Mac Backup Drive Reviews
Shopping for an ideal Apple Time Machine or MacOS storage solution? We feature Mac compatible backup drives with the latest Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C interfaces, as well as legacy Thunderbolt and USB drives using HDD hard disks and SSD solid-state flash memory.There's a lot of external Apple compatible backup drive
options to choose from. Here's our top suggestions for your MacBook laptop or Macintosh desktop computer data backup needs:
USB-C USB 3.1 Apple Backup Drives
The latest USB interface standard features a new, reversible Type-C connection. With USB 3.1, the 5Gbps speed of USB 3.0 is doubled to 10Gbps when full 'Gen 2' chipsets are used. With an often included Type-C to Type-A cable or adapter, new USB-C drives can also be used on older Macs. Even if your current MacBook or Macintosh desktop computer doesn't have USB 3.1 capabilities in a Type-C port, you'll be glad you bought a USB 3.1 drive so you're SuperSpeed+ ready for your next system.| Crucial USB-C SSD | A-Data USB-C SSD |
|---|---|
Solid-State USB 3.1 Drive Reads to 1000Mbps 
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USB-C SSD For Macs FAST PCIe Flash Memory 
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With flash memory prices collapsing, these Mac friendly USB-C SSD storage options are more affordable than ever and deliver unprecented data read/write speeds for auxiliary storage or Time Macine backups in MacOS.
ThunderBolt 1 - 2 - 3 Apple Backup Drives
There's now a great selection of fast and affordable ThunderBolt, Thunderbolt 2 and Thunderbolt 3 Apple backup drive solutions for more modern Macs. The first drives that came to market were expensive multi-drive RAID disk array models targeted to very data intensive high-end professional users. For Enterprise, Video Editing and Audio Production, ThunderBolt RAID drive arrays are the way to go.| Samsung TB3 SSD | G-Tech TB3 SSD |
|---|---|
Thunderbolt 3 SSD Fastest Mac Backups 
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Thunderbolt3 SSD Blistering Data Speeds 
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For the average consumer, cheaper Thunderbolt Mac backup drives with 1st generation 10Gbps ThunderBolt ports and single HDD hard drive or SSD module are reasonably affordable for the Mac masses. Western Digital, OWC, Akitio and LaCie in particular are delivering a great selection of pro and consumer ThunderBolt drive solutions to date. Sadly, they're still priced at a premium over USB 3.0 or 3.1 storage: The cost of licensing Apple/Intel's ThunderBolt chipset easily adds $50 or more to any drive, enclosure, or ThunderBolt device.
Affordable USB 3.0 Apple Backup Drives
USB 3.x still retains backward Mac compatibility with older, legacy Macs at lower USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 speeds if needed. The cost of changing over to a USB 3x controller chipset has been utterly trivial. Unlike ThunderBolt, updating USB chipsets hasn't added any additional cost to USB 3.1 USB-C storage products.Combo-Interface Apple Backup Drives
There are currently a fair number of USB/Thunderbolt combo drives for a degree of flexibility between Macs and PC's when cross-platform use is desired.| Combo HDD Drive | Versatile Mac Backup |
|---|---|
Thunderbolt 3 + USB 3.1 Combo Hard Drive 
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Lacie D2 Tri-Interface USB3 + FW800 + eSATA 
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For more recent Macs after 2012, a combo USB 3.0 + Thunderbolt drive is most likely to let you easily backup, transfer or share files with other Macintoshes or PCs.
Business and professional users with either an eSATA or USB3 ExpressCard in thier MacBook Pro laptop -- or USB 3.0 PCI card in thier Mac Pro tower may consider USB 3.0 or eSATA interface external drives for the fastest external transfer rates possible at the lowest price. Ideally the internal mechanisms should have a large 32MB or larger cache and spin at 7200 RPM or higher. Simply put, SuperSpeed USB 3.0 or eSATA matches transfer speeds as if the drive was internally and directly connected to the SATA bus.
Portable Apple Backup Drives
Mobile backup storage solutions are often preferred for not only by MacBook owners - but many Mac desktop users as well. A portable hard drive's small foootprint and low-power requirements allow them to operate from a single USB 2.0/3.0/3.1, ThunderBolt or FireWire cable. This eliminates the need for additional wires or power-supplies and transformers clogging up your life or hogging desk space. Apple compatible mobile backup drives can tuck away behind your Macintosh setup - or slip into a laptop travel case for peace of mind and data backup security on the go.| USB3+FW800 Laptop Drive | WD Portable Drive |
|---|---|
G-Tech Combo Drive FireWire 800 + USB3 
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WD MyPassPort Ultra USB 3.0 Interface 
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Three out of four Macintosh users choose an Apple MacBook laptop as their primary computer. And they like portable computer accessories and peripherals to match and compliment their MacBook. There are alot of external Apple compatible portable hard drive
choices out there. If you're on a budget, USB 3.1 and 3.0 portable laptop drives are the most affordable. If you want performance, look for mobile drives with ThunderBolt 3 interfaces.
Apple Backups 101
For insights and issues to be aware of when choosing a backup disk for your Macintosh setup - check out this MacWorld.com article: External Back-Up Drive Overview. Remember, for Apple TimeMachine backups you've GOT to have - or buy a hard drive that's at least as large, and ideally bigger, than the one built into your Mac. It needs to be able to store the entire contents of a full disk - and still have extra disk space for several incremental backup file changes from day to day.Macintosh, Apple, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini or iMac, iPhone, iPad, iPod and others are a registered trademark of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and other countries and regions. Several other computing peripheral, data storage, accessory, upgrade, add-on or gizmo and gadget mfrs, brands and product names which may be referred to at this page are registered trademarks of each respected technology corporate entity.