If you’re editing large files like video or graphics though, you should definitely look elsewhere-the real appeal here is the drive’s aesthetics, which is no doubt what landed it in the Apple store. Its performance is a respectable 540 MBps-far from the fastest on this list, but adequate for routine productivity tasks. An Apple Store exclusive, its brushed aluminum exterior makes it look like it was made by the gang in Cupertino. The LaCie 2TB Mobile SSD drive is an external USB-C drive with more than enough space for all of your digital files.

LaCie 2TB Mobile SSD High‑Performance External SSD BUY FROM APPLE

Best Bargain External Hard Drive: Seagate Portable 1TB.

Fastest External Hard Drive: Samsung Portable SSD X5.

Best External Hard Drive For DIY: OWC Envoy Pro Enclosure.

Best Thunderbolt 3 External Hard Drive : LaCie Rugged SSD Pro.

Most Secure External Hard Drive: Samsung T7 Touch.

Most Stylish External Hard Drive: Seagate Ultra Touch SSD 1TB.

Best High-Capacity Desktop External Hard Drive: G-Technology 14TB G-DRIVE.

Best High-Capacity Portable External Hard Drive: WD 5TB My Passport Ultra.

Best USB-C External SSD: LaCie Mobile SSD.

Best External Hard Drive For Mac Overall: Sabrent Rocket XTRM-Q 2TB Thunderbolt 3 External SSD.

Scan the list below and be sure to refer to the FAQ at the end of the article if you need help understanding which kind of drive is right for you. We’ve rounded up some of the very best external hard drives for Macs. But if you want to access your Photo Library or edit raw 4K video from an external drive, you’ll want a speedy SSD-and probably Thunderbolt 3 if your Mac supports it. While a voluminous HDD might not be the best thing for running programs from, it’s perfectly suitable for Time Machine backups.

So what hard drive should you get for your Mac? That largely depends on how you plan to use it. And some drives support esoteric technology like RAID. You have to choose between two kinds of drives-HDDs and SSDs-as well as the interface (USB or Thunderbolt). Buying a hard drive can seem harder than it should be, though.

Best mac external backup drives