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We all know about the “Apple Tax” when it comes to upgrading the internal storage on Apple devices. Prices for storage upgrades can range from lower tiers like $200 to budget busters over $2,000 at the highest internal storage tiers. That’s more than the actual entry price of the device the storage is being upgraded on in some cases. Ouch! Fortunately, in 2025, there are SSD options out there that can rival the native internal storage speeds — with the right Apple devices. Many Macs are using Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 5 USB-C ports now, capable of pushing up to 120 Gb/s (about 12 GB/s at peak performance).

While most of the 120 Gb/s bandwidth is typically used for connected displays (one-way data streams), ports like Thunderbolt 5 are easily capable of hitting peaks of 80 Gb/s (about 10 GB/s). That kind of two-way data rate rivals many internal Mac SSDs today. In other words, it’s no joke.

The Need For Speed

Today’s Macs, iPhones, and iPads are capable of creating and managing massive files. When it comes to iPhones and iPads, large photo and video libraries can be cumbersome to transfer at the legacy AirDrop wireless speeds. By comparison, AirDrop transfers files at about the same transfer rate as USB 2.0 devices, or around 480 Mb/s (about 60 MB/s). By Thunderbolt standards, that’s the equivalent of watching paint dry.

Transferring files around isn’t the only problem modern SSDs solve. They also provide a local backup platform for your precious data. Sure, cloud storage is a viable option as well. But generally, it’s slow. Really slow. Attached SSDs are fast. Really fast.

What To Look For

The world of manufacturer-stated SSD speeds is kind of a wild west in 2025 (and likely beyond). Manufacturers make bold claims about the peak performance speeds of their SSDs. In some cases, those drives can actually get pretty close.

Where Macs are concerned, those Thunderbolt 5 ports are absolutely capable of hitting their rated 80 Gb/s / 120 Gb/s speeds. It’s the type of connected drive that will either help them match those speeds or become the bottleneck. This is where making an informed decision is key before making a purchase.

First, before you throw money at speed, consider what you will use external storage for. If you’re going to use it for Time Machine backups, for example, a slower, less expensive non-Thunderbolt drive is more than adequate.

Time Machine is built around making accurate, not speedy, backups. In my testing on Thunderbolt 5, and in the reports of others with similar test results, most Time Machine backups get speed-capped around 500 MB/s (in this case, megabytes rather than megabits or gigabits). That’s well below the speeds of even the most basic and affordable non-Thunderbolt SSDs, which usually start out around 1,000 MB/s.

A great SSD for Time Machine backups is this Samsung T9 Portable 2TB SSD. It’s generally recommended to get two times the size of your internal SSD for external SSD storage. As a lot of Macs have either 512GB or 1TB of internal SSD storage, the Samsung T9 is a fine choice for Time Machine backups. Just be aware that it uses USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, which isn’t a Mac-supported standard, so speeds on Mac specifically will likely cap out around 1,000 MB/s — still more than plenty for Time Machine backups. I know because I use them.

You can get the Samsung T9 Portable 2TB SSD here (Amazon affiliate link):
https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-Portable-Professionals-MU-PG2T0B-AM/dp/B0CHFS9K14?tag=blainelocklai-20&gbOpenExternal=1

Looking for Thunderbolt-class speeds at affordable prices? That’s where LaCie comes in. They’ve got this incredible 2TB Thunderbolt 5 SSD that’s capable of hitting a whopping 6,700 MB/s (about 6.7 GB/s). It’s perfect for transferring large video files from your iPhone or iPad to your Mac — or the other way around.
Here’s where to get the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 2TB External SSD (Amazon affiliate link):
https://www.amazon.com/LaCie-Rugged-External-Thunderbolt-STNA2000400/dp/B0DJ9K7PJK?tag=blainelocklai-20&gbOpenExternal=1

And oh my: if you want this kind of SSD for your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, you want the OWC 4TB Thunderbolt 5 SSD. Four terabytes of 80 Gb/s power in a capacity that can likely hold all of the files from ALL of your devices on that one glorious drive. It isn’t cheap, but you’re getting all of the superpower you’re budgeting for here — and more.

Get the power and capacity of the OWC 4TB Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 Portable SSD here (Amazon affiliate link):
https://www.amazon.com/OWC-Thunderbolt-Portable-Enclosure-Compatible/dp/B0DMTTTCM2?tag=blainelocklai-20&gbOpenExternal=1

Keep It Simple

There are these models out there about backing up your data. They’re called things like the 3-2-1 or 3-2-1-1-0 models. They mean things like:

• 3 copies of data: primary + 2 backups.
• 2 different media/locations (e.g., SSD + cloud).
• 1 copy offsite (not in the same building).
• 1 copy offline/immutable (disconnected).
• 0 errors: verify and do test restores regularly.

I think, where highly critical data is concerned, this makes perfect sense. But it’s a lot of work, and most of us, myself included, aren’t likely to put in that much time and energy to do backups.

SSDs, bundled with a simple cloud storage like iCloud or Dropbox, are usually more than enough for everyday backup needs. That way, you’ll have your data on your primary device, backed up to an SSD, and saved offsite in cloud storage. That’s manageable, redundant, and creates a confident and competent backup for everyday life.

Should the day ever come that your device is damaged, lost, or stolen, you’ll be so glad that you did.