orchard apple tree offer pretty good prices on the received configurations of its Macs . $ 599 for a M4 Mac miniskirt ? $ 999 for a raw M4 MacBook Air ? $ 1,299 for a fresh M4 iMac ? Those are attractively priced . But those prices take a few sacrifices , most notably the start memory board of just 256 GB . A fourth part of a TB might voice like a good deal , but much of what we do on the Mac involves large filing cabinet – gamy - solution pictures , video , games ( literally the biggest culprit ) , and a lot more . 256 GB runs out quickly .
Apple does give customers the option to kick upstairs depot at the pointedness of purchase , of course , but their Mary Leontyne Price are steep . Upgrading from 256 GB to 512 GB ( the minimal amount we recommend ) is an surplus $ 200/£200 , and jump to a TB is another $ 200 , turn an attractive entry - level offering into a pricey one .
But if you do n’t need to plunk down the extra money , you’re able to still expand your Mac ’s repositing without paying Apple ’s steep prices . The alternatives here are mostly extraneous storage result – in other words , you ’ll need to carry and punch in an extra gimmick – but the via media can aid you meet your budget .
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External SSDs and hard drives
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An external reposition gimmick offers the good combination of price and capacity . For example , you may get a 1 TB LaCie Mobile Drive for about$80/£56on Amazon that connects to your Mac via USB - C. LaCie sell that same drive with 5 TB of storage forless than $ 170/£115 – still lower than the ascent to 512 GB of internal storage on a Mac .
With outside drive , you’re able to opt for a hard ride or a satisfying - state drive ( SSD ) . SSDs ( which are used internally on the Mac ) are faster and higher - price than hard drive . you may also choose between background drives that have a magnanimous design and demand you to plug it into a world power electrical outlet , or portable driving that are small enough to fit in a bag or pocket and are powered through the Mac ’s Thunderbolt or USB interface .
External drives use either USB - C or Thunderbolt to connect to the Mac . Thunderbolt drives are more expensive but faster , while cheaper USB - C - only ride often support slow datum transfer of training rates . Learn more about the differences between Thunderbolt and USB .
Macworld has guide to thebest external SSDsand thebest outside hard drivesto help you bump the best equipment for you .
USB flash drives
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Often call “ thumb drives ” or “ store stick , ” a USB flash private road is basically a joystick of ostentation memory that plugs into a USB port . They ’re small and gentle to stash in a grip or pocket . They are available in capacities as high-pitched as 2 TB , but 128 GB and 256 GB capacity are most commonly found , often for less than $ 30 , such asthis Samsung flash movement .
USB flash drives change in price base on capacity and speed . Some have additional feature film such as a USB - A plug on one end and a USB - C ballyhoo on the other , or built - in encryption .
you may leave a USB flash parkway plug in , but if you are going to frequently understand and write to the drive , you ’ll want to opt for a portable or screen background drive instead . USB instant effort are more prone to wearing out than a full - fledged drive because New York minute memory has limited durability and USB flash drives do n’t have the measures in place to maintain proper wellness . Also , they incline to use lower - caliber character so they can be bum and treat as commodities ( for example , the corner near my home betray USB newsflash drive ) .
While you do n’t want to bank on USB flash bulb private road are basal storage , they ’re handy for , say , stash away photos or videos from a shoot , file cabinet direction when you want to keep files for a project separate from everything else , backups , and more .
SD cards
SDXC cards are memory cards often used in cameras and other portable gimmick , but you could also utilise them on the Mac . Only two Macs ( MacBook Pro and Mac Studio ) havebuilt - in SDXC bill slots , however . For every other Mac , you must corrupt an SD Card adapter , which is inexpensive at about $ 10/£10 . you could also find hub and Thunderbolt sorrel with wag slots if you design to corrupt one anyway .
SDXC notice are good for uses like to USB flash drives : file conveyance , specifically storing file cabinet for projects , computer backup , and more . They have like issues regarding the retention chip shot wear upon out ; they are more reliable because they use higher - calibre memory , but they are n’t idealistic as a drive that is always connected , and you are frequently reading and writing file to .
If you project to use an SDXC card as a method of transferring files between Macs or other gadget , consider buy another card as a backup . I ’ve had representative where the metallic element contacts for the card get worn out or damage from frequent intromission into devices . These cards did have several years of mileage on them but empathize that they ’re delicate proportional to other storage devices mentioned here .
Cards are useable in capacities between 32 GB and 2 TB and are available at different swiftness . The higher capacity / faster menu can be more expensive than an international SSD drive of the same capacity , as you ’re pay a bounty for the extremely small size of it .
Network-attached storage
If you ’re not familiar with mesh - confiscate storage ( NAS ) , mean of it as cloud reposition , but specifically for your home . A NAS machine connect to your home web , and your Macs , iPhones , iPads , and even Windows PC and Android machine can get at it whenever necessary . A NAS gadget is a good way of life to store file that need to be get at by several gadget or exploiter , or it can be a way for individual user to move single file from a gadget to free up infinite .
Because the NAS gadget get in touch to a meshing , the setup is n’t as simple as plug - and - toy , but it ’s not too difficult . Once it ’s up and running , you could access it either through the web menu in the Finder , or through an app , web browser , or both . Some NAS equipment can provide access when you ’re forth from nursing home , but this may require using a paid help from the equipment ’s company .
NAS devices swan from 1 with ready difficult drives starting at 2 TB for $ 150/£150 to ride with multiple removable operose drives with capacity over 8 TB and other features for several hundreds of dollars . Check out our picking for thebest NAS drive for Macif you ’re interested .
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Cloud storage
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Cloud storage is provide by a service online for a fee , ordinarily a subscription . Apple propose iCloud , which includesiCloud Drivealong with other services . Other popular cloud memory board providers includeDropbox , Google Drive , Microsoft OneDrive , andBox . study more about the good cloud repositing services for the Mac .
What ’s great about cloud storage is that it is accessible by almost any machine that has an internet connection . But because your ability to access it is reliant on the internet , cloud storage should n’t be used as elemental storage . It ’s serious for storing files you need to access but not I you apply frequently , things like backup , photo and television storage , and file carry-over . But it ’s a gravid agency to free up space on your Mac ’s drive .
Also , since you have to compensate a recur fee , you ’ll call for to figure out how the price benefits you . Many services have a free tier with a small allocation of storage ; for case , iCloud Drive offers 5 GB free . That specify what you may do .
Mac mini and Mac Studio SSD upgrades
TheM4 Mac miniand the Mac Studio have internal SSDs that are instal in slots , which makes them upgradeable but Apple does n’t officially support rise after purchase by the company , a third political party , or by do - it - yourselfers . Some small companies have released SSD rising slope kits , such asExpand Mac miniandPolySoft Serviceswith telecasting instructions on their websites .
The installations for these kit are n’t trivial but if your mechanical aptitude is modified , you should be able-bodied to do this . There is a risk of exposure of damage your Mac and this instalment could invalidate your warrantee , particularly if there is obvious evidence of your work .
If you have an M2 Mac miniskirt there are other ways to upgrade its memory . Learn more .
