Top Backup Drives For Mac 2018 Wirecutter
2 TB Seagate Backup Plus Slim. In this day and age, a cloud storage service, like Google Drive or Dropbox, is all you need to move smaller files from device to device. 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 3.0, eSATA or FireWire connection.
- Seagate's 4 TB Backup Plus Desktop Drive is the best desktop hard drive for most people because it has the best balance of speed and price. The 3 TB was faster than most of the competition in our.
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Mac External Hard Drive Reviews
There’s nothing more awful then losing data on your computer because you didn’t back anything up. Gone are the days where you had to do this on a disc, and thank goodness we have external hard drives to help us sleep soundly at night. You can store a whopping 1TB of info on most Mac drives, and this will also allow you to free up storage space on your device. Most Mac drives are incredibly affordable, and the technology seems to improve every day. Not only that, but most models are incredibly portable and perform routine backups in the background without even having to think about it. The simplest drives have a powerful USB 3.0 as well as Thunderbolt. Often right out of the box you can plug in one wire and everything is taken care of for you. Not only that, but an external drive is really essential when you purchase a new computer and want to safely and efficiently move your data from the old device to the new one.
Most Popular Mac External Hard Drive
Seagate Slim
Like many external hard drives on the market, the Seagate Backup Plus Slim allows you to choose between two different storage capacities: 500 GB and 1 TB. This device provides automatic backups, and is a good addition to any Cloud backups that you perform, as these can sometimes be insufficient and unsafe on their own. The quality that makes this drive stand out from the rest is its size. Because it’s so slim and lightweight, it’s very easy to take from place to place, even though it perhaps doesn’t offer as much heavy duty storage as other hard drives do. The packing is easy to open and the device is simple in appearance. Other drives allow you to choose fun colors and accents, but this Seagate is pretty spartan in appearance. The small USB cable is just long enough to be at a comfortable distance from your computer, and the plastic body of the device feels good and stable. It’s small enough to fit in your pocket, and has the added benefit of a 2 year warranty.
- Up to 1TB of easy backup
- The slim, metallic design is simple in appearance and easy to carry
- Works right out of the box and is compatible with Time Machine
- Free Seagate Mobile Backup app available for iOS devices
- Share feature allows you to upload multiple files to social networks
– Anthony Dawson
Best Overall Mac External Hard Drive
Western Digital
The Passport is great if you’re looking for a lightweight hard drive that is compatible with both OSX and Windows. Format the drive as exFAT to get it to work on both operating systems with ease. The Passport is just about the size of an iPhone, and maybe even a little smaller. The design is sturdy and elegant, and it’s made entirely of durable plastic. Thunderbolt is definitely faster than this hard drive, but the USB 3.0 works with great speed and efficiency nonetheless. Western Digital is famous for their drives being very reliable and long-lasting, so the Passport is great if you’re looking for a device that is going to last you for the long haul. In fact, the Passport really does perform with the best of them, and offers a 3 year warranty that is one year longer than most other drives on the market. The backup is automatic, and there is a lot of built in protection that ensures that your data will be safe at all times.
- USB 3.0 interface provides great speed
- Works right out of the box thanks to HFS+ journaling
- Compatible with Apple Time Machine
- Hardware encryption and password protection
- 3 year limited warranty
– Anthony Dawson
Best Budget Mac External Hard Drive
TEYADI
The TEYADI is a great Mac external hard drive when you’re looking for a simple way to back up all your data locally as well as on social networks. Right out of the box the TEYADI will start doing its job, and it’s also compatible with Time Machine software. The Save feature is what allows you to back up your content from social media sites automatically. One of the big downsides of taking so many photos on your smartphone is that they’re liable to be lost, because they aren’t constantly backed up and saved, and the TEYADI takes care of all this with simplicity. If a file gets accidentally deleted from your device, then there’s a copy waiting for you on your external hard drive. With HFS+, you’re able to use the drive on both your Mac OS X and your PC. The TEYADI operates so smoothly and intuitively that you really don’t need to even take a look at the Quick Start Guide that comes included.
- Super fast USB 3.0 transfer speed
- 500 GB storage capacity
- Save feature allows you to save content from social media sites
- Can work for both Mac and PCs with the HFS+ driver installation
– Anthony Dawson
Mac External Hard Drive Buying Guide
There are many different kinds of external hard drives for Mac on the market. With a large selection available it can be difficult to know which one to select when shopping. This buying guide for Mac external hard drives is designed to help you narrow down the search and find the one with the features and options that will be best suited to meet your storage needs. We’ve provided the information about what to look for in a Mac external hard drive for whatever your intended purpose. By following a few tips and recommendations you’ll be able to determine just what it is that you need in an external hard drive before you begin shopping.
Recommendation for Purchases
How You Plan To Use Your External Hard Drive for Mac
Before actually making a purchase, it’s important to establish what the drive will be used for. This will help you to know which size and capacity you will need. For example, will you be using the external hard drive for backup of your important system files? Perhaps you need additional storage space for videos or music files. How much space will you need for your external hard drive? Will you need a full sized drive or a portable one? Finally, how much speed will you require from the drive? This is a big one for gamers who will be storing game data on the external drive. Once you determine the intended uses and approximately how much storage you will need, it’s time to look at which features you will want the drive to have.
Different Types of External Hard Drives for Mac
There are of course several different brands and models of external hard drives available for Mac. These types of additional storage are usually connected to your Mac through a USB connection or Firewire. The smaller 2.5 inch portable models obtain their power through this connection and are easy to unplug and carry with you to other locations. The larger 3.5 inch drives require a power supply that is plugged into a wall outlet.
Features of External Hard Drives for Macs
The storage capacities for external HDDs for Mac range from 160 gigabytes to 3 terabytes. Pricing goes up for the maximum storage units and this is one of the reasons why the 1 terabyte drives are so popular. Most external HDDs for Mac are compatible with Time Machine, but it’s wise to double check and make sure prior to purchase.
What to Look For In an External Hard Drive for Mac
While storage space is an important aspect of an external hard drive, it is by no means the only consideration to be made. The data transfer rate and access speed of the hard drive are what make the difference between a more useful and time saving drive or one that is frustrating and a waste of time with slower speeds for performing functions.
Many of the available drives feature multiple connection ports such as USB, FireWire, eSATA or Thunderbolt, but some only offer one. If you need a variety of options then make sure that the model you select is versatile. This is particularly important if you will be connecting the drive to different machines.
Thunderbolt is an extremely fast interface type, but not all Macs have the ability to support this option. If your Mac does not support Thunderbolt, you cannot use this type of drive.
Check System Requirements
Prior to purchasing an external hard drive for Mac, check the system requirements to ensure that the drive is compatible with your current system. You will benefit from using some of the faster interface formats such as Thunderbolt or eSATA or even Firewire over USB. If your Mac does not support eSATA, it can be added by using an ExpressCard/34.
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Speed
Speed can be an important factor, particularly if you are storing gaming applications for use in your external HDD. Higher rpm drives provide better performance for most activities and gaming is no exception. For example, most Mac notebooks come with 5400 rpm drives, but the addition of an external drive which operates at 7200 rpm can improve your gaming or downloading experience with faster access and load time. This is particularly important when heavy graphics are involved. To gain optimal performance, high performance drives that run with 10,000 to 15000 rpm are available, however; the downside is that the often require a SCSI connection and they offer less storage capacity.
Pros and Cons of External Hard Drives
External hard drives can be used to back up important system data in case of a crash or other type of system failure. This can help to ensure that your information is not lost and it could help to get you back up and running with less hassle and expense. The prices are less expensive for external desktop hard drives than for the portable versions. These drives have transfer speeds that are faster than CDs or DVDs and they are easy to use.
The downside is that larger capacity drives can be expensive and tend to be priced on a per gigabyte basis. Also, the most common connection option is USB which is much slower than some of the other options.
Conclusion
External hard drives for Mac come in a variety of sizes, models and storage capacities. The best drive for you is solely dependent upon your individual needs. Some are designed for providing lots of storage space for back up of your system and other files while others feature fast access and transfer speeds which enhance the experience of gaming and transferring files from one location to the other. Smaller portable units may be more expensive, but they offer a better option for those who are on the go. By knowing up front what you will need to use an external hard drive for, how much storage capacity and what rates of speed you will need, you are prepared to choose a unit that will meet your storage needs. You are prepared to look for the features that will enhance the activities that the drive will be used for in a new external hard drive. Following a few simple tips and recommendations can be helpful in avoiding making the wrong choice.
In this guide to the best external hard drives for Macs, we look at the top devices for plugging in and expanding the storage space of your Mac or MacBook.
While there's a lot to love about Macs, iMacs and MacBooks, they are also tricky to manually upgrade, which means if you run out of space, it isn't too easy to open them up and pop in a bigger hard drive. While you can look into taking your Mac to an Apple Store (or an Apple-approved vendor) to perform the upgrade, this can end up being pretty costly.
So, one of the more affordable (and easiest) ways to expand the storage space of your Mac or MacBook is to use an external hard drive, and this list of the best external hard drives for Macs will help you choose the best drive for your needs.
An external hard drive is essentially a hard drive that comes enclosed in a case. It plugs into a Mac via a cable.
The other major plus is the portability of an external hard drive means you can take it with you and plug it into another device for instant file swapping – handy if you swap between PCs and Macs regularly.
When looking to buy the best external hard drive for Macs for your needs, you should consider how much capacity you need. External hard drives come in all shapes and sizes, and you don't want to pay too much for space you'll never need, but neither do you want to cheap out and run out of space all too quickly.
Speed is also important. SSDs are faster than traditional hard drives, and you should consider what cables they use as well. USB 3.0 is fast, but Thunderbolt is faster. If you want to store lots of large files on your external hard drive, then consider going for the fastest drive you can afford.
In this guide to the best external laptops for Macs we take that into consideration - as well as 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.
Best Backup Drives For Mac
1. Western Digital My Passport 4TB external hard drive
Capacity: 4TB Interface: USB 3.0
This is the latest generation of the Western Digital My Passport external hard drives comes in capacities from 1TB to 4TB, and features cloud storage and 256-AES encryption, along with WD's own backup software. While transfer speeds aren't the quickest, due to its USB 3.0 connection, it offers a good balance between speed, capacity and price.
2. Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt external hard drive
Capacity: 1TB, 2TB Interface: Thunderbolt, USB 3.0
Best Backup For Macs
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 3.0 drives. 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 3.0 port for connecting to computers that don't have a Thunderbolt port.
3. G-Technology G-Drive USB 3.0 4TB external hard drive
Capacity: 4TB Interface: USB 2.0, USB 3.0, eSATA, FireWire
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 3.0, eSATA or FireWire connection. The all-aluminium enclosure gives the drive a premium look and feel, while also protecting your data from knocks and drops, and keeping the drive cool when used.
4. Samsung T3 SSD
Capacity: 1TB Interface: USB 3.1
If you really want a super-fast external hard drive for your Mac, then the Samsung T3 SSD is easily one of the best. 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.
5. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive
Capacity: 2TB Interface: USB 3.0
With compatibility for both Mac and Windows machines, the Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC is very flexible, and comes with a rugged case that's dust and water resistant, along with a built-in USB 3.0 cable. Not only is your data kept protected from knocks and drops with the rugged shell, but it's also got 256-bit AES security features and NFC (Near Field Communication) features as well. This is a great external hard drive for your Mac if you are concerned about keeping your data safe and secure.
6. Western Digital My Passport Ultra external hard drive
Capacity: 4TB Interface: USB 3.0
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The latest generation of the Western Digital My Passport Ultra range of external hard drives has landed, coming in sizes from 1TB to 4TB. It features cloud storage and 256-AES encryption, along with WD's own software suite.
It is a good performer when it comes to data transfer speeds but doesn't come near the top of the leaderboard. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't reach the top speeds of solid state external drives, but for external hard drives based on traditional HDDs, this is the drive to consider.
Top Backup Drives For Mac 2018 Wire Cutter
7. LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive 4TB
USB-C star
Capacity: 4TB Interface: USB-C
You may have stumbled upon the LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive when perusing the Apple website for USB-C accessories. There’s a reason for that: the Porsche Design ships with both USB Type-C to Type-A and USB Type-C to Type-C connectors, making it a worthy candidate regardless of your setup.
It’s expensive for an external hard drive, don’t get us wrong, especially if you’re in the market for the top-end 4TB option. On the other hand, this is an HDD that could theoretically output speeds of up to 5Gbps, if it weren’t hindered by the limits of SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) technology. With MacBooks coming with USB Type-C connections, this is an excellent - and stylish - external hard drive that makes the most of this speedy new port.
8. iStorage diskAshur 2TB external hard drive
A brilliant external hard drive for extra security
Capacity: 2TB Interface: USB 3.0
If you're worried about people getting access to your data if your external hard drive is stolen, than you'll like the iStorage drive here. If someone tries to tamper with your iStorage drive, you can configure it to self-desturct. What's more, the data is encrypted by the 256-bit AES protocol, with multiple forms of protection in place to ensure the bad guys don't get in no matter how persistent. When you consider all that extra security, the prices won't scare you away either. It's more pricey than the other drives of its capacity, but the extra security it offers will be well worth it for many people.
- Check out our list of the best external hard drives in 2019