply have USB-C). SanDisk quotes a learn pace of 2700MB/s and write pace of 1900MB/s when utilizing an acceptable Thunderbolt cable (which is included within the field). The speeds quoted by producers are sometimes theoretical most speeds, however we have been impressed to see that the Professional-G40 actually lived as much as SanDisk’s claims, reaching a learn pace of 2670MB/s with the BlackMagic pace check app. And, the truth is, it outperformed SanDisk’s claims for write efficiency, persistently reaching 2350MB in our assessments, and making it one of many quickest transportable solid-state drives we’ve seen.

The Professional-G4 is solidly constructed too, and effectively fitted to work on photoshoots and different outside areas. The sturdy casing is rated IP68 for water and mud resistance, and SanDisk claims that it might probably resist crushing stress of as much as 4000lbs (1800kg), and drops from a peak of three metres. That efficiency and durable design signifies that the Professional-G40 is a little more costly than lots of its transportable rivals, costing $333.39/£414.99 with 1TB storage, or $529.39/£654.99 for the 2TB model. Even so, the Professional-G40 will earn its preserve for skilled customers who want a quick, dependable backup drive once they’re working away from the workplace.

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 may be very a lot designed for skilled and inventive customers, and permits you to 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 $109.99 on the time of our assessment). The SSD Magazine is pre-formatted in APFS format for Mac customers, and is hard sufficient to face up to being dropped from a peak of three meters or 9.8 foot, and face up to 4000lb (1814kg) crush stress, making it superb for outside use. Nonetheless, the SSD Magazine modules can’t hook up with a pc on their very own, so SanDisk offers 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 large and 16mm thick, so you’ll be able to simply slip it into your pocket or a carrying case identical to another transportable drive. It’s additionally attainable to attach the Transport to a digital camera that has a USB-C interface as a way to document high-res video slightly than having to hold a number of smaller SD reminiscence playing cards.

If you get again to the workplace you even have the choice of inserting the SSD Magazine modules into the Professional Blade Station ($499.99/£487.99). This desktop storage system doesn’t embody any built-in storage of its personal, nevertheless it has 4 slots that will let 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 further storage gadgets if required. The Professional Blade Station is pretty costly – provided that it doesn’t embody any storage of its personal – nevertheless it offers you the choice of making a high-speed, high-capacity SSD storage system to be used in your workplace, while additionally having the ability to take away the person SSD Magazine modules and use them as transportable drives at any time when it’s essential.

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 assessments truly recorded a learn pace of 2600MB/s and write pace of 2300MB/s, however that’s nonetheless one of many quickest SSD drives we’ve ever seen, making it a very good choice for artistic customers who want a quick storage system that they will use each within the workplace and on the street.

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

It’s smaller and lighter than earlier drives from LaCie too, measuring simply 0.4in/10.6mm thick, 1.9in/50mm large, and 3in/80mm lengthy, and it weighs a mere 1.5oz/45g, so it’s superb for carrying round together with your MacBook or iPad once 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 lower another corners, although. The Moveable SSD has a stable, sturdy design that ought to have the ability to deal with a number of bumps in a backpack or briefcase, and it performs very effectively too.

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

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

Learn our full assessment.

Seagate’s OneTouch laborious drives are a preferred alternative with many customers. The OneTouch SSD is the smallest and lightest transportable drive we’ve ever seen and is offered in black, silver or blue.

When sitting flat on the desk it measures simply 2in/50mm large, 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 once you’re touring. It’s sturdily constructed too, with Seagate claiming that it might probably face up to being dropped from a peak of 6.5 foot/2m.

The OneTouch drive has a USB-C interface, however Seagate consists of each USB-C and USB-A cables as a way 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 very best deal on Adobe Inventive Cloud).

The drive is offered with 500GB, 1TB or 2TB of storage, so it offers loads of room for backing up giant libraries of pictures, movies or music. It doesn’t fairly match Seagate’s quoted pace of 1GB/s, nevertheless it recorded learn and write speeds of 835MB/s and 915MB/s respectively in our assessments, which nonetheless put it among the many quickest solid-state drives that we’ve examined lately. And, with its ridiculously mild and compact design, the OneTouch can be superb for backing up all of your necessary information once you’re on the transfer.

Simply once you suppose you perceive all of the various kinds of USB interfaces and connectors, it turns on the market’s one other one which it’s essential fear about – particularly in case you personal a Mac.

Kingston’s XS2000 is a high-performance drive designed for skilled customers in fields akin to graphics and design, and Kingston states that it offers a prime pace of 2000MB/s. Nonetheless, the drive’s USB-C interface helps an ordinary generally known as USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 – which is a hideous mouthful and, extra importantly, isn’t at present supported on the Mac.

Which means Macs can’t at present run the XS2000 at its full pace. Even so, our assessments with the M2-based MacBook Professional have been nonetheless capable of obtain a learn pace of 960MB/s and a write pace of 900MB/s, which examine effectively with rival SSDs we’ve seen which might be aimed toward skilled customers. It nonetheless makes use of a traditional USB-C connector, although, and Kingston features a USB-C cable for Macs and PCs. It’s attainable to make use of the XS2000 with a USB-A adaptor with older Macs, however this isn’t suggested as it is going to additional have an effect on efficiency.

The design of the drive may even attraction to skilled photographers or filmmakers who typically have to work outside. The little lozenge-shaped unit measures a mere 13.5mm thick, 32.5mm large and 69.5mm lengthy, and it weighs simply 29g, making it one of many smallest and lightest drives we’ve ever seen. It’s rated IP55 for water and mud resistance, and may survive temperatures from -20°C to 85°C, and Kingston additionally throws in a shock-absorbing, detachable rubber sleeve that you need to use for further safety when required. The XS2000 can also be one of many few solid-state drives we’ve seen that gives a capability of as much as 4TB. That prices a hefty $499.99/£538.99, however costs begin at simply $99.99/£84.99 for the entry-level drive with 500GB storage.

Gaming drives are designed to offer further storage for huge recreation downloads, but additionally to offer robust efficiency in an effort to enhance loading instances once you fireplace up your favourite video games. However, in fact, that efficiency may even attraction to skilled customers who want a quick drive for his or her Time Machine backups, or when working with giant multimedia information.

We’ve reviewed the WD Black P10 laborious drive prior to now, which is fairly quick for a traditional laborious drive, with speeds of round 240MB/s. Nonetheless, the solid-state Black P40 is in a special league altogether, reaching each learn and write speeds of 940MB/s, which can be quick sufficient for avid gamers {and professional} customers alike.

The drive has a USB-C interface, and WD features a USB-C cable in addition to a USB-A adaptor for older Macs and PCs too. The one disappointment is that the app that lets avid gamers change the colour of the glowing standing LEDs is at present solely accessible for Home windows.

The P40 is competitively priced for such a quick drive, beginning at $119.99/£93.99 for a mannequin with 500GB storage, with 1TB and 2TB choices additionally accessible. It’s very effectively constructed too, with a bolstered shock-resistant construction that feels actually sturdy and stable. It solely weighs 78g, although, and measures 13mm thick, 51mm large and 107mm lengthy, so it’s straightforward to hold round together with your laptop computer in case you work outside rather a lot. And WD is so assured in regards to the sturdy design that it gives a five-year guarantee as effectively.

OWC has been emphasizing the truth that the Envoy Professional FX is appropriate with the most recent iPads however, in fact, its Thunderbolt port will work with Macs too, and can also be appropriate with PCs and different gadgets that use USB-C. There’s additionally a USB-A adaptor included within the field for older Macs too.

The very first thing you discover in regards to the Envoy is its rugged design, with a sturdy aluminum casing that meets the military-grade MIL-STD810G commonplace for toughness and shock safety. It additionally boasts an IP67 ranking for water- and mud resistance, so it’s superb for outside use throughout the soggy British summer season.

That robust design does imply that it’s a bit of bigger and heavier than a few of its transportable rivals – it measures 70mm large, 114mm deep and 16mm excessive, and weighs a hefty 244g.

In case you’re searching for a drive that you would be able to shortly slip into your pocket then you must in all probability look elsewhere, however in case you want a rugged, dependable drive for outside use then the Envoy is tough to beat.

The Envoy is each robust and quick too, with its Thunderbolt interface permitting it to hit spectacular speeds of 2000MB/s for learn efficiency and 1850MB/s for writing information onto the drive. That makes it one of many quickest solid-state drives we’ve ever seen, and whereas it’s costlier than lots of its SSD rivals, its robust efficiency and rugged design will be sure that it earns its preserve once you’re working outside.

In case you don’t want Thunderbolt efficiency ranges, there’s additionally a cheaper mannequin – known as the Envoy Professional Elektron – that makes use of USB-C as a substitute. There’s additionally an Envoy Professional SX which is Thunderbolt solely, and described beneath.

Learn our in-depth assessment.

The unique SanDisk Excessive had been on our checklist of greatest SSDs for the previous couple of years, and the brand new V2 mannequin is even higher, if a bit of confusingly named, for the reason that field it is available in doesn’t point out V2 in any respect, so it’s possible you’ll be involved that you’re shopping for the previous mannequin.

The essential design hasn’t modified, sticking with the identical extremely compact, gray lozenge that measures simply 9mm thick, 52.5mm large and 100.5mm lengthy. This implies it’s slim and lightweight sufficient to hold round in your pocket once you’re touring together with your laptop computer, and there’s a useful little cut-out loop in a single nook as a way to preserve it protected with a carabiner clip.

It’s severely sturdy too, and SanDisk says that the rubber-wrapped casing is shock resistant for drops from a peak of two metres, and rated IP55 for water and mud resistance. And there’s a ultimate layer off safety as effectively, with the flexibility to set a password to guard your necessary information.

The principle distinction with this V2 mannequin is that SanDisk claims that it’s twice as quick as its predecessor – a truth borne out by our check outcomes, which produce a write pace of 938MB/s and skim pace of 908MB/s. And, with storage starting from 500GB to 4TB, the Excessive Moveable V2 offers sufficient storage even for backing up desktop Macs as effectively.

There’s additionally a ‘Professional’ mannequin accessible too, which doubles the pace but once more (and prices about 30% further).

Watch out when shopping for as the unique ‘V1’ model of this drive remains to be on sale, so be sure to test which of the three fashions you’re about to buy earlier than you escape the bank card.

LaCie’s Rugged drives have been fashionable with Mac customers for a few years, because of their mixture of high-performance and that now-familiar orange sleeve that helps to maintain the drive protected once you’re working outside. Nonetheless, the Rugged vary has largely used standard laborious drives prior to now, that are slower than the most recent solid-state drives, in addition to being greater and heavier. Welcome the Rugged Professional SSD, which is primarily aimed toward artistic customers.

The Rugged SSD vary begins at round $180/£180 for a mannequin with 500GB storage, however we have been capable of 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, nevertheless it justifies that worth with a good more durable 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 large 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 once 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 peak of 9.8 foot/3m, and may even resist the burden of a two-tonne automobile driving over it. It features a five-year guarantee in case something does go mistaken, which incorporates one go to to LaCie’s data-recovery labs if it’s essential retrieve necessary information.

The Rugged SSD Professional consists of only a single Thunderbolt 3/USB-C interface, however most of its excessive worth is right down to the usage of the most recent NVMe solid-state drives, which offer prime efficiency for high-end video functions, akin to modifying 8K or super-slow-motion video information (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 good quicker 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 information in simply 5 seconds – look away for a few seconds and also you’ll miss it!

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

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

Out there in a wide range of colours, the My Passport SSD offers as much as 4TB of solid-state storage, though the 1TB mannequin that we assessment right here prices £159.99.

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 once you’re on the transfer. Nonetheless, it’s additionally robust sufficient to outlive being dropped from a peak 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 offers good efficiency too, recording a write pace of 935MB/s and skim pace of 908MB/s, making it an excellent choice for backing up your necessary information on the transfer.

It’s safe too, as WD’s Discovery app permits you to set a password for the drive so as preserve your information protected. There’s a second app as effectively, known as WD Unlocker, which is constructed into the drive itself, and permits you to enter the password as a way to use the drive with one other Mac or PC if it’s essential.

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, nevertheless it’s additionally well-known for merely offering good worth for cash with merchandise such because the SanDisk Moveable SSD. In actual fact, the Moveable SSD is so low cost that SanDisk doesn’t even hassle promoting a 500GB mannequin on its website, leaping straight as much as 1TB for a really aggressive $101.99/£104.99, whereas even the 2TB mannequin prices simply effectively underneath $200/£200.

The Moveable SSD lives as much as its identify too, because it measures simply 10mm thick, 47mm large 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 would have favored, {and professional} customers who work outside rather a lot would possibly choose a drive with a extra rugged design. Nonetheless, SanDisk states that it might probably survive being dropped from a peak of two metres, and there’s a useful little rubber hook on one nook to assist preserve it protected, so it ought to have the ability to survive common day-to-day use once 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 offers 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 sincere, even SanDisk’s  quoted pace of 520MB/s appears a bit of optimistic. The drive’s write efficiency was a bit of erratic, however averaged round 300MB/s, whereas learn efficiency was greater and extra constant at 430MB/s. Once more, skilled customers would possibly choose a quicker drive in the event that they’ve bought deadlines looming, however the Moveable SSD remains to be rather a lot quicker than a traditional laborious drive, and it’s a very good choice for anybody that simply needs a light-weight, inexpensive back-up drive for his or her Mac.

This drive has been discontinued by G-Tech now, however it’s possible you’ll discover it at a very good low cost whereas inventory is bought off.

Western Digital has been busy hovering up rival storage producers in recent times, together with each SanDisk and G-Expertise (historically generally known as simply G-Tech to its many Mac-using clients). A few of G-Tech’s high-end G-Drive merchandise have been handed over to SanDisk following that takeover, however there are nonetheless a number of merchandise, such because the G-Drive Cellular SSD, which might be nonetheless bought underneath the G-Tech model identify.

The G-Drive Cellular SSD may be very a lot supposed as an inexpensive transportable drive, with costs beginning at simply $139.99/£68.99 for a mannequin with 500GB storage, though the 1TB and 2TB fashions are fairly a bit costlier.

The Cellular SSD is effectively designed, although, regardless of its low worth. The drive measures simply 14.5mm thick, 50mm large and 94mm lengthy, and weighs a mere 86g, so it’s straightforward to slide it into your pocket or right into a bag alongside a MacBook once you’re touring. It’s effectively suited to life on the street too, because the sturdy drive is rated IP67 for water and mud resistance, and may face up to 1000lbs of stress or drops from a peak of three meters.

Reflecting G-Tech’s background within the Mac market, the Cellular SSD arrives already formatted for Macs straight out of the field (with a small partition put aside with some utilities and directions for Home windows customers who could have to reformat the drive and share information with a Mac). The drive has a single USB-C interface, however there are cables for each USB-C Macs and older Macs that solely have USB-A.

The low worth signifies that the Cellular SSD isn’t the quickest SSD you should purchase, with Western Digital quoting a prime pace of 560MB/s. We truly recorded learn and write speeds of 520MB/s and 460MB/s respectively, however that’s nonetheless far quicker than a traditional laborious drive, and makes the Cellular SSD a very good backup choice for individuals who work outside rather a lot and wish a very rugged backup drive that received’t value them a fortune.