Memory Card to add drive storage? ...

[cmeisenzahl]

Just got a new 13.3" MBA with the 128GB SSD. What's an affordable option for using the SD card slot to add some storage?

Thanks in advance,
Chris

 

[Stefan johansson]

I world probably go for an USB SSD,gives more storage for the money,for example 500 Gb storage cost only twice the cost of a 64 Gb memory card.

 

[itsmefudge]

I bought a Transcend JetDrive for my Air. I keep all my iTunes on this card and it sits in the SD card slot. I love it and has been working great for over a year and a half.
Check them out. https://us.transcend-info.com/apple/jetdrivelite/

 

[ftaok]

I went with a nifty drive and a microsdxc card. 200gb microsdxc cards are about $80. The nifty drive is around $40 for an original and knockoffs can be found cheaper.

 

[Shirasaki]

I bought a Transcend JetDrive for my Air. I keep all my iTunes on this card and it sits in the SD card slot. I love it and has been working great for over a year and a half.
Check them out. https://us.transcend-info.com/apple/jetdrivelite/

My iTunes is well over 400GB so SD card is not an option for me.

 

[Fabmac]

My iTunes is well over 400GB so SD card is not an option for me.

The mba is a ultraportable macbook.
Connecting "always" an external drive is a complete mess.
Even if not 400GB is a lot of music, i use spotify and now apple music for me there is no way back to just "store" files.

 

[Shirasaki]

The mba is a ultraportable macbook.
Connecting "always" an external drive is a complete mess.
Even if not 400GB is a lot of music, i use spotify and now apple music for me there is no way back to just "store" files.

After reading news saying "x artist pulls y album from z streaming service provider" and downloaded iOS app was the only one I have when app is pulled from App Store conpletely, I trust no streaming service anymore, as I don't want to not be able to listen to my most favorite one day I get up, only to find the song is pulled from service provider.

 

[cnev3]

I have a $25 128GB Lexar thumb drive that is barely larger than the metal tip of a USB cable, so when its plugged in, its almost invisible, no ugly keychain sticking out. Plenty of storage now for my needs.

 

[Pollewop]

My iTunes is well over 400GB so SD card is not an option for me.

I've installed a 200 GB MicroSD card via a Nifty cardholder for extra storage and Time Machine (Works perfectly fine).
I have upload my entire itunes music library to Google Music. What I want to hear when I'm offline (which is seldom) I can download on my MicroSD...

 

[Shirasaki]

I've installed a 200 GB MicroSD card via a Nifty cardholder for extra storage and Time Machine (Works perfectly fine).
I have upload my entire itunes music library to Google Music. What I want to hear when I'm offline (which is seldom) I can download on my MicroSD...

But again, whatever you download would not be Hi-Res or CD quality music (which is actually not that great after all). Plus, when service is down, you are on your own.
Too bad that I could not add SD card on my Mac Air because of 11" or I would like to do Time Machine backup on computer or store my entire OneDrive library.

 

[samcraig]

I had a thread not too long ago. I did the SD card - got one really fast. But in the end - for the same price I got a 250 SSD (Samsung T3) and it's lightening fast. It's pretty small too.

 

[Boyd01]

The Samsung T3 drives are very nice, I have a 500gb and 1tb although I don't use them on my MBA (which has an internal 512gb SSD). Smaller than an external hard drive but of course it's considerably larger than a flash drive or SD card. They're fast.

 

[ZapNZs]

I recommend the Transcend Jetdrive Lite or a microSD adapter (such as the Nifty Drive) paired with either the Samsung PRO mSD or Transcend Ultimate mSD card. All of these are MLC-based SD cards - they write much faster than the cheaper TLC cards, are generally more reliable, and generally have a much longer service life. Around 80-100 MB/s both read and write speeds are realistic figures.

 

[AZhappyjack]

I have several "half" cards that I use in the SD card slot.

Both PNY (StorEDGE) and Transcend (JetDrive) make cards with fixed storage sizes. Not sure what the current storage capacities are these days... my StoreEDGE is 128GB.

TheMiniDrive and Nifty make cards with removable MicroSD cards and currently support sizes up to 128GB.I have several brands, as well.

The StorEDGE has a small lip that sticks out just enough to allow you to grab it to eject the drive. The other versions sit completely flush with the rMPB, and have little slots where you can "hook" them with the provided tool to eject them.

theMiniDrive
Nifty Mini Drive
PNY StorEDGE
Transcend JetDrive

 

[ftaok]

TheMiniDrive and Nifty make cards with removable MicroSD cards and currently support sizes up to 128GB.I have several brands, as well.

Not for nothing, but the nifty drive supports 200 and 256gb cards as well.