Best Drives for macOS Environments

Ecosystems • Format & Setup Guide

Integrating an external drive into a macOS workflow involves a few extra considerations beyond simply plugging it in. Out of the box, most external hard drives and solid-state drives are formatted for maximum compatibility, which rarely equates to maximum performance on an Apple machine. Furthermore, the transition to Apple Silicon (M-series chips) and the ubiquity of Thunderbolt ports mean that choosing the right interface is critical for creative professionals.

The Formatting Dilemma: NTFS, ExFAT, and APFS

When you purchase a new external drive, it is typically pre-formatted in either NTFS or exFAT. NTFS is the proprietary file system for Windows; natively, macOS can read an NTFS drive but cannot write to it without third-party software. To bypass this, many manufacturers use exFAT, which is fully compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems.

While exFAT is convenient if you regularly move drives between PC and Mac, it is an older architecture lacking modern journaling features, making it more susceptible to data corruption in the event of an unexpected disconnect. For a drive that will be used exclusively with macOS, reformatting is highly recommended.

APFS Apple File System - Optimized for flash and solid-state drives

For any external Solid State Drive (SSD), you should use the Disk Utility application to erase and reformat the drive to APFS (Apple File System). APFS was designed specifically for flash storage, handling copy operations and storage allocation much more efficiently than older file systems. If you are formatting a mechanical Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Mac OS Extended (Journaled), also known as HFS+, remains the superior, more stable choice for spinning platters.

Time Machine Backups

macOS includes Time Machine, one of the most reliable and user-friendly automated backup solutions available on any operating system. Time Machine keeps hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months until the disk is full.

For a dedicated Time Machine drive, speed is far less important than capacity and reliability. A high-capacity desktop HDD is generally the most cost-effective choice for Time Machine. Note that starting with macOS Big Sur, Apple designated APFS as the default format for Time Machine drives, so allow the system to reformat the drive accordingly when you set it up.

Thunderbolt vs. USB-C

Connectivity can be confusing because the oval-shaped port on modern MacBooks serves multiple protocols. While a standard USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 external SSD will cap out at theoretical speeds of 10Gbps (translating to roughly 1,000 MB/s in real-world usage), a Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4 drive can utilize 40Gbps bandwidth.

Do you need a Thunderbolt drive? If your workflow involves live-editing multiple streams of 4K or 8K ProRes video directly from the external drive, or running virtual machines, the premium cost of a Thunderbolt NVMe enclosure is justified. For general file transfers, photo editing, and backups, a standard USB-C SSD offers more than enough speed and will save you considerable money.

Recommendations for Mac Users