It's perfect for sliding into a bag or even a shirt pocket (depending on the size of your shirt pockets) while you're moving between computers and locations. If you want an external hard drive that powers itself solely from the USB port it's plugged into, then the WD Elements SE SSD is absolutely worth a look: it's fast, it's stylish, and it's affordable, and it comes in capacities of up to 2TB as well. As an added bonus, you get a 4-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud Photography thrown in for free. Whether you pick the white or the black finish, the woven fabric adds a touch of elegance to your Mac setup. Whether you go for the HDD or the SSD model, these drives are fully portable, so all you need is the drive and the USB3.0 cable (it has a USB-A connector but there is a USB-C adapter in the box).Ī word too on the design of these drives, because they're some of the most stylish that we've come across. Here we've featured the cheaper, slower HDD version, but if you want to pay extra then a faster SSD model is available as well.įor most people, HDDs still offer the best value for money, even if you're going to have to wait a few extra seconds when you're copying large files over. It simply and efficiently gives you stacks of extra storage for your Mac, and at a very affordable price too. These are quite simply the very best external hard drives for Macs that money can buy, and we'll talk you through the advantages (and occasional disadvantages) of each one.Įxternal hard drives don't have to be complicated at all, as the Seagate Ultra Touch HDD proves.

Insane speed isn't everything though: when it comes to extended storage, capacity is often the most important thing, so it's very much about finding the product that works best for you.ĭon't panic though: our buying guide will tell you everything you need to know in plain language. Two types of technology are covered in our best Mac external drive list: HDD (Hard Disk Drive) devices use the traditional, slower, mechanical technology, so these can't compete on transfer speeds but do give you lots of capacity for not much money SSD (Solid State Drive), meanwhile, provides faster storage technology with no moving parts for those who want the speed and can afford the extra.Īs we note in T3's best SSDs buying guide, these drives offer order of magnitude faster speeds than conventional HDDs, as found in many of the best external hard drives. There's now a huge amount of choice to pick from in 2023 too – from compact, ultra-portable drives that slide into your pocket, to chunky bricks that take up a substantial amount of desk space and can stream files to any computer on your local network.

4tb ssd external drive for mac