What is the main problem with MacBook? Perhaps an unjustifiably expensive memory. This is due to the fact that Apple often uses a proprietary connector that is not compatible with the M.2 format, which has become an industry standard in the last couple of years. Especially when it comes to laptops and ultrabooks. Transcend is one of the few third-party manufacturers that somehow tries to solve this issue without ripping off the user to the last bit. After experimenting with different series, the manufacturer eventually launched a separate family of SSDs for MacBooks called JetDrive.


The JetDrive series range is divided into 2 groups. The first category includes minimalistic and miniature external SSDs a la JetDrive 825 and JetDrive 855. They boast an average write speed of 950 MB/s to 1400 MB/s, are compatible with the NVMe interface, use the proprietary Thunderbolt second generation interface for connection and do not require installing drivers or software for initialization in the system. The memory supply usually starts at 250 GB, ending at 960 GB.

But the SSD JetDrive 820 and JetDrive 850 are representatives of a different breed. These are compact M.2 22x80 and M.2 SATA 3 SSDs designed for installation inside a MacBook. To exchange data, some of them use the outdated PCI-E 3.0 2x interface, while others rely on the more current PCI-E 3.0 4x. Their linear read and write speeds are usually in the range from 950 to 1600 MB/s. The minimum storage capacity is 240 GB, the maximum is 960 GB. As a bonus, the drive comes with a software package for data backup and archiving.