It's slower on paper, but will operate at similar speeds to the Extreme Pro when connected to a USB 3.2 port.Īlso bear in mind that both these drives will be pre-formatted to work with both Windows and Mac. If you're using an older Intel-powered Mac, then we'd recommend the cheaper SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 (non 'Pro') as a portable option. That means this SSD can still unleash its maximum speed potential of up to 2000MB/s, really putting the 'extreme' in Extreme Pro.Ĭapacities range from 1TB to 4TB, which isn't all that much next to some 10+TB desktop drives, but the payoff is that this is one of the very fastest external hard drives for a modern Mac. But the USB 4 ports on an M1 or M2 Mac are backward compatible with USB 3.2 Gen 2x2. This is linked to your Mac via the short-lived USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 connection: the USB generation that directly preceded the current USB 4 standard. Strictly speaking, this is a portable storage solution, rather than a device that lives on your desk, but there's no reason why it can't be used in place of a bigger external desktop hard drive.Īnd while most external drives use older, slower mechanical hard disk drives to store your data, the Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2 is based around a blazing fast NVMe SSD.

The best Mac external hard drive for newer MacBooks and iMacsĬapacity: 1TB-4TB | Technology: NVMe SSD | Interface: USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 | Speed: Up to 2000MB/s SanDisk Extreme Pro 2TB Portable NVMe SSD, one of the best Mac external hard drives

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