The 1TB and 2TB models measure just 10.4mm thick, 85mm wide, and 118mm long, and weigh 200g, so they’re easy to pick up and carry around with your laptop. Prices start at a competitive £79.99 for a drive with 1TB storage, but there are also models with 2TB, 4TB, and 5TB available too. The LaCie logo is right in the center, rather than off on one side as was previously the case. In contrast, the new 2022 Mobile Drive adopts Apple’s current design fetish, with a slimline, rectangular design that has smooth rounded corners. The previous version is still available from a few online stores, but you can recognize it by its sharp, angular design. It will be interesting to see if companies like iFixit and more will dig further into the possibilities and concerns.LaCie’s Mobile Drive was already on our list of the best hard drives for Mac users, and it has just recently released a new version of the drive for 2022. While this isn’t something that’s likely to become a mainstream option for upgrades, it is nonetheless an impressive technical feat. And even if that’s successful, there’s the possibility that Apple could prevent the unofficial hardware from working with a future macOS software update. There’s also the question of how durable/reliable the upgrades would be after forcefully removing the original soldered hardware and installing new components. However, it’s important to keep in mind that this process is very risky and of course will void Apple’s warranty. The photos show the RAM and SSD modules removed with screenshots showing the upgraded storage showing in macOS. The discovery, being attributed to the engineer Yang Changshun from Guangzhou, China has been shared across Chinese social media and was detailed by with images (via MacRumors). However, just like we’ve seen with aftermarket iPhone and iPad hardware upgrades, someone has allegedly cracked how to replace memory and storage with M1 Macs correctly recognizing the upgrades. Over the years, that’s become less of an option and for the M1 Macs, it was thought to be impossible with the RAM and SSD directly soldered to the M1 chip. With older Macs, if users didn’t want to pay for more RAM or more storage up front, it was possible with a variety of models to upgrade those components later on. In an interesting development, an engineer in China has reportedly discovered how to successfully upgrade both the SSD and RAM on M1 Macs – but of course, it’s a very risky and difficult move. While the three M1 Macs released in late 2020 have been widely praised for a host of advancements, one criticism has been that the hardware is not upgradeable or repairable after purchase with the major components soldered to the board.

External drive for mac mini m1