It’s larger and heavier than a typical external SSD, but sportscar stylish, with a glossy exterior, sloping lines, and a fiery-red undercarriage.

It’s rated for stratospheric speeds (2,800 MBps read, 2,300 MBps write), and it delivered on them in our tests. If your computer has a Thunderbolt 3 port and if money is (more or less) no object, the Samsung X5 Thunderbolt 3 Portable SSD is the best external hard drive for you. Requires Thunderbolt 3 for best performance

The newer version costs twice as much, but if super-fast reads are your game, then go for it. Since we tested the Extreme Pro Portable SSD, SanDisk has released a second version that integrates USB 3.2 (opens in new tab) to get speeds of up to 2,000Mbps but looks exactly the same as its predecessor. The drive is a shade expensive, and the integrated carrying loop is too big to easily fit on a standard keychain. Otherwise, this is an excellent storage device that's ideal for heavy everyday use. The SanDisk Secure Access application applies general encryption, too. Ok, how about speed? The USB 3.1 version of the Extreme Pro Portable SSD is rated for sequential reads of 1,050MBps, and in our own performance tests, it routinely came out at or near the top of the rankings. Suave looks? Its rounded corners, black-and-red coloration, delicately pockmarked front and soft-touch back give it an appearance and feel that are both thoroughly modern and refreshingly classic. As a rule, these devices are either external solid-state drives or multi-drive RAID arrays that cost a lot of money.No matter what you want from the best external hard drive, the SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD delivers it.Ĭonvenient design? It’s small and light enough to fit in your hand but not get lost in your pocket or bag. Most of today's Apple-friendly devices are aimed at photographers and video editors looking for ways to store footage with quick access to it. The process of choosing the best external hard drive for Mac is not too different from choosing an external hard drive for a Windows device, except for one nuance – new models of Mac laptops are designed with Thunderbolt 3 ports, which significantly narrows the choice of appropriate external hard drives.

Best external hard drive for macbook