maybe should add that its best not to even use these OWC ssds for these macs, as they have not fixed the power state bugs due to the mac it self (more so 2013-2015) and the SSD missing something proprietary (system has a high chance when it comes out of hibernate and crash as the drive is missing on wake up)
Being a NVMe drive specifically designed to upgrade Macs, I don't suppose the OWC Aura Pro X2 solves the problem of NVMe drives failing to be detected upon wake from hibernation in 2013-2014 Macs? The current workarounds for that generation of Macs are to either disable hibernation reducing battery life or patching the BootRom which isn't user friendly.
It would have been interesting to see where Apple's Polaris NVMe drives stack up in your comparison since testing by @gilles_polysoft at Macrumors suggests it's still one of the fastest, most power efficient options compared to third-party SSDs. It was only offered officially in 2017 iMacs though so finding a pull or an Apple service provider willing to sell a new one to upgrade older Macs is difficult and expensive.
Yes, there is a big difference between 2013-2014 and 2015 Macbook Pros regarding how they work with NVMe drivers. After reading a _lot_ about it, I finally decided that for my 2013 rMBP 15 the best option is to buy an original "SSUBX" drive from eBay, as none of the NVMe drivers would work reliably.
"I don't suppose the OWC Aura Pro X2 solves the problem of NVMe drives failing to be detected upon wake from hibernation in 2013-2014 Macs?"
It does not. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/owc-launches-... The OWC rep finally acknowledges it after mistakenly saying hibernation was fine for a couple pages. Disappointing lack of knowledge for the products he is shilling
Exactly, What a load of crap marketing this in devices that do NOT support NVME properly in the firmware. I expect more from OWC given the prices and that they are Mac specific.
The sentence "The OWC Aura Pro X2 declares support all the usual power management features expected on a modern M.2 NVMe SSD, with two idle states that balance power savings against transition latency." is missing the word "for" and has an extra space.
Can they? I mean, OWC has been making these SSD's for YEARS without a threat from Apple. Clearly Apple doesn't believe they have a case.
If anything this works in Apples favor because it is an easy way for them to void peoples warranties or refuse to service their PC's, much like they refuse to service iPhones with replacement 3rd party screens and batteries.
I recently upgraded the SSDs in a 13 inch MBP and a 15 inch MBP, both from 2015. I upgraded the 13 inch MBP with a 1TB Apple SSD from eBay and the 15 inch MBP with a 2TB Intel 760p plus a Sintech short NVMe adapter.
Both new SSDs work at roughly the same speed as the 512GB SSDs they replaced. However, I am considering ditching the 2TB SSD from the 15 inch MBP as it has reduced the battery life by several hours and increased the drain on standby. The Apple SSD in the 13 inch has had no negative side effects. I might hope that an OS update will bring with it better driver support for NVMe low power states, but it seems optimistic given that these models were never designed with NVMe in mind and it's something of a miracle that Apple ever enabled their use.
I been looking into swapping out the ssd on my 13 inch 2015 MBP for a larger capacity one. Going by what I've read on the forums it seems increased battery drain is an unavoidable issue with NVMe drives when installed in our Macs. Would a third party AHCI drive have less power issues than a NVMe?
This review disregarded many crucial issues with OWC's Pro X2.
Pro X2's issues: 1. You only get less 1500MB/s in most models (33 out of 38 supported models). Exceptions are 2015 MacBook Pro 15 and 4 iMac models, which are the lucky ones with PCIe 3.0 x4. They can take advantage of the full speed. Most other users are stuck with PCIe 2.0 x4, which is 1500MB/s.
I have a MacBook Air 2013. With the newly bought Pro X2 256GB, I'm only getting 1000MB/s write and 1500MB/s read. This is worse than most third-party solutions like Feather SSD from Fledging.
2. This solution has all flaws in an NVMe SSD (cannot wake up from hibernation, older boot ROM recognition, etc) 3. SM2262EN is one of the hottest controllers out there and significantly decreases battery life compare to SM2263XT or Phison E12 4. Even the destroyer test shows worse performance across the board in real life use cases comparing this SSD to Phison E12
Besides, the fitting on the adapter is overstated. There are plenty of short or low high ones that work perfectly without poking through the back.
I installed an Aura N 1TB SSD in a 2014 Macbook Pro just a few days ago for a customer. Went off without a hitch, booted from a Time Machine backup and did a restore without an issue. Now what to do with the old 128GB SSD that's basically useless...
I'd still be really curious to see a T2 mac put through these tests. Prior to it at least, Apple SSDs were good at sequential reads and writes but fell lower than the competition on 4K random and mixed loads, I'd be curious how one given such a powerful controller would do.
I tried twice to upgrade my wife's 2014 MacBook SSD. First with an OWC drive, and second with a Samsung 970 and an adapter. The OWC one would often crash the MacBook when waking from sleep. The Samsung one would crash it while she was using it. E.g. launching a program would cause it to freeze and then reboot. I gave up and put her apple SSD back in.
Was it an OWC made specifically for this purpose? If so, then it should have worked.
As for the Samsung, there are drives that have better reputations for Mac compatibility. Look at the link in the comments here and read that carefully.
I would not buy such special / proprietary SSDs, and instead just go the dapper dongle route, more choice, more flexibility, ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QGO9XJY60s
Just bought and install OWC Auro Pro X2 SSD for my MacBook Air 6.2 as I really trusted OWC, but find out that there are issues with sleep mode and this issue could not be solved. As per OWC technical support, the solution is to ship back OWC Aura Pro X2 SSD to OWC and cover all costs, if I do not like loose Sleep functionality of my MacBook. No disclaimers on OWC web on technical incompatibility with MacBook Air 6.2.
Really wishing for a Transcend Jetdrive 850 comparison as this seems to be the only (adapter-less) competitor. Additionally, what about plate-less adapters? Are those too bulky too?
There are a lot of problems with the Aura Pro X2. I bought a computer from OWC with their drive installed. I have had nothing but problems with it and keep getting EFI Check dumps. OWC refused to acknowledge there was even a hardware issue. Even after I shipped it back to them! I wasted tens of hours troubleshooting, formatting and re-installing the OS etc. at OWC urging. Finally I sent the machine to Apple and sure enough they flagged the SSD as the problem. Spend your money on something else. There are literally hundreds of complaints on Yelp about OWC and these drives.
• L '13 + M '14 MacBook Pros • Mid-2015 MacBook Pro • M '13 + '14 MacBook Airs • Early-2015 MacBook Air • Late 2013 Cylinder Mac Pro ...
THOSE are the PRIMARY test scenarios ... and the interactions between their respective SSD controllers, FSB & CPU are more indicative of the likely performance than testing the NAND & Cache, respectively.
I am trying to find a external enclosure to use the aura pro x2 1TB as an external drive. OWC pointed me to an updated enclosure that now works with Apple ssd and the aura but I m looking for an alternative that is not owc, any advice?
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zepi - Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - link
Maybe you could list the Mac models that this works with in a nice table? It is not that long of a list.crimsonson - Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - link
Or you can go to the manufacturer's/seller's website and get the info?hasseb64 - Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - link
so why did you not post it here then?Ryan Smith - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
Hey, that's a good idea. Thanks! I've gone ahead and added a list.zepi - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
Thanks!I didn't even realise that this would actually be an upgrade path to my old rMBP13.
I wonder if the horrible mixed workload performance translate into a meaningfully slow zipping / unzipping performance.
leexgx - Monday, June 17, 2019 - link
maybe should add that its best not to even use these OWC ssds for these macs, as they have not fixed the power state bugs due to the mac it self (more so 2013-2015) and the SSD missing something proprietary (system has a high chance when it comes out of hibernate and crash as the drive is missing on wake up)ltcommanderdata - Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - link
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/upgrading-201...Being a NVMe drive specifically designed to upgrade Macs, I don't suppose the OWC Aura Pro X2 solves the problem of NVMe drives failing to be detected upon wake from hibernation in 2013-2014 Macs? The current workarounds for that generation of Macs are to either disable hibernation reducing battery life or patching the BootRom which isn't user friendly.
It would have been interesting to see where Apple's Polaris NVMe drives stack up in your comparison since testing by @gilles_polysoft at Macrumors suggests it's still one of the fastest, most power efficient options compared to third-party SSDs. It was only offered officially in 2017 iMacs though so finding a pull or an Apple service provider willing to sell a new one to upgrade older Macs is difficult and expensive.
Skeptical123 - Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - link
That's a good pointzsero - Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - link
Yes, there is a big difference between 2013-2014 and 2015 Macbook Pros regarding how they work with NVMe drivers. After reading a _lot_ about it, I finally decided that for my 2013 rMBP 15 the best option is to buy an original "SSUBX" drive from eBay, as none of the NVMe drivers would work reliably.MamiyaOtaru - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
"I don't suppose the OWC Aura Pro X2 solves the problem of NVMe drives failing to be detected upon wake from hibernation in 2013-2014 Macs?"It does not. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/owc-launches-... The OWC rep finally acknowledges it after mistakenly saying hibernation was fine for a couple pages. Disappointing lack of knowledge for the products he is shilling
danielfranklin - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
Exactly,What a load of crap marketing this in devices that do NOT support NVME properly in the firmware.
I expect more from OWC given the prices and that they are Mac specific.
Oxford Guy - Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - link
QLC is looking abominable here, particularly in the latency tests.nicolaim - Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - link
The sentence "The OWC Aura Pro X2 declares support all the usual power management features expected on a modern M.2 NVMe SSD, with two idle states that balance power savings against transition latency." is missing the word "for" and has an extra space.jabber - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
Apple Legal Team ban hammer in 5...4...3...2...Samus - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
Can they? I mean, OWC has been making these SSD's for YEARS without a threat from Apple. Clearly Apple doesn't believe they have a case.If anything this works in Apples favor because it is an easy way for them to void peoples warranties or refuse to service their PC's, much like they refuse to service iPhones with replacement 3rd party screens and batteries.
The_Assimilator - Friday, June 7, 2019 - link
Not to mention OWC is a large payer of the Apple Tax.playtech1 - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
I recently upgraded the SSDs in a 13 inch MBP and a 15 inch MBP, both from 2015. I upgraded the 13 inch MBP with a 1TB Apple SSD from eBay and the 15 inch MBP with a 2TB Intel 760p plus a Sintech short NVMe adapter.Both new SSDs work at roughly the same speed as the 512GB SSDs they replaced. However, I am considering ditching the 2TB SSD from the 15 inch MBP as it has reduced the battery life by several hours and increased the drain on standby. The Apple SSD in the 13 inch has had no negative side effects. I might hope that an OS update will bring with it better driver support for NVMe low power states, but it seems optimistic given that these models were never designed with NVMe in mind and it's something of a miracle that Apple ever enabled their use.
danzeb - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
I been looking into swapping out the ssd on my 13 inch 2015 MBP for a larger capacity one. Going by what I've read on the forums it seems increased battery drain is an unavoidable issue with NVMe drives when installed in our Macs. Would a third party AHCI drive have less power issues than a NVMe?maxtech567 - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
This review disregarded many crucial issues with OWC's Pro X2.Pro X2's issues:
1. You only get less 1500MB/s in most models (33 out of 38 supported models). Exceptions are 2015 MacBook Pro 15 and 4 iMac models, which are the lucky ones with PCIe 3.0 x4. They can take advantage of the full speed. Most other users are stuck with PCIe 2.0 x4, which is 1500MB/s.
I have a MacBook Air 2013. With the newly bought Pro X2 256GB, I'm only getting 1000MB/s write and 1500MB/s read. This is worse than most third-party solutions like Feather SSD from Fledging.
2. This solution has all flaws in an NVMe SSD (cannot wake up from hibernation, older boot ROM recognition, etc)
3. SM2262EN is one of the hottest controllers out there and significantly decreases battery life compare to SM2263XT or Phison E12
4. Even the destroyer test shows worse performance across the board in real life use cases comparing this SSD to Phison E12
Besides, the fitting on the adapter is overstated. There are plenty of short or low high ones that work perfectly without poking through the back.
burgerkingjr - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
Any chance of a comparison with the Transcend JetDrive 850 or 820?https://www.transcend-info.com/Products/No-956
Samus - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
I installed an Aura N 1TB SSD in a 2014 Macbook Pro just a few days ago for a customer. Went off without a hitch, booted from a Time Machine backup and did a restore without an issue. Now what to do with the old 128GB SSD that's basically useless...MamiyaOtaru - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
that's what the case they also sell is for. Turn it into a turbocharged thumb drive.tipoo - Friday, June 7, 2019 - link
I'd still be really curious to see a T2 mac put through these tests. Prior to it at least, Apple SSDs were good at sequential reads and writes but fell lower than the competition on 4K random and mixed loads, I'd be curious how one given such a powerful controller would do.nfriedly - Saturday, June 8, 2019 - link
I tried twice to upgrade my wife's 2014 MacBook SSD. First with an OWC drive, and second with a Samsung 970 and an adapter. The OWC one would often crash the MacBook when waking from sleep. The Samsung one would crash it while she was using it. E.g. launching a program would cause it to freeze and then reboot. I gave up and put her apple SSD back in.Oxford Guy - Friday, June 14, 2019 - link
Was it an OWC made specifically for this purpose? If so, then it should have worked.As for the Samsung, there are drives that have better reputations for Mac compatibility. Look at the link in the comments here and read that carefully.
leexgx - Monday, June 17, 2019 - link
OWC does not support the sleep states correctly they have never corrected thiswitch is stupid as the point of OWC ssds is for mac compatibility and faking official apple SSD to automatically enable trim support out of the box
Rene23 - Wednesday, June 19, 2019 - link
I would not buy such special / proprietary SSDs, and instead just go the dapper dongle route, more choice, more flexibility, ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QGO9XJY60sSandris - Saturday, June 22, 2019 - link
Just bought and install OWC Auro Pro X2 SSD for my MacBook Air 6.2 as I really trusted OWC, but find out that there are issues with sleep mode and this issue could not be solved. As per OWC technical support, the solution is to ship back OWC Aura Pro X2 SSD to OWC and cover all costs, if I do not like loose Sleep functionality of my MacBook. No disclaimers on OWC web on technical incompatibility with MacBook Air 6.2.ttot - Saturday, August 10, 2019 - link
Really wishing for a Transcend Jetdrive 850 comparison as this seems to be the only (adapter-less) competitor. Additionally, what about plate-less adapters? Are those too bulky too?jimmarz - Friday, March 27, 2020 - link
There are a lot of problems with the Aura Pro X2. I bought a computer from OWC with their drive installed. I have had nothing but problems with it and keep getting EFI Check dumps. OWC refused to acknowledge there was even a hardware issue. Even after I shipped it back to them! I wasted tens of hours troubleshooting, formatting and re-installing the OS etc. at OWC urging. Finally I sent the machine to Apple and sure enough they flagged the SSD as the problem. Spend your money on something else. There are literally hundreds of complaints on Yelp about OWC and these drives.trumanhw - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
You guys REALLY should've tested this in:• L '13 + M '14 MacBook Pros
• Mid-2015 MacBook Pro
• M '13 + '14 MacBook Airs
• Early-2015 MacBook Air
• Late 2013 Cylinder Mac Pro ...
THOSE are the PRIMARY test scenarios ... and the interactions between their respective SSD controllers, FSB & CPU are more indicative of the likely performance than testing the NAND & Cache, respectively.
DHS - Wednesday, January 19, 2022 - link
I am trying to find a external enclosure to use the aura pro x2 1TB as an external drive. OWC pointed me to an updated enclosure that now works with Apple ssd and the aura but I m looking for an alternative that is not owc, any advice?