Store It - Save It - Recover It - Share It!

Shopping for an Apple compatible data backup drive? We feature the best external Mac SSD and HDD drive options for your MacBook laptop or Macintosh desktop. They're the best data recovery insurance you can buy, and a must have for safely guarding any Apple MacBook or Macintosh computer user's data and settings.

Choosing A Backup Drive For Your Mac

Mac ThunderBolt And USB 3 Drives
For modern Mac systems, SuperSpeed USB 3.0, USB 3.1, 3.2 and Apple ThunderBolt ports are the primary computer interfaces for today and for the next decade. Modern Mac's ship with 10Gbps USB-C and 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 support using a single, unifying Type-C connector. FireWire 400/800 and eSATA still have their place in keeping legacy computer systems and storage peripherals viable, but are fading fast.


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Next Generation ThunderBolt 3 Drives For Mac

A new era of ThunderBolt3 drives are hitting the market that use the Type-C connector, but operate at 40Gbps and tunnel USB-C data through it as well. Expect a bit of confusion as both USBC and TBolt3 devices can be plugged into a new Mac's Type-C ports and use the appropriate protocol as needed. To take advantage of the insanely high-speeds, a solid-state external Thunderbolt 3 backup drive using PCIe SSD modules deliver the ultimate Mac backup performance.

Fat & Cheap Thunderbolt 3 SSD

Read Speeds Up to 1700MBps


USB Backup Drives For Mac

Remember, USB 3.x storage devices are backward compatible with legacy USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 Macintosh computers and ports. With proper USB-A to USB-C cable, USB 3.0 drives are compatible on Type-C ports too, at less than peak possible data rates. Nonetheless, a cheap cable can help you transition to the USB-C future and preserve your existing Mac SSD or HDD storage hardware investment.

Next-Generation Type-C Drives For Mac

SuperSpeed+ USB 3.1 drives were introduced with the new micro USB Type-C connector initially at Gen 1 at 5Gbps. The speed increased to 10Gpbs at Gen 2 as the full USB 3.1 specification rollout advanced. New Apple products with more mature chipsets are now Gen2. Gen 1 is fine for any (relatively slow) hard disk, but if you're interested in solid-state storage, look for a USB-C SSD drives that explicitly support UASP and the full 10Gb/s USB 3.1 Gen2 standard. They're the best value in fast but affordable Mac backup drives.

We're Apple Storage Hardware Geeks - So You Don't Have To Be

Whether you're shopping for your very first Mac backup drive - or looking to upgrade and replace a previous external drive - we'll point out our top product recommendations in each category. Whether it's an affordable (but fast) Apple USB 3.0 storage product, a next-generation USB-C drive, or (a pricier) but extremely fast ThunderBolt 1, 2, or 3 storage solution, we'll steer you in the right direction. Insanely Great external SSD and HDD drive options and purchase recommendations made Easy As 1-2-3!

Different Mac Models - Different Drive Purchase Criteria

The type of Mac you own can help in refining your choice in an Apple compatible external drive for OSX and TimeMachine. Keeping in mind that 75% of all Macs sold are MacBook laptops, compact and portable USB-C, USB 3.0 and ThunderBolt drives are highest in demand. Full-size desktop drives are right for those in enterprise and professional audio and video environments or those with large volumes of data and huge media files to access, share, and retain.

Drives For Mac : Solo Or Shared? Home Or Business? Professional Or Consumer?

Who you are as a Mac user can help guide the right product selections. The vast majority of Mac owners are just average computer users looking to cheaply protect their precious data files in the event of a computing disaster - or a way to store and share photos, music and more.

Professional And Enterprice Class Mac Storage Peripherals

The narrower prosumer and business market has far more exacting and demanding storage requirements, especially in the area of audio and video production environments where time is money. Really fast external drives for Mac - Multi-Drive RAID arrays - deliver both the speed and high-capacity needed.


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