

Before we get to Thunderbolt, we need to address a basic building block of hard drives that has always affected compatibility, and probably always will: the file system.Īn external drive's file system is the most important factor that determines whether or not it's readable by Macs, PCs, or both. We'll start with a breakdown of our favorite external drives for Macs, followed by a guide to how to shop for the best one for you. Read on as we solve this and all of your other Mac external-storage quandaries. In fact, in many cases it makes sense to choose an inexpensive non-Thunderbolt drive that isn't targeted toward Mac use.

So what's a Mac user to do who just wants to back up his or her files using Time Machine, or stash a large video collection? Spoiler: A Thunderbolt drive isn't your only option far from it. As a result, they are typically external SSDs, or even multidrive RAID arrays, which means they also tend to be expensive. The main difference is that many drives made specifically for Macs use the upgraded Thunderbolt data transfer protocol, which promises super-fast data transfers for photographers and video editors who need to store mountains of footage and access it very quickly. Most laptops with either operating system now come with at least one oval-shaped USB-C port, and it's the one you'll want to use for connecting your external drive. Such card readers also come with a lengthy USB cable that is used for connecting to your PC, allowing you to put them next to the computer for convenient access.Buying an external hard drive or SSD for your Mac is not all that different from buying one for your Windows PC. They look like compact boxes supplied with multiple card and USB slots, allowing you to connect several devices at the same time. The second option is represented by hub adapters. Alas, the portability of the device comes at the price of its inability to fit two or more cards simultaneously. You can easily take it with you wherever you go, so if you’re looking for the best Thunderbolt 3 SD card reader in terms of portability, this is the category for you. Such devices are tiny and can only fit a single SD-card. The first option you have is a direct USB-port card reader. If you won’t be satisfied with either of them, you can look for a different design that offers a better fit for your preferences. Due to how difficult it would be to cover all the possible variations, this section will only focus on two main design approaches. Card readers are available in a broad range of designs, offering customers the flexibility necessary to satisfy all of their needs.
