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OWC Announces Aura Flash Storage Upgrades for Mid-2013 and Later Mac Laptops

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Other World Computing today announced a new product that will allow newer Retina MacBook Pro and MacBook Air owners to upgrade the storage in their notebooks for the first time.

Aura SSD upgrade kits are available in 480GB and 1TB capacities and will work with the Late-2013 Retina MacBook Pro and newer and the Mid-2013 MacBook Air and newer. At up to 1TB of storage, a Retina MacBook Pro or MacBook Air can gain up to 8x the capacity of the standard 128GB hard drive that comes with lower-end models. 1TB also exceeds the maximum factory drive available in the MacBook Air, which is limited to 512GB.

owcaurassdupgrade-800x675.jpg

According to OWC, its Aura PCIe-based flash storage is designed using high-quality components that are fully compatible with Mac notebooks.
Tier-1 Flash - Aura SSDs use only top-rated flash for amazing performance and dependability.
Superior Error Correction - Three-level error correction with low-density parity checks provides significantly improved reliability, and RAID-like protection for your data.
Cell-Level Data Refresh - Aura's powerful embedded processor monitors and re-writes data blocks as needed to maintain correct charge at the cell level, improving the integrity of your data and extending the life of your drive.
Global Wear-Leveling - A global wear-leveling algorithm helps evenly distribute data across your SSD cells, extending the life of your drive by preventing any section of flash from getting worn out prematurely.
Click to expand...
Upgrade kits include all of the tools that are necessary to replace the solid state drive in a Mac notebook, and it also includes an OWC Envoy Pro drive enclosure to house the existing factory drive in the Retina MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, so it can be used as an external SSD.

OWC's 480GB Aura SSD Kit (with enclosure) is available for $399, with a standalone drive priced at $347.99. The 1TB Kit is priced at $649, with the 1TB standalone drive available for $597. Both drives are available from the OWC website and will begin shipping out at the end of March.

Article Link: OWC Announces Aura Flash Storage Upgrades for Mid-2013 and Later Mac Laptops
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/03/08/owc-aura-flash-storage-laptop-upgrades/
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Z400Racer37

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Feb 7, 2011
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This is the 4 lane PCIe chip right? Like my mid-2015 15" MBP should like this very much?
 
otozuz

otozuz

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Apr 18, 2010
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Very very interesting. What about Apple warranty? I assume that upgrading the SSD would invalidate it. Am I wrong?
 
S

skiltrip

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May 6, 2010
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AWESOME news. I JUST got a 2015 MBP 15". My budget limited me to the 256GB model. Even though a week ago an upgrade wasn't available from anywhere but a system pull, I had faith that eventually there would be parts available. I'll be waiting for a sale, and then I'm jumping on the 480GB!
 
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oneMadRssn

oneMadRssn

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This would also work in the 2014 Mac Mini, right?

EDIT: I meant to say 2014 Mac Mini
 
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Zdigital2015

Zdigital2015

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Jul 14, 2015
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tigres said:
these are the comparable new write speeds apple is offering?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, they are quite a bit slower than the SM951 that Apple is using in the Mid-2015 MacBook Pros - http://www.owcdigital.com/products/ssd/aura-mid-2013-and-later-macs-specs - while this upgrade may be good for some with older MacBook Pros and Airs, it's a BIG step backwards for those of us who want to expand a Mid-2015 rMBP. I was hoping that OWC might be able to overcome this, but it doesn't look like they did. At least they've created an upgrade for those who need that extra storage.
 
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cube

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May 10, 2004
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Hellhammer said:
Silicon Motion SM2260.
Click to expand...
OK, thanks. I bought a Trion 150 with the Toshiba TC58 to see how it goes in a noncritical system, I think I will try out a Phison S10, too.

Until now I was restricting myself to Marvell and Samsung (Intel is too expensive).
 
tentales

tentales

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Dec 6, 2010
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Z400Racer37 said:
This is the 4 lane PCIe chip right? Like my mid-2015 15" MBP should like this very much?
Click to expand...

Not with those advertised speeds it's not. It's actually cheaper to buy the storage upgrade from Apple when you buy your MBP or MBA and get the 4X PCIe that are twice the specs of these ones.

But at long last it's possible for existing owners to upgrade. I would be bummed out if I had a 2015 model with say 128 or 256GB SSD and 4X PCIe and then downgrade speed to upgrade capacity. But for 2013/2014 owners, this is great news.
 
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tmiw

macrumors 68030
Jun 26, 2007
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Finally. Though $600 is steeper than expected, it's still cheaper than $2k or so for a new 13" rMBP. At least I have an option if Apple goes significantly backwards in usability with the Skylake models.
 
tentales

tentales

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Dec 6, 2010
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MacRumors said:

OWC's 480GB Aura SSD Kit (with enclosure) is available for $399, with a standalone drive priced at $347.99. The 1TB Kit is priced at $649, with the 1TB standalone drive available for $597. Both drives are available from the OWC website and will begin shipping out at the end of March.

Article Link: OWC Announces Aura Flash Storage Upgrades for Mid-2013 and Later Mac Laptops
Click to expand...

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SM951...&sr=8-1&keywords=1tb+pcie-based+flash+storage

Why couldn't they do the 4X PCIe at those prices ?
 
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