USB 3.1 Type-C Mac Backup Drives
The new generation of Mac-friendly USB-C SSD and hard disk drives feature USB 3.1 Type-C connectivity. They're ideal for Apple MacBooks, iMacs and Mac minis - as well as ChromeBook Pixel and other desktop and laptop computers that are incorporating the new Type-C style 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 3 ports that also support USB 3.1 10 Gbps SuperSpeed+ protocols.USB 3.1 HDD & SSD Backup Drives
As USB 3.1 gains momentum, we're seeing most major drive manufacturer's rapidly adopt the Type-C interface. Expect all external backup drive makers to retool their product lines to the smaller USB-C ports over time. Many backup drives now include extra cables for use on both older PC's and Macintosh's with rectangular Type-A ports, or newer one's with the smaller, oblong and rounded Type-C connector.| LaCie USBC HDD | Samsung USBC SSD |
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Lacie Mobile USB 3.1 Drive Portable & Desktop Versions to 8TB 
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Samsung USB 3.1 SSD Capacities To 2 Terabytes 
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USB 3.1 Drive Enclosures And Converters
Many Mac users with new Type-C ports might opt to build their own USB-C backup drive solution with a SATA III HDD or SSD drive module of their choice.| USBC Drive Case | USBC Drive Adapter |
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Akitio USB 3.1 Enclosure 10Gbps Type-C Port 
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5.3/2.5" USB-C SATA Adapter For SSD & HDD Drives 
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| USBC Flash Drive | DIY USBC SSD Drive |
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SanDisk Duo USBC USB-C and USB-A Plugs 
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Type-C SSD Enclosure Uses M.2 SATA SSD Module 
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Whether it's a solid-state SSD or multi-drive hard disk RAID array - the drive technology itself will need to be fast enough to even begin to fill the 10Gbps pipeline USB 3.1 Rev 2 provides. SATA III SSD's max out at 6Gbps, so it would take at least a pair of them in a striped RAID array.
With USB 3.1 however we're seeing PCIe based SSD modules (such as those used in the Cylindrical Mac Pro and newer Mac's) who's data bandwidth can even exceed USB-C's 10Gbps bandwidth. For hard disk drive solutions, it usually takes 4 or more very fast drive mechanisms with large onboard caches in a RAID array to deliver that much sustained bandwidth. PCIe SSD's offer insanely fast transfer speeds, and the cost per Terabyte has fallen dramaticaly.
Convert Older Mac Drives To USB-C
With the proper USB-C converter cable or a USB 3.0 adapter, your existing USB Mac backup drive is instantly usable with a new Retina MacBook or other USBC capable computer. However, it won't bring any performance benefits over it's current Read / Write speeds. To take advantage of the full USB 3.1 device specification running at 10Gbps both the SSD or HDD drive itself will need a USB-C Gen 2 chipset, as well as one inside the computer it's connected to.USB-C Flash Drives
Some of the first USBC storage devices to reach the market have been dual-sided flash-memory thumb drives featuring BOTH reversible USB-C plugs as well as a conventional USB Type-A plug to connect to the billions of rectangular legacy USB ports. To date, the initial offerings have been rather small 32GB to 128GB in size for basic file transfers. Expect larger. higher-capacity USBC flash drives in the 256GB to 1TB range more suitible for complete Mac system backups to arrive soon.Tags: Fastest USB-C drive, USB-C SSD for Mac, USB-C drive for MacBook, Mac compatible USB-C drive, USB-C backup drive Mac, Apple USB-C drive
