Hello all,
This is specific for Mac/Apple usage. I welcome your input. Appreciate any feedback.
I have a (strong) hunch that Apple may eventually get rid of support in the next few years for either: USB-A ports (the big Type A ports used by traditional connected mouse, currently compatible up to USB 3.1), or possibly even discontinue the SDXC card slots.
I typically back up to 3 or 4 of these "small backup devices". The USB 3.1 thumb drive had been my backup of choice for years, they are cheap, effective, easily portable, and I could easily flip back and forth from iMac, Windows PC, laptop, whatever-the-hell, etc. But USB 3.1 still uses the same Type A port that has been around for years, and I fear that those slots may disappear when I plan to get my next iMac upgrade (sometime in 2020 or 2021). I typically use these for important documents, some important files, etc etc. And because they are affordably cheap, I can have redundant copies easily in case I lose or misplace on of the thumb drives. Preferred formatting is "MS-DOS FAT32", so that Windows PCs can also read my flash drive images if needed.
My current USB thumb drive of choice:
Samsung BAR Plus 3.1 USB flash drive. Quite fast up to 200MB/sec.
My second choice for "piecemeal backups" is the good old SD card (currently my iMac supports SDXC). My iMac has exactly 1 of these slots, but that's good enough. Perfect for back-and-forth storage for photos coming from a Nikon SLR, and even just as perfect for storing family pictures, then bringing to Walmart/Target to their "photo printing kiosk", which always love taking SD cards to do photo prints, etc. These SD cards have worked well for me. In fact, in the many years, I noticed that none of the SD cards have ever experienced image file corruption. My above USB thumb drives (which I often also store hundreds of images) have experienced image file corruption more than once in the past few years.
My current favorite SDXC card of choice:
SanDisk Extreme Pro (but not as fast as the USB flash drive??)
I have yet to buy or use one of the (newer) USB-C portable drives. The reviews I have seen are abysmal, and that the many USB-C "thumb drives" do not live up to the performance for USB-C specifications. Add the fact that they cost maybe double the price of the above USB 3.1 thumb drives or the SDXC cards.
But is the USB-C the future for Apple ports? Apple has a habit of killing ports, and narrowing your choices as time goes by. Should I stop buying the 3.1 flash drives, predicting that Apple will discontinue ports for them in the next couple of years? Or how about those SDXC cards, will iMacs still have the slots a couple of years from now?
P.S. — I don't currently use a laptop. At home, my 4k display iMac does EVERY computing need for me. And on the go, my iPad and iPhone are more than sufficient.
This is specific for Mac/Apple usage. I welcome your input. Appreciate any feedback.
I have a (strong) hunch that Apple may eventually get rid of support in the next few years for either: USB-A ports (the big Type A ports used by traditional connected mouse, currently compatible up to USB 3.1), or possibly even discontinue the SDXC card slots.
I typically back up to 3 or 4 of these "small backup devices". The USB 3.1 thumb drive had been my backup of choice for years, they are cheap, effective, easily portable, and I could easily flip back and forth from iMac, Windows PC, laptop, whatever-the-hell, etc. But USB 3.1 still uses the same Type A port that has been around for years, and I fear that those slots may disappear when I plan to get my next iMac upgrade (sometime in 2020 or 2021). I typically use these for important documents, some important files, etc etc. And because they are affordably cheap, I can have redundant copies easily in case I lose or misplace on of the thumb drives. Preferred formatting is "MS-DOS FAT32", so that Windows PCs can also read my flash drive images if needed.
My current USB thumb drive of choice:
Samsung BAR Plus 3.1 USB flash drive. Quite fast up to 200MB/sec.
My second choice for "piecemeal backups" is the good old SD card (currently my iMac supports SDXC). My iMac has exactly 1 of these slots, but that's good enough. Perfect for back-and-forth storage for photos coming from a Nikon SLR, and even just as perfect for storing family pictures, then bringing to Walmart/Target to their "photo printing kiosk", which always love taking SD cards to do photo prints, etc. These SD cards have worked well for me. In fact, in the many years, I noticed that none of the SD cards have ever experienced image file corruption. My above USB thumb drives (which I often also store hundreds of images) have experienced image file corruption more than once in the past few years.
My current favorite SDXC card of choice:
SanDisk Extreme Pro (but not as fast as the USB flash drive??)
I have yet to buy or use one of the (newer) USB-C portable drives. The reviews I have seen are abysmal, and that the many USB-C "thumb drives" do not live up to the performance for USB-C specifications. Add the fact that they cost maybe double the price of the above USB 3.1 thumb drives or the SDXC cards.
But is the USB-C the future for Apple ports? Apple has a habit of killing ports, and narrowing your choices as time goes by. Should I stop buying the 3.1 flash drives, predicting that Apple will discontinue ports for them in the next couple of years? Or how about those SDXC cards, will iMacs still have the slots a couple of years from now?
P.S. — I don't currently use a laptop. At home, my 4k display iMac does EVERY computing need for me. And on the go, my iPad and iPhone are more than sufficient.
Last edited:
