Transcend Offers JetDrive Lite 330 Expansion Cards Up to 512GB for 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro

Transcend has begun offering its JetDrive Lite 330 expansion cards for 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, providing users of Apple's latest Macs with an affordable way to increase storage capacity. The cards provide up to 512GB of additional storage for less than $90, giving users a viable alternative to paying Apple's high prices for more internal storage at point of purchase.

transcend jetdrive
The JetDrive Lite expansion cards are tailor-made with a flush design that matches the case form factor of both MacBook Pro Models, and offer maximum sequential read and write speeds of 95MB/s and 75MB/s, respectively.

Once the JetDrive Lite 330 is inserted into the card reader slot, the additional storage can be used to hold large files, like RAW images or 4K video for example, or the card can serve as an onboard Time Machine backup.

Transcend says the JetDrive Lite expansion cards come with a five-year limited warranty and are manufactured using advanced COB (chip-on-board) technology, making them resistant to water, dust, and shock. Other than 2021 MacBook Pro Models, the JetDrive Lite 330 also supports 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro (late 2012-early 2015 models).

The JetDrive Lite Series of expansion cards are available now on Amazon, with prices starting at $35.99 for the 128GB version and $89.99 for the 512GB capacity card.

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

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro 14 & 16"
Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Top Rated Comments

Agneev Avatar
28 months ago
Love how these are back after a 5-year hiatus.


Other than 2021 MacBook Pro Models, the JetDrive Lite 330 also supports 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro (late 2012-early 2015 models).
2016-2021 aka the years of Jony Ive and his MacBook Pro madness age.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ddtmm Avatar
28 months ago
This is actually not a bad idea. For most people their pictures and music take up a lot of space but really never need stellar disk performance when being accessed. Moving music and pictures to the SD disk would be pretty smart.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
swm Avatar
28 months ago
maybe good for time machine or backup purposes. for anything productive application it's too slow.
and write endurance is also questionable.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
theluggage Avatar
28 months ago

Read and write speeds are abysmally slow. But does get you half a terabyte if you need it.
It's not a replacement for a larger "proper" SSD, but there are plenty of uses for a few hundred GB of cheap, if slow, storage that can be left in place as if it were an internal drive and used to store bulky, seldom updated files.

Relocating your "Media library" (whether that's tunes and movies or finished photos, videos etc. relevant to your work) to such a card is the obvious use.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Doomtomb Avatar
28 months ago

Read and write speeds are abysmally slow. But does get you half a terabyte if you need it.

I’d pass and go for a modern SSD.
I don't think you get it. This is the only option that doesn't require an external device. And these speeds are comparable to mechanical hard drives which is to say not that bad. It's a memory card after all.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
junior Avatar
28 months ago
Purchased a BaseQi micro SD card holder that fits flush into the SD slot. I've stuck a 1TB Sandisk in there. Far more economical, surely.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple Silicon AI Optimized Feature Siri

Apple Releases Open Source AI Models That Run On-Device

Wednesday April 24, 2024 3:39 pm PDT by
Apple today released several open source large language models (LLMs) that are designed to run on-device rather than through cloud servers. Called OpenELM (Open-source Efficient Language Models), the LLMs are available on the Hugging Face Hub, a community for sharing AI code. As outlined in a white paper [PDF], there are eight total OpenELM models, four of which were pre-trained using the...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Rumored to Add These 10 New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday April 24, 2024 2:05 pm PDT by
Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, so the software update is a little over six weeks away from being announced. Below, we recap rumored features and changes planned for the iPhone with iOS 18. iOS 18 will reportedly be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, with new ChatGPT-inspired generative AI features, a more customizable Home Screen, and much more....
iPad And Calculator App Feature

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...