Skip to main content

Flash storage

11 'Flash storage' stories May 2013 - April 2016
See All Stories

Opinion: Apple’s MacBook lineup has a storage problem

Avatar for Jeff Benjamin Apr 26 2016 - 9:17 am PT
73 Comments

macbookprossd-3

Yesterday, we showed you how to upgrade late model MacBooks with a 480GB or 1TB SSD. In some cases these upgrades might yield eight times the original capacity of the machine’s internal storage.

While it’s certainly nice to have the option of upgrading, such enhancements do come with downsides. First, there’s the price: it’s $600 to upgrade to a 1TB drive. Second, the upgrade breaks Boot Camp support.

But $600 is relatively cheap when you compare what it costs to score a MacBook with a 1TB SSD. MacBooks feature faster PCIe storage, but it’s still a high price to pay for something so vital — and so cheap by today’s standards.

Apple’s MacBook line has an issue with internal flash storage prices. It’s a problem that continues to worsen, especially as Apple has made it increasingly difficult for users to upgrade.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Review: OWC’s Aura PCIe flash storage lets you upgrade the storage capacity of your Mid-2013 and later MacBook [U: Now works with Boot Camp]

Avatar for Jeff Benjamin Apr 25 2016 - 12:14 pm PT
41 Comments

Aura

As an owner of a Late 2013 MacBook Pro with Retina Display, it’s slowly beginning to show its age. However, I find that this machine, an i7-powered rig with 16GB of RAM, is still plenty powerful for the applications that I run on a day-to-day basis. For example, with Final Cut Pro X, it’s not the fastest machine in the world (it lacks dedicated graphics), but it’s still plenty competent when it comes to editing and exporting 4K videos.

The biggest bottleneck that I’ve encountered with this computer is its storage capabilities, and that’s something I’ve been trying to deal with since the day I purchased it. With only 256 GB of flash storage, space has been hard to come by since day one. That wouldn’t be so bad if there was a way to upgrade the amount of internal storage, but sadly there has been no upgrade solution…until now.

Back in early March, OWC made a splash by announcing the very first flash storage upgrade solution the MacBook Pro as far back as the Late-2013 product cycle, and the MacBook Air, as far back as the Mid-2013 product cycle. Yes, finally! MacBook Pro and MacBook Air owners with qualifying machines can come out of the storage dark ages with OWC’s new Aura PCIe flash storage upgrade.

Expand
Expanding
Close

OWC introduces Aura PCIe flash storage upgrades for late model MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs

Avatar for Jeff Benjamin Mar 8 2016 - 12:32 pm PT
36 Comments
Site default logo image

Aura Pro SSD MacBook Upgrade

Today, aftermarket Mac upgrade specialists OWC announced that the long-awaited PCIe flash storage upgrades for late model Mac laptops are now available. MacBook Pro, as far back as the Late-2013 product cycle, and MacBook Air, as far back as the Mid-2013 product cycle, are eligible to upgrade. Upgrades include a 480GB or a 1TB PCIe-based flash storage solution.

Considering that many of these Macs shipped with anemic 128GB or 256GB SSDs, this can be considered a major upgrade. For instance, with MacBook Airs that featured 128GB of flash storage space, a 1TB upgrade equals 8x the storage space, a significant increase in eligible storage.
Expand
Expanding
Close

9to5Toys Last Call: PNY 64GB USB3 Flash Drive $16, iPad Air 2 64GB $490, Olio Smartwatch giveaway, more

Avatar for Aug 10 2015 - 9:15 am PT
0 Comments

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call Updates:

goat-simulator-ign-free-game

Goat Simulator for iOS goes free for the first time as IGN’s Game of the Month ($5 value)

Amazon Gold Box – PNY storage up to 50% off: 64GB USB3 Flash Drive $16, 128GB microSD $52, 64GB SDXC $22, more

apple-ipad-air-2

Apple iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi 64GB in Gold, Silver or Space Gray for $490 shipped (Reg. $599)

olio-black-timepiece-9to5toys-giveaway

Giveaway: Olio Model One Black Collection Connected Timepiece for iOS and Android ($795 value)

nomadplus-battery-iphone-charger

NomadPlus converts your iPhone USB wall charger into a 1800mAh power bank: $20 shipped (Orig. $40)

matter-07-app-store-app-of-the-week-02

App Store Free App of the Week: Matter 3D photo effects goes free for the first time ($3 value)

bundle-mac-deal

Pay What You Want For The 10 App Mac Power User Bundle (Orig. $383)

More new gear from today:

dell-m49-c1-4k-uhdtv

VIZIO 49-inch 4K 120Hz Smart LED UHDTV $650 shipped (Reg. $770), more

More deals still alive:

urban-outfitters-campus-back-to-school

Back to school essentials you may have overlooked: Litographs tees, dorm decor, GE alarm kit, more

Bose SoundTrue On-Ear Headphones in black or white: $90 shipped (Reg. $120)

coolest-mfi-lightning-cables1

The coolest Apple-certified MFI Lightning cables you can buy for your iPhone, iPad and iPod

New products & more:

thermos-smart-bottle1

Thermos’ latest water bottle will nag you with iOS notifications to make sure you stay hydrated

graava-and-iphone6

The new Graava action camera uses your heartbeat to capture the best moments and make a highlight reel

 

9to5Toys Last Call: iPad mini 2 $230, SanDisk 128GB microSD $60, iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi 64GB $500, more

Avatar for Jul 14 2015 - 9:02 am PT
0 Comments

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call Updates:

apple-ipad-air-2-gold

Apple iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi 64GB in all colors $500 shipped (Reg. $599)

Amazon Gold Box – SanDisk Flash Storage up to 50% off: 128GB microSD $60, 32GB Ultra Fit Flash Drive $11, more

Apple-iPad-mini-2

iPad mini 2 Wi-Fi 16GB: $230 2-day shipped (Reg. $299)

iPad mini 3 Wi-Fi 16GB: $300 shipped (Reg. $399)

iPad Air Wi-Fi + Cellular 128GB in Silver: $449 shipped (Orig. $929)

macbook-pro-retina-13-inch-mf839ll-a

13-inch Retina MacBook Pro: 2.7GHz/8GB/128GB $1,100 shipped (Reg. $1,299)

15-inch Retina MacBook Pro w/ Force Touch $1,819 shipped (Reg. $1,999)

amazon-prime-day

Amazon Prime Day Hub, monster sales announced: Fire Stick $24, 32-inch TV $75, and 40-inch TV $115, more

Walmart CEO blasts Amazon’s Prime Day, promises a week-long sales event with “some special atomic deals”

Amazon is throwing itself a birthday party so big it’ll make you forget about Black Friday

sandisk-connect-wireless-flash-drive-1

Review: SanDisk’s new Connect Wireless Stick is one of the easiest ways to expand your iPhone’s storage

sandisk-ultra-200gb-microsdxc

Giveaway: Win one of SanDisk’s newly released massive 200GB microSD cards ($250 value)

a-lamp-design-giveaway

Small States: A-Lamp Design fashions charming lights for your home from US materials, multiple giveaways

More new gear from today:

beats-powerbeats2-wireless

Beats by Dre 1-Day Sale: Powerbeats2 Bluetooth Headphones, Pill 2.0 Portable Speaker $130 ea (Reg. $200)

ravpower-9t5otoys-deals

RAVPower Portable 3,200mAh External Battery Pack w/ Flashlight: $7 Prime shipped (Reg. $13)

More deals still alive:

samsung-850-evo-250gb

Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5-inch Internal SSD $90 shipped (Orig. $140)

New products & more:

lumenati-cs1-kickstarter

The Lemunati CS1 coverts your iPhone 6 into a Super 8 style camcorder for an “upgraded” filming experience

musicmachine-3-tie-fighter

This TIE Fighter look-alike music machine plays your favorite action theme songs

 

Site default logo image

Review: Imation’s Link Power Drive adds 16/32/64GB of storage to a compact 3,000mAh Lightning battery pack

Avatar for Jeremy Horwitz Dec 19 2014 - 9:08 am PT
0 Comments

imationpowerlink-1

There wasn’t really a market for hybrid batteries and external flash drives until this year, when Mophie’s Space Pack seemingly came out of nowhere, impressively nestling 16 or 32GB of additional flash storage inside a 1700mAh iPhone 5/5s battery case. But having demonstrated the value of combining these features together, Mophie’s $150 to $180 asking prices were high enough to keep some people away, and the requirement of an iPhone 5 or 5s was similarly somewhat limiting.

Imation is trying something different with its Link Power Drive, a small plastic box with a silver top and white base. There are 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models, each equipped with a 3000mAh battery, a Lightning cable, and a USB cable. The MSRP of the 16GB unit is less than any Space Pack, and the 64GB model has twice Mophie’s top capacity for the same MSRP — except Imation’s street pricing is much lower. Better yet, every model works with whatever Lightning-equipped iOS device you might have, and there’s enough battery power to completely recharge any iPhone except the iPhone 6 Plus. All you need to do is carry the accessory around separately, attaching it when needed.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Opinion: Can Apple maintain its $100 tier flash storage pricing for iPhones & iPads indefinitely?

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy May 1 2014 - 7:27 am PT
112 Comments
Site default logo image

main

There’s a certain marketing genius to Apple’s tiered pricing for flash storage on its iPhones and iPads. Since customers can’t add storage via a microSD card later, they have to decide in advance how much storage they need, and many of us are going to err on the side of safety, bumping our purchase up to a higher price-band.

Adding $100 or $200 to the price of an iDevice for maybe $5-10 worth of flash storage/controller capacity is an important source of income for Apple, and one of the reasons its margins are so high. Whatever the company makes on a 16GB device, if it can upsell you to a 32GB or 64GB (or even 128GB, in the case of the iPad), almost all of the premium charged on those beefier models is pure profit.

It’s not money Apple would give up lightly, but I do wonder whether it’s sustainable … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

iDevices top data usage charts, iPhone 5s users downloading 41 percent more data than Samsung S4

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Jan 23 2014 - 4:48 am PT
7 Comments

jdsu-developed-markets-top-10-data-consuming-devices-2014

While Android devices have the greatest market share, the evidence that iOS users do more with their devices continues to grow. The latest survey by analytics company Arieso found that iDevices took six out of the top ten slots in terms of the amount of data downloaded by 2013 devices. All numbers use the iPhone 3G as their base, and exclude the iPad Air which was launched after the survey ended.

Unsurprisingly, the company found that our appetite for data grows with each generation of device, as they become increasingly capable. iPhone 5s owners, for example, download 19 percent more data than iPhone 5 owners.

But tellingly, iPhone 5s owners download 41 percent more data than the Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung’s current flagship handset (a figure that increases to 54 percent in developing markets). A previous study showed that iPhone users spend more time using their phones than do Android owners.

In a separate analysis by the UK consumer association Which?, the iPhone 5c was found to have the greatest amount of usable storage space after built-in apps were accounted for. Comparing the 16GB models of eight leading smartphones, the 5c was found to leave users with 12.6GB of storage, with the 5s at 12.2GB taking third place behind the Nexus 5. The Samsung Galaxy S4 took bottom place, with just over half of its 16GB space available to the user.

Phone storage iPhone 5c

Via TechCrunch

Apple releases Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.1 for mid-2012 MacBook Air, launches replacement program for affected drives

Avatar for Mike Beasley Oct 17 2013 - 4:33 pm PT
18 Comments
Site default logo image

Screen Shot 2013-10-17 at 7.30.04 PM

Apple has released a firmware update for the mid-2012 MacBook Air. The update attempts to resolve an issue that affects 64 GB and 128 GB models sold between June 2012 and June 2013. Apple says that the problem could lead to data loss. As this is a serious issue, the company has agreed to replace any affected drives that are unable to be updated. If the update installer detects that your drive is one of the models needing to be replaced, it will direct you to a page on Apple’s website that will allow you to obtain a replacement … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Apple releases Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 for mid 2012 MacBook Air

Avatar for Jordan Kahn May 16 2013 - 11:47 am PT
0 Comments

Screen Shot 2013-05-16 at 2.41.24 PM

Apple has released a new firmware update for the mid 2012 MacBook Air today that helps to address problems with the device recovering from a crash. Apple release notes said the update addresses “a storage firmware issue that, in rare cases, may cause a system to fail to recover from crash.”

The MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 is available to download on Apple’s website here and should be hitting Software Update soon. The 1.69 MB update is available for mid 2012 MacBook Airs running OS X 10.7.5 or OS X 10.8.3.

Site default logo image

Apple offers 256GB and 512GB SSD options for iMacs for those valuing speed over storage space

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy May 2 2013 - 6:42 am PT
0 Comments

imac_256_512_flashApple is for the first time offering Solid State Drive (SSD) options on iMacs, bringing the number of drive configurations to four, reports MacRumors.

Those with lots of movies, music and photos to store will probably still want either the standard 1Tb hard drive or the fusion drive (a 128Gb SSD acting as a buffer to the 1Tb hard drive). But those with more modest storage requirements who want to significantly boost the speed of the machine can now choose a rather pricey 256Gb or 512Gb SSD to replace the hard drive.