Macbook Air M1 256GB - Add storage via SD card via Thunderbolt/USB4?

[chinchillas]

I plan to buy the 256GB model to substitute my current laptop and would like to add 256GB of storage via those Transcend JetDrive SD card thingies via the dongles that connect to the ports. Do these Macs read these SD cards? There's a thread on someone trying this on a MBP and says the card is too slow, I'm guessing the MBP that still has a SD card slot.

I'd be using it to store media. Buying the 512GB makes it too expensive.

 

[Mike Boreham]

The Transcend thingies I remember were specially sized and designed to be flush with the sides of earlier generation MBPs which had SD slots. Since M1 Air doesn't have an SD slot, there doesnt seem to be any point in getting the Transcend ones, since as you say, it would have to be in a dongle. You might as well get any SD card. I have three ordinary SD cards and they all mount OK on my M1 Air via a dongle.

"Fast and slow" are relative and subjective. The extra for 512GB is £200 in UK, and the fastest SD cards cost more than that. If your intended usage of the SD requires speed I would definitely get 512GB M1 Air. If it doesnt need speed yes you can save a bit, by getting a cheap slow one and having a dongle. I know which I would do, even if it meant waiting a bit.

 

[throAU]

To give you an idea of fast vs. slow...

A fairly fast SD card is 100MB/sec
The internal storage is over 2000MB/sec on the Airs.

There's a reason Apple SSDs are expensive, and SD cards are cheap.

If that's fast enough for you go nuts, but given you're going to be dealing with dongles anyway... a spinning hard drive will be similar speed for bulk media and way larger.

An external 256 GB SATA SSD will be much faster than SD flash or hard drive, but cheaper than what Apple charge for it internally.

 

[chinchillas]

The speed doesn't make a difference to me. I just store music and movies there. Anyway, the people from Transcend just confirmed to me via Instagram that the M1 Macs don't read SD cards yet, so maybe I should wait until next year. The external SATA is a no, since I'm moving around with the laptop. The dongle already seems like a hassle.

 

[mi7chy]

There's no low profile USB-C external SD or flash drive solution so you risk damaging your port. If it had USB-A then it's doable. Maybe consider the base model MBP 14" with SDXC slot.

 

[yitwail]

The speed doesn't make a difference to me. I just store music and movies there. Anyway, the people from Transcend just confirmed to me via Instagram that the M1 Macs don't read SD cards yet, so maybe I should wait until next year. The external SATA is a no, since I'm moving around with the laptop. The dongle already seems like a hassle.

No guarantee that next year's M1 Air will get an SD card slot, but perhaps by then you could pick up a used base 14in MBP that does have SD card slot.

 

[throAU]

Maybe consider the base model MBP 14" with SDXC slot.

Lol, if you're not wanting to pay Apple for more than 256 GB of storage in an Air, a 14" Pro is likely not in the budget.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Anyway, the people from Transcend just confirmed to me via Instagram that the M1 Macs don't read SD cards yet

That's rubbish. I just plugged my Sandisk Ultra, Sandisk Extreme, Lexar Premium and Samsung Pro SD cards into my M1 Air via an Anker dongle. All mounted very quickly on the Desktop and contents readable.

After writing the above I remembered I still had one of the special Transcend Jetdrive 64GB SD somewhere (useless of course since it won't fit camera and I no longer have the MBP I got it for. You wont be surprised to hear it mounts fine, like the others.

 

[chinchillas]

That's rubbish. I just plugged my Sandisk Ultra, Sandisk Extreme, Lexar Premium and Samsung Pro SD cards into my M1 Air via an Anker dongle. All mounted very quickly on the Desktop and contents readable.

After writing the above I remembered I still had one of the special Transcend Jetdrive 64GB SD somewhere (useless of course since it won't fit camera and I no longer have the MBP I got it for. You wont be surprised to hear it mounts fine, like the others.

Thanks!