Western Digital today launched a new USB 3.2 Gen 2 My Passport SSD under its WD brand, with the new device equipped with NVMe technology that supports read speeds of up to 1050MB/s and write speeds of up to 1000MB/s.
The new My Passport SSD is available in capacities up to 2TB, and like most SSDs, it's small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. It features a metal casing with rounded corners and waved ridges, and it comes in gray, blue, red, and gold.
The My Passport SSD's casing offers shock and vibration resistance, and it is drop resistant up to 6.5 feet. It ships with a USB-C cable and a USB-A adapter, and works with both Mac and PC out of the box.
According to Western Digital, the new My Passport SSD can transfer content twice as fast as the previous version of the drive, and it features password-enabled 256-bit AES hardware encryption.
The My Passport SSD can be purchased from select retailers like Amazon and Best Buy starting today. The 500GB model is priced at $120, while the 1TB model is priced at $190. Other capacities will be available later in the year.
Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by Juli Clover
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line.
Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad.
Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value.
...
Wednesday September 24, 2025 10:22 am PDT by Juli Clover
The marks on the iPhone 17 Pro models that people have noticed at Apple retail stores are caused by the chargers that Apple uses, Apple confirmed today.
Apple told 9to5Mac that worn MagSafe charging stands in stores are causing marks on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple says that the marks are not scratches, and are instead material transfer from the stand to the phone. The...
Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead.
Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors.
Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about.
New Apple Intelligence Languages
Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese.
AirPo...
Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors
This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system.
In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
Tuesday September 23, 2025 1:06 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Digital ID, the iOS 26 feature that lets U.S. passport holders add their passports to the Wallet app, is coming later in 2025, Apple confirmed today.
Apple updated the release timing wording of Digital ID on its iOS 26 features page. "Digital ID will be coming later this year with US passports only," it reads.
Prior to today, the footnote for the feature said "Digital ID will be available ...
Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device.
Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors.
Likely Features
N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7
Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
Monday September 22, 2025 7:29 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W.
The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max
61W USB-C Power Adapter
67W USB-C Power Adapter
70W USB-C Power Adapter
96W USB-C Power Adapter
140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...
If I'm paying that kind of money I want thunderbolt 3 speeds. Picked up a 2TB OWC thunderbolt 3 drive for $418. I fusioned it with my internal 512gb ssd on my iMac and now I'm flying. 2700 MB/s Read, 2100 MB/s Write. Boot, account switching, apps are all much, much faster. Love me some T3!
Is WD still a good buy for storage? I remember seeing a chart a few years ago with disk failure rates and they were up there, along with seagate which had the highest rate of failure.
All of my USB-powered external drives have been WD for a few years now. I have 1TB, 2TB and one 4TB external HDD and no issues with any of them. Two are used with laptops and one is used with an Xbone.
Every single Maxtor I’ve bought has given me troubles so that’s the one brand I currently avoid like the plague.
If I'm paying that kind of money I want thunderbolt 3 speeds. Picked up a 2TB OWC thunderbolt 3 drive for $418. I fusioned it with my internal 512gb ssd on my iMac and now I'm flying. 2700 MB/s Read, 2100 MB/s Write. Boot, account switching, apps are all much, much faster. Love me some T3!
Fusion-drive'ing an external + internal sounds dangerous.
Is it OK to cover your hard drive in a brown paper bag when you're using in in public, or will it run too hot?
"We want something youthful that says this product is FAST and FUN!" said the committee of 60 year-olds. "Fine, here" said the designer and threw up in his mouth.
I mean... those are hideous beyond measure. Been using WD for 15+ years as my go-to for storage. Never considered the possibility of having to look into other brands because WD would suddenly get too ugly to look at, but the latest gen MyBook designs with the diagonal lines look like puke, and now they ruined the portables with... what are those even... wings?
