Other World Computing today announced the launch of new Aura Pro X2 SSDs, which are designed to offer double the speed of Apple's SSDs at half the price.

Compared to its existing Aura SSD options, the Aura Pro X2 offers lower power consumption, lower heat, and better battery life. OWC says the SSDs it's offering to Mac users are cheaper, faster, and better.

auraprossd
The Aura Pro X2 SSDs offer read speeds up to 3200MB/s and write speeds up to 2400MB/s, with a maximum of 2TB of storage. OWC has designed the SSDs to be compatible with the latest versions of macOS, with support for APFS.

OWC says the new Aura Pro X2 SSDs are available for MacBook Air models from Mid 2013 to 2017, Retina MacBook Pro models from Late 2013 to Mid 2015, the 2013 Mac Pro, and the 2014 Mac mini, making OWC's upgrade option a solid one for eking more life out of an older Mac.

The Aura Pro X2 SSDs are not compatible with the 2018 ‌MacBook Air‌ or the redesigned MacBook Pro models released from 2016 to 2018.

OWC ships SSDs with an Envoy Pro enclosure designed to house your original SSD so you can repurpose it as an external USB drive and also use it to transfer your data to the new SSD.

Pricing on the Aura Pro X2 SSD starts at $120 for the 240GB model with SSD only, and goes up to $700 for the 2TB model. OWC offers 240GB, 480GB, 1TB, and 2TB options. Slightly more expensive packages with tools, transfer enclosures, heat sinks (desktop machines) and more are available for those who need the extra equipment.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with OWC. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Tag: OWC

Top Rated Comments

OWC Larry Avatar
71 months ago
What ever happened to the bottom case attachment yoy were making for new MBP’s to add ports/functionality?
DEC lives - our Inxtron acquisition adds needed engineering resources to bring the full vision to reality
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iLoveiTunes Avatar
71 months ago
Things like these make me bitter that everything these days is soldered on to the Motherboard.... I'll likely stick with my 2015 mac till that changes.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr_Brightside_@ Avatar
71 months ago
I really hope the reliability is improved on these. I heard only bad things about the first gen of these.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OWC Larry Avatar
71 months ago
This is my bad and I have to walk back my hibernation comments. All the various sleep and other power mode challenges have been supported and eliminated for all systems + we have the ability to update should a future OS version make additional changes there to.

Hibernation is not presently supported on pre-2015 systems and doesn't enable. If a system that is sleeping is allowed to fully run out of power, it will be a restart event vs. resume. Short of the noted hack to the Apple EFI, this is the state of things today. This has been a discussion point with Apple for over a year and something that may be addressed by Apple in the future, but they really do not have any true motivation to do so.

That being said - we have over two years now into development of our own NVME driver solution which can solve this without the EFI change for pre-2015 models. It is a lot further reaching than just that as well. I hope to see us release this driver by late summer in beta, but there is substantial testing and qualification before we release this kind of solution. The driver also goes way beyond just the internal SSD upgrades.

I apologize for the previous incorrect information on hibernation.

MacBook models before 2015 don’t include the NVME DXE drivers so don’t support standby and hibernation with NVME unless flashing the EFI with modified firmware. How did you get around that? Thanks!
[doublepost=1555600179][/doublepost]Between posts think answered the hibernation. There are no sleep issues once so ever with the Aura Pro X or X2.

With respect to the Apple EFI / firmware / bootrom updates - We require that Apple OS 10.13 or Later has been previously installed on Mac for use of the Aura Pro X2 (and was same for Aura Pro X). There have been zero issues with Apple firmware updates pushed out post 10.13 with our NVME drive models.

Dear Larry:

Thanks again.

To #2: I was referring to Apple Firmware and bootrom updates, not SSD firmware ones (there are problems usually as well for Apple users).

You can confirm no sleep and hibernation issues with pre-2015 Apple MacBooks and iMacs?

Your answers are very much appreciated.
Magnus
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
greenbreadmmm Avatar
70 months ago
Just installed the 480 into my 13" MacBook Pro 2015.

Here are my before and after.

Attachment Image
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
guzhogi Avatar
71 months ago
I was looking online today about it. I guess a lot of these aftermarket SSD upgrades are NVMe, but Apple's bootrom doesn't fully support sleep/hibernation with these. Looks like there are workarounds (disabling hibernation, or installing a modded rom/firmware), but either disable something, or are hard to do for the basic consumer.

Kinda wish there was a similar upgrade for the 5K iMac. Would be fun to get a Fusion drive, and upgrade both the SSD & HDD.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Glowtime Live Coverage Article 1

Apple Event Live Blog: iPhone 16, Apple Watch 10, and New AirPods!

Monday September 9, 2024 9:21 am PDT by
Apple's "It's Glowtime" event kicks off today at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, where we're expecting to see the iPhone 16 lineup and some updated Apple Watch and AirPods models unveiled, and perhaps some other announcements. Apple is providing a live video stream on its website, on YouTube, and in the company's TV app across various platforms. We will also be updating this article with live blog...
16 pro

Apple Announces iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max with Larger Displays, New Camera Control, and More

Monday September 9, 2024 11:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max—its latest flagship smartphones—featuring larger displays, an all-new Camera Control button, and the A18 Pro chip. The iPhone 16 Pro has a 6.3-inch display, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max features a 6.9-inch display—the biggest iPhone display ever. The borders around the display are the thinnest of any Apple device. The...
sonny iphone 16 pro colors

New iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Colors Revealed Ahead of Apple Event

Friday September 6, 2024 5:01 am PDT by
Apple is "shaking up its color palette" for its iPhone 16 lineup this year, according to well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. Early iPhone 16 Pro dummy models via Sonny Dickson According to Gurman, the iPhone 16 Pro models will come in a Gold Titanium to replace Blue Titanium, while the Black, White, and Natural Titanium options that debuted with the iPhone 15 Pro will remain...
iPhone 16 Pro Mock Article

How Much Will the iPhone 16 Cost?

Friday September 6, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 16 series is expected to launch on September 20 and will compete in a quickly evolving smartphone market, and with some notable upgrades rumored, the new models could see price changes compared to previous years. Successive iPhone models always come with new features and hardware upgrades, but Apple typically does not increase the retail prices as a result....
airpods max 2024 colors

Apple Updates AirPods Max With USB-C Port and New Colors

Monday September 9, 2024 10:36 am PDT by
Apple today announced that the AirPods Max are being updated with a USB-C charging port and new color options, including Midnight, Blue, Purple, Orange, and Starlight. In addition, Apple said the AirPods Max are gaining support for Personalized Spatial Audio with the upcoming iOS 18 software update. The updated AirPods Max will be available to pre-order for $549 starting today, and the...
sequoia

macOS Sequoia Release Likely to Be the Earliest in Years

Sunday September 8, 2024 2:14 am PDT by
macOS Sequoia will be one of the earliest new macOS launches in over a decade, likely releasing within as little as just a week. Internal Apple documentation obtained by MacRumors suggests that macOS 15.0 Sequoia will be officially released to the public by mid-September. The release dates of major macOS updates in recent years are listed below: OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) – October 22,...
Screenshot 2024 09 09 at 6

Apple Announces Thinner Apple Watch Series 10 With Bigger Screen Than Ultra

Monday September 9, 2024 10:11 am PDT by
Apple at its event today announced the Apple Watch Series 10, featuring a wide-angle OLED display that is larger than the Apple Watch Ultra, with the company describing it as the "biggest display and thinnest design ever." The Series 10 is 9.7mm thick, which is nearly 10% thinner than Series 9, and it weighs 20% less than the Stainless Steel Series 9. The Aluminum cases also weigh up to 10%...