Solid-state drive

All_about_SSD,_HDD,_and_storage_types — All about SSD, HDD, and storage types

A solid-state drive, also called a solid state disk or SSD, is a device that utilizes solid-state memory for non-volatile data storage, but appears to the system as a standard disk drive. An SSD is more expensive than the same capacity hard drive for this reason, but boasts much faster access time with no moving mechanical parts.^[1]

Adoption by Apple[]

The_History_of_Computer_Storage — The History of Computer Storage

The first device from Apple to ship with a solid-state storage is the iPod shuffle in January 2005. The first Macintosh computer to be released with a SSD as an factory option for internal storage is the MacBook Air in January 2008. Apple no-longer offers any product with a mechanically spinning internal hard drive, though they are available as aftermarket items as large internal storage for the 3rd-generation Mac Pro or as cheap external USB drives for other models.^[2]

Hybrid drives[]

In 2012, Apple also introduced a solid-state hybrid drive (SSHD) option in Intel-based iMacs in the form of a Fusion Drive, which is Apple's proprietary hybrid of the speed benefits of an SSD combined with the more cost-effective storage space of a hard drive.^[3] This option was discontinued from the 27-inch iMac with Retina display in 2020.^[4] It was also offered in the Mac mini from 2012 to 2018.^[5]^[6]

Upgrade options[]

Users of vintage MacBooks and MacBook Pros from 2012 and earlier can also swap their internal hard drive for a 3rd-party SSD in a 2.5-inch enclosure to gain the speed benefits, limited only by the bandwidth of the SATA connector.^[7]

Users of certain MacBook Air (2010 to 2015) or Retina MacBook Pro (mid-2012 to 2017) models can also upgrade Apple's proprietary SSDs through an aftermarket vendor, such as Other World Computing (OWC), or with a 3rd-party NVMe adapter.^[8]^[9]