What are the best modern hard drives available to backup my Mac?
Keeping your documents, photos, videos, and more backed up and secure means having total peace of mind when it comes to working on your Mac or MacBook.
But a quick Google search of ‘best hard drives’ yields literally thousands of results, so what are the best, most reliable options out there?
Here are the best external hard drives available for backing up your back!
Seagate Expansion Portable External Hard Drive
If you’re looking for a highly rated, reliable external hard drive that comes in 1TB, 2TB, 3TB, or 4TB options, and if you want something slim, easy to use, and relatively portable, then we suggest taking a peek at the Seagate Expansion Portable External Hard Drive.
The 2TB Seagate Expansion Portable USB 3.0 hard drive is excellent (sic) expansion storage choice in an attractive package. (Amazon user Stephanie Sullivan)
While using the Seagate straight out of the box is a-okay for Windows computers, if you want to use it with your Mac, you’re going to have to download Seagate Dashboard. Other than that, this external hard drive works effortlessly with your MacBook and Time Machine, and after attaching the USB cable to your computer, you’re ready to start backing up your bizznizz!
Oh, and did we mention that it has enough storage for up to 1,000 hours of video, over 300,000 photos, and up to 250 2-hour Hollywood blockbusters? We’ll give you a moment to pick your jaw off the floor…
Samsung T3 Portable SSD
Super portable, powerful, and prepared to back your files right the heck up, the Samsung T3 Portable SSD gives new meaning to “Though she be but little, she is fierce!”
While not as robust as some other external hard drives on this list, storage-wise, this palm-sized device can hold up to 500GB, with incredibly fast transfer speeds that are nearly four times the speed of a traditional portable hard drive. Plus the entire thing weighs around 2 ounces, making it the perfect accessory for people on the go.
If you’re someone who’s a bit rough with their tech, don’t worry: the Samsung T3 Portable SSD is designed with a shock-resistant metal and can easily survive a 6.5-foot drop, while an AES 256-bit encryption algorithm keeps your data safe and secure.
@hellorousseau @iMore Samsung T3
— Naushad Ali (@nashlib) January 17, 2017
Western Digital My Passport Portable Hard Drive
Password protection with hardware encryption? Check. Easy-to-use installation? Check. A multitude of colorful, fun options to pick from? Check! So why not check out the Western Digital My Passport Portable Hard Drive?!
This is my third one. Love these things! (Amazon user Charles Morris)
Small package… Fast USB… Great value when on sale… I’d buy again. (Amazon user Mike N.)
The backup process was simple and all my photos and documents are now secure. (Amazon user James Boyd)
With the My Passport Portable Hard Drive, you can easily set up a regular schedule to have your documents, photos, and videos automatically backed up, while password protection ensures peace of mind in case you accidentally lose the thing. You can even add a “return if found” message as the password prompt if you do lose your My Passport.
And if you’re looking for space, then look no further: the Western Digital My Passport Portable Hard Drive has up to 4TB of storage, giving you plenty of room to download, upload, and do whatever your heart desires!
Unlike most external hard drives, the My Passport comes in a ton of bright colors, including royal blue, mustard yellow, orange, and red, along with some more standard colors, like black and white.
(Oh, and if we could recommend a bit of additional protection for your My Passport, then we suggest looking at the AmazonBasics hard carrying case).
@hellorousseau @iMore WD Passport for portability, WD MyBook for typical storage, HGST NAS for great performance and reliability. Love’m!!
— Every Day is Extra (@everydayisextra) January 16, 2017
@hellorousseau @iMore
WD Passport media plug-nplay & on-thego
WD MyBook TimeMachines
Many of each as I cont’ recmnd to family over the years— Richard Kenyan (@RichardKenyan) January 17, 2017
Seagate Backup Plus Portable External Hard Drive
Wickedly fast, reliable, and portable, the Seagate Backup Plus Portable External Hard Drive is a simple yet effective accessory to have in your backup arsenal.
Compared to other Seagate hard drives, this 2.5-inch device is small but mighty. You get a whopping 4TB of storage, which is around twice the capacity of most comparable external hard drives.
Perfect! light weight (sic), sleek design, lots of capacity! (Amazon user Jasmina Davis)
Not only do you get an eff-ton of space, but you also get automatic backups for things like your social media accounts (Facebook, Flickr, Youtube, etc) and additional cloud connectivity for things like Dropbox and Google Drive (plus you get 200GB of free OneDrive storage for 2 years… which is hella rad).
You can pick up your Seagate Backup Plus Portable External Hard Drive in blue, red, silver or black.
LaCie Rugged RAID Thunderbolt
If you’ve ever taken a second to glance at external hard drives before, then chances are you’ve caught a glimpse of the infamous silver box with the big, bulky orange rubber bumper. AKA the LaCie Rugged RAID Thunderbolt.
But there’s a reason it’s such a staple!
This drive is screaming fast. Worked straight out of the box… Feels very solid, and the bumper case is a nice touch. The built in (sic) Thunderbolt cable is great and doesn’t require any external power when used this way. It does come with a USB 3 cable and external power supply as well. After testing, I bought a 2nd one (I’ll be setting up an off-site backup of one drive to the other). Great value for the price. (Amazon user TennisDrum)
Designed to work for people on the go, this hard drive has a performance speed of 240MB/s and a built-in cable, so you can easily and quickly connect and download your documents and data. The LaCie is also designed to withstand drops of up to 5 feet and can get run over by a 1-ton car, so you won’t have to worry about banging this hard drive up.
You get 4 TB of space with the LaCie, which is the equivalent of 30 singular 128GB memory cards! Oh, and did we mention that it comes with a protective plastic stopper, making it relatively resistant against water and dust? If you’re editing video footage on the open ocean, then LaCie definitely has you covered! (And if anything goes wrong, there’s a 3-year limited warranty available than can be upgraded and extended, so don’t sweat!)
@hellorousseau LaCie Rugged. Have had one since 2008 and it’s still going. @iMore
— Boback Shahsafdari (@bobacks) January 16, 2017
Seagate Seven Portable External Hard Drive
If you’re looking for thin and minimal, then look no further than the highly rated Seagate Seven Portable External Hard Drive.
While not as beefy and big as some of the other hard drives in regards to storage space (or size, TBH), this 500GB drive is a reasonably priced partner to pair with your MacBook. It also draws power directly from the USB port, meaning you don’t have to worry about an external power supply.
At only 7mm thin, this super skinny hard drive is perfect to slide into your backpack amongst your books or beside the day planner in your purse. It’s actually thinner than the iPhone 6 Plus, making it look like you’re backing up your computer with more of a high-tech tile than a bulky brick.
Outstanding performance and design. I was actually thinking about buying a LaCie product, given the performance of Seagate I’m thinking to turn my mind to more Seagate products. (sic) (Amazon user Alejandro Meza)
What’s your pick?
Is there a hard drive that we missed on our list that you’re totally in love with? Feel free to let us know your top picks in the comments below, or tweet us at @iMore (or me at @hellorousseau)!