- #WD STORAGE FOR MAC FOR MAC#
- #WD STORAGE FOR MAC MANUAL#
- #WD STORAGE FOR MAC PORTABLE#
- #WD STORAGE FOR MAC PLUS#
The Ultra Touch includes the same ToolKit app that is used with the LaCie Mobile Drive that we also review in this group test. There’s a standard USB 3.0 port on the back of the drive, and a USB 3.0 cable that will work with any Mac or PC, but Seagate also includes a USB-C adapter so that you can use it with new computers that have USB-C as well. It’s available in either black or white, and finished off with a smart woven fabric that makes a nice change from the dull monochrome colours of most hard drives. The Ultra Touch measures just 12mm thick, 78mm wide and 115mm long, and weighs 151g, so you can easily slip it into a jacket pocket or a bag when you’re travelling with your laptop. It’s slightly more expensive, but has a stylish design that makes it a good companion for your MacBook, and also offers encryption to provide extra security for your important files and data. Like the Slim drives, the Ultra Touch is available with either 1TB or 2TB storage.
#WD STORAGE FOR MAC PLUS#
However, the top-of-the-range model is the new Backup Plus Ultra Touch.
The Slim drives measure just 12mm thick, and has 1TB storage or 2TB capacities. Those large drives are a bit on the chunky side – 21mm thick – so Seagate also offers the Backup Plus Slim with either 1TB or 2TB storage instead.
#WD STORAGE FOR MAC PORTABLE#
If you just want lots of extra storage at a competitive price then the Backup Plus Portable Drive offers either 4TB or 5TB. The new models are all compact, portable drives, although they offer a number of different designs and features. Seagate has recently overhauled the Backup Plus range, putting more emphasis on portable drives for laptop users. That’s our only complaint, though, and the Mobile Drive provides good performance, with write and read speeds both averaging out at 132MB/s in our tests – almost identical to the Rugged Secure drives – while backing up a 5GB batch of iTunes songs took exactly one minute.
#WD STORAGE FOR MAC MANUAL#
Our only complaint here is that LaCie’s skimpy manual doesn’t provide much information about the ToolKit app, or the various formatting options for the drive, simply leaving you to wade through a bunch of FAQ files on its website. This ensures that your backups are always up to date with the most recent versions of your files (whereas Time Machine still leaves a one-hour gap between backups). Any folder that is ‘mirrored’ is automatically backed up and updated as soon as you make any changes to any file within that folder. This is a good option if you use your Mac at work, and have individual projects organised in their own folders.
#WD STORAGE FOR MAC FOR MAC#
The drives can be used with Time Machine for Mac backups, but LaCie’s ToolKit app also allows you to ‘mirror’ individual folders. The Mobile Drive has a single USB-C port on the back, but LaCie includes cables for both USB-C and the older USB 3.0, so you can use the drive with any Mac or PC. There’s also a 4TB model, which is the same size and weight, but slightly less expensive. The 5TB model is twice as heavy and twice as thick (20mm), and costs more. Those two drives measure just 10mm thick, 88mm wide and 122mm long, and weigh a more modest 200g. There are smaller and lighter alternatives, though, depending on how much storage you need. The ‘diamond cut’ design simply refers to the exaggerated angular edges and corners looks aside, the aluminium casing feels really sturdy – in fact, the 5TB model that we tested weighs in at 400g, and could give someone a serious concussion if you whacked them over the head with it.
They’re available in two colours: ‘moon silver’ and, of course, ‘space grey’ that is intended to match the latest Mac models. Rather than the neon-orange rubber bumper of the Rugged drives, the new Mobile Drives are wrapped in smart aluminium. LaCie’s range of Mobile Drives provide a much wider range of options, as well as a ‘diamond cut’ design.