The 4TB Seagate Backup Plus Portable Drive hard drive has more features and double the storage for $50 more, but if portability is your main concern, this drive is a straightforward and affordable. Pop in any combination of G-DRIVE ev hard Thunderbolt ports for up to 10Gb/s data transfer speeds as well as daisy chaining capabilities. With Time Machine compatibility you can plug this drive into your Mac running Mac OS X 10.7 or higher and begin saving and backing up your data.drives into the G-DOCK ev for ultimate flexibility.

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Best Portable Hard Drives For Mac

The Rundown

Best Overall: Western Digital My Passport at Amazon, “Offers outstanding performance that rivals that of pricier competitors.”
Runner-Up, Best Overall:Samsung T5 SSD at Amazon, “The all-metal, shock-resistant enclosure is rugged and portable.”
Best for Business:WD 8TB My Book Desktop at Amazon, “Offers far more capacity than more portable drives for far less cash.”
Best Splurge:Seagate Backup Plus Hub 6TB at Amazon, “This drive offers a lot of capacity and it’s fast and flexible.”
Best for Gaming:U32 ShadowUSB at Amazon, “A USB 3.0 device that has plug-and-play compatibility with the Xbox One.”
Best for Apple:LaCie Rugged 2TB Thunderbolt USB-C at Amazon, “Super fast drive that can handle plenty of bumps, rain, and bounces.”
Best Portability:Toshiba Canvio Advance at Amazon, “Users delight in the small size, transfer speeds, and cool running temperature.”
Best Durability: Silicon Power 1TB Rugged Armor at Amazon, “Offering a tough exterior with a shockproof design.”

Our Top Picks

Best Overall, Best for Fast Transfers: Western Digital My Passport

4.2

What We Like

Excellent storage capacity for the price
Encryption built-in
Automatic backup

What We Don't Like

Slower than a portable SSD
No fancy features

My Passport is an inexpensive drive, but it offers outstanding performance that rivals that of pricier competitors thanks to a 3.0 USB port and excellent disk controller. This drive allows a maximum transfer speed of 174 MBps read, and 168 MBps write. It’s available in sizes ranging from 1 TB to 4 TB. Our tester thought it was a great overall value for the price: 'If you're on a budget and looking for a cheap and cheerful storage solution, the My Passport isn't very fancy but it does a reliable job of storing your precious files,' he said.

Runner-Up, Best Overall: Samsung T5 Portable SSD

What We Like

Compact design
Lightning fast transfer speeds
Compatible with multiple devices

What We Don't Like

Smaller storage space
Outdated aesthetic
Pricey

The Samsung T5 Portable DDS is on the pricey side (especially in the larger capacities), but the speed and security it comes with are worth it for those looking for durable performance. Weighing less than 2 ounces, the all-metal, shock-resistant enclosure is very portable. What really makes this device stand out, though, is its super-fast transfer speed, with up to 540 MB/s thanks to the SSD design, making it ideal for transferring giant files like 4K videos. Our tester, agreed, raving that its speed was 'unbeatable.' The T5 connects to just about anything, too, with its USB 3.1 Type-C and Type-A ports and works with Windows, Mac, and Android devices. Plus, integrated AES 256-bit hardware encryption ensures the safety of your data.

Best for Business: WD 8TB My Book Desktop External Hard Drive - USB 3.0

What We Like

Automatic backup system
Fantastic storage capacity
Above average transfer speeds

What We Don't Like

Needs external power to function
Limited portability

The My Book Desktop External Hard Drive from Western Digital, while large, fits the bill for business owners in need of serious space: It comes in 3, 4, 6, 8, or 10TB varieties and offers Western Digital’s own backup solution for Windows users. It’s also compatible with Time Machine for Mac users (though you may need to reformat). It has 256-bit AES hardware encryption for strong security and has both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports to connect to a wide range of computers. You'll have to rely on the device's wall-based power supply, but according to our tester, that’s worth the trade-off for this spacious vault that holds your invaluable digital data: 'Though it's not really a portable hard drive,' he explained, 'it's definitely the best option if you want a static drive that sits on your desk storing and backing up your files in a secure manner.'

Best Splurge: Seagate Backup Plus Hub 6TB STEL6000100

4.6

What We Like

Massive capacity
Great value for size
Solid speed

What We Don't Like

A few interrupted connections
Must reformat for Mac OS

If cost is no concern, we recommend taking a close look at the Seagate Backup Plus Hub. It houses SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) drives, which allow more physical bits of memory in the same space without decreasing the size of the bits. This drive offers a lot of capacity — available in 3TB, 4TB, 6TB, and 8TB versions — and is fast and flexible. Our testers appreciated the two extra USB ports on the front where you can charge other devices while you work. One of our reviewers reported that it took 12 minutes to do a 9 GB transfer, which equates to a write speed of about 107 Mbps. “It feels like a good value to me,” one of our testers said.

Hi Editor, I want to recover my 1 GB of deleted videos stored in my MacBook Pro having size 500 GB. But, can you please tell me whether the Easeus Mac data recovery software provides additional features like TimeMachine recovery, RAW Recovery, BootCamp partition recovery, External drive recovery etc. TestDisk Open Source Data Recovery Solution [ ]. Os x undelete.

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Best for Gaming: U32 ShadowUSB Hard Drive

3.6

What We Don't Like

Limited color options

This USB 3.0 connective device has plug-and-play compatibility with the Xbox One, which means your gaming console will immediately recognize the drive as soon as it’s plugged in. Our testers took advantage of the drive’s 1TB capacity by storing Forza Horizon 3, Titanfall 2, Halo 5, Sea of Thieves, Fortnite, PUBG, and Madden 19 — and didn’t experience a single issue. If you plan to use this device to store more than just games, 1TB is large enough to hold 650,000 photos, 250,000 songs, and over 500 hours of video. The small black device is stylish and even comes with a three-year warranty.

Best for Apple: LaCie Rugged 2TB Thunderbolt USB-C Portable Hard Drive

What We Like

Extremely durable
Integrated connecting cable
Large capacity

If you’re looking for a Mac-friendly external hard drive that’s built for durability, take a look at LaCie’s Rugged Thunderbolt USB-C portable hard drive. With its distinctive rubber bumpers and brushed aluminum chassis,

Best Hard Drive Dock For Mac