We used to be more concerned about the storage space that we’d need for our computers.
But we moved on, and storage type configurations have now become an important thing to consider.
Storage configuration type Flash has become one of the popular storage configuration types.
If you’ve got a flash storage drive on your MacBook Air or Pro and want to learn more about it, then this is the right place.
Visit: Dell vs HP vs Samsung Laptops: Which is Better in 2022?
We will take a closer look at this storage drive and show you how to get more out of it.
What Is Flash Storage on MacBook Air & Pro?
Flash storage is a solid-state technology that uses flash memory chips for writing and storing data.
The flash storage on MacBook Air & Pro can also be referred to as a solid-state drive (
Regular SSDs combine a flash memory and a standard hard drive enclosure.
It’s not the most elegant solution, but the MacBook Air & Pro’s flash memory is located
This allows Apple to keep the MacBook Air and Macbook Pro in a slim profile.
Unlike traditional hard drives, flash storage doesn’t have mechanical parts; it uses chips that store data as electrical
The Amazon Kindle is a non-physical, light, and flat reading device that is perfect for travel, as it
The flash disk is much less prone to damage, boots faster, has lower access times, and is very quiet.
Is Flash Storage Good? Key Benefits/Advantages We Love
Flash storage is better than traditional hard disk storage. It is faster and consumes less power. It also provides data protection features.
A SATA flash drive needs only half the power of a hard disk drive to function perfectly.
Key benefits/advantages we love about the Flash storage
The flash storage is durable and secure. Since the solid state drive has no moving mechanical parts, it is less susceptible to damage than the conventional hard disk drives.
This makes it more secure to use flash storage for storing data.
Flash storage consumes less energy than hard drive. Flash storage is good for battery life.
They are quiet and are good at what they do. They are very energy efficient.
It’s a fact that flash storage generates less heat than regular hard disk storage. The lack of moving parts in flash storage allows it to produce less heat than hard disk storage.
If you have a regular desktop PC, then storage drives like HDDs are very convenient. However, if you have a laptop PC, you may want to go for a solid state drive.
This SSD drive delivers lightning-fast read and write speeds for fast data transfers.
Solid State Drives or SSDs generally have faster read and write speeds compared to older storage types, such as Hard Disk Drives or HDDs.
What Are the Disadvantages of Flash Memory?
Flash memory is expensive. It’s based on the price of a gigabyte and is usually more expensive than hard disk storage.
Flash memory is more expensive to manufacture compared to traditional hard disk drives, so it is a good idea to buy flash memory drives with more storage capacity and the ability to save data faster.
Flash memory storages are more durable than hard disk drives. However, they do not last forever.
Higher voltages travel through their transistors, decreasing their lifetime.
Most flash memory chips don’t have large storage capacities.
They are not resistant to malware: If you aren’t careful, your flash memory storage can develop issues due to malware.
How to Clear and Free Up Flash Storage on Mac
Here are some ways to clear and free up the flash storage on your Mac.
To help keep your flash storage from becoming full, delete media files like movies, music, and regular videos.
Delete apps you no longer use:
This quick way will help you to get rid of unused apps that you want to uninstall.
Use this tip if you want to clean up your iPad’s hard drive, delete files and apps that you no longer need. If you’re going to delete a file, simply open it first before trying to delete it.
A: STEP 1: Open “iTunes” and click on your device’s name
STEP 2: Select “Info”
Empty your Trash can:
The Trash on a Mac is very similar to what we have as the “Recycle Bin” on Windows computers.
When you delete files, the program will often move them to the trash can in case you decide to retrieve them.
You will need to clear your trash to remove such files.
To empty your trash can, press the Control (Cmd) key and click or right-click the Trash icon at the bottom-right corner of the Dock and then select “Empty Trash”.
Next, press Command+Z to compress all the files in your Trash. This method is much quicker than doing it manually by copying each file.
Store your files on iCloud: Saving your files on Apple’s cloud storage service will keep them in sync across devices.
To store your files on iCloud, follow these steps.
STEP 1: Click the Apple icon at the top-left of your screen.
STEP 2: Select “About This Mac“.
STEP 3: Click on the “Storage“ tab.
STEP 4: Select “Manage“.
STEP 5: Click on “Store in iCloud“. STEP 6:
When you are done, click on “Store in iCloud“ and delete the files you don’t need from your “Downloads” folder.
Remove emails you no longer need from your Mail app
How to Upgrade Mac Flash Storage
Make sure to check the compatibility before buying a MacBook Pro flash storage. You should only buy a MacBook Pro with flash storage that has compatibility.
It’s because Apple’s manufacturing process doesn’t allow for possible improvements.
Fortunately, you can still upgrade the flash storage on the Macs listed above:
Non-retina MacBook Pro: Up to 2016
Retina MacBook Pro: Up to 2015
MacBook: Up to 2010
MacBook Air: Up to 2017
To upgrade the flash storage on your Mac, you must first confirm if it is SATA based or PCIe based.
If your MacBook has a SATA-based flash storage module, you can use the Transcend JetDrive Upgrade Kit.
The best flash storage on your Mac is built into the MacBook. If your Mac has flash storage, you can improve its performance and speed by using Other World Computing’s Aura kit.
Transcend JetDrive
The JetDrive from Transcend is a viable option for upgrading your SATA-based flash storage.
The JetDrive provides up to 960 GB storage, and there are two storage options – 1TB or 2TB.
Depending on your Macbook’s model, you may be able to choose from three sizes, which range from 1GB to 16GB.
1.Below is an outline of the Transcend JetDrive’s configurations for each Macbook model that it supports:
Transcend JetDrive 500 supports late-2010 to mid-2011 Macbook Air 11″ &
2.”
Transcend JetDrive 520 supports mid-2012 Macbook Air 11″ &
3.”
Transcend JetDrive 720 supports mid-2013 to early-2013 Macbook Retina
4.”
Transcend JetDrive 725 supports mid-2013 to early-2013 Macbook Pro Retina
You can use the enclosure case to convert your MacBook’s actual flash storage into a portable thumb drive.
1.The external case works with both USB
2.0 and USB
3.0 connections and provides fast read-write access with a USB
4.0 connection.
Other World Computing (OWC) Aura
The OWC Aura makes it easy to add more flash storage to your MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2015..
With the Aura SSD, the OWC Envoy, and a few other small pieces of software, this kit lets you create a RAID-5 array of up to 8 SSDs
It comes with an USB 3.0 cable and a screwdriver. Use the free installation guides and videos to install the OWC Aura if you want to use the kit
Is SSD and Flash Storage the Same? – Key Differences and Similarities
Solid State Drives (SSD) and flash storage are two closely related technologies.
Both offer excellent support and a lot of guidance, but one is a full service partner while the other is a sales associate.
It’s very important that you understand what is meant by this term.
In the relationship between the two technologies, there is a kind of egg-to-omelette analogy.
In this context, the eggs would be the fast storage, while the SSD would be the omelet.
Eggs and flash storage are used to make an omelet, so that’s what you should primarily use.
It’s the same for flash storage as it is for eggs.
You can build an SSD storage without the flash storage, just like you can make an omelet without eggs, if you know how to do it.
Similarities Between SSD and Flash Storage
Both are much faster than HDDs. They both have no moving parts, like HDDs
Both flash storages and SSDs are forms of non-volatile memory.
When you close your computer or turn it off, any information stored on your computer can be
They can both be rewritten in the same way.
Key Differences Between SSD and Flash Storage
Both solid-state drive (SSD) and flash storage are very different in terms of form or type.
You can buy different types of flash storage includes storage array, SSD flash drive, All-Flash array, NVMe storage, Hybrid flash storage, and Hard drive storage.
Meanwhile, the types of SSD include SATA SSD, PCIe SSD, M.2 SSD, U.
You can use flash memory for many other purposes than storing files. Devices like phones, laptops, digital cameras, memory cards, and USB memory sticks all use flash memory to store files.
Only computers and laptops use SSDs, not all of them. Flash storage is more expensive than SSD.
Which Is Better, Hard Drive or Flash Storage?
Flash storage is a better solution than hard drives. For example, flash storage consumes much less power than hard drives and has much faster read/write speeds.
A typical hard drive produces speed much slower than 120MB/s.
Meanwhile, many Flash drives can reach read/write speeds of up to 500 MB/s and even much faster than that.
How to Increase Storage on MacBook Pro – Tips and Things You Need to Be Able to Save More on Your Mac
Below are some steps to help you increase storage on your Macbook.
STEP 1: Go to the “Apple menu” and select “About This Mac.”
STEP 2: Select “Storage.” The screen will show the several different categories of files.
STEP 4: Click the “Manage” button to open the storage management window.
Some of the storage solutions that will help you increase the storage on your Mac include:
Files include movies, videos, music, and pictures.
Delete files that are no longer useful from your Downloads folder.
Delete junk email from your Mail app.
Uninstall apps that you don’t use anymore.
Compress your large files into a zip folder.
Store some of your files externally.
One of the best ways to access your photos on iCloud is to use the Photos app, or by connecting an external drive to your Mac, using an iCloud-supported service like Dropbox or Google Drive, or using a third-party app that supports iPhoto library access like Photos by Microsoft, Google Photos or even Flickr.
Click on Disk Utility to open the Disk Management window.
STEP 8: Click on the Optimize button to begin optimizing your disk space.
Now that you’ve completed the process, click “OK”.
Now, go back to the “Apple menu” and click on “About This Mac”.
Conclusion
We hope this article has been able to help you understand what the flash storage on your MacBook is.
If you ever want to upgrade your laptop, always make sure to get as much storage space as you can. It will make the experience of using your new laptop so much better.
You’ll find that it is always worth the investment in the long run.