The Aura N and Pro series SSDs, with capacities of up to 2 TB, are designed and developed from scratch by OWC using some Apple tools and brought to market by OWC founder and visionary Larry O’Connor. For a while I figured there had to be a secret deal between OWC and Apple that enabled the Aura’s enhanced capabilities and compatibility but I’m assured this is not the case. The OWC low-cost Aura N series and the higher-performance, slightly more-costly Pro X2 are the best known and, really, the only logical solutions on the market today for increasing the onboard storage capacity of pre-2016 MacBook Pros. The Aura Pro X2 SSD, compatible with pre-2016 MacBook Pros, offers increased internal storage up to 2TB and performance on par with or better than the latest 2019 MacBook Pro! Why did you want that pricey, spanking new, non-upgradeable machine again? It’s a sad state of affairs any way you parse it. For the sake of our pocketbook, not to mention our planet, it doesn’t seem very considerate or responsible on Apple’s part. The iPhone juggernaut and concomitant expectation that one will merrily replace a device every two years apparently rules the roost now when it comes to computers as well.

If you must have more internal storage (c’mon, we all want it eventually), you’ll have to toss out, sell, or otherwise dispose of the entire machine. The SSD and memory modules in new Macs are permanently soldered to the computer’s motherboard, precluding any and all modifications or upgrades. In fact, since 2016, Apple has made it impossible. Thinking about installing a faster, high-capacity SSD from Samsung or Western Digital? It’s not going to happen. But not so for the millions of Apple MacBook Pro, Air, and Mini users who, while singing the praises of the Mac ecosystem at every opportunity, suffer mightily for their undying loyalty. Want to increase your machine’s internal storage and upgrade its memory? It should be a routine task. Why the New MacBook Pro You Need May Be the One You Already HaveĪpple computers can be a bear to deal with, with proprietary closed systems that thwart the best intentions of mice and men.

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