What is the correct PCIe SSD blade with 8 + 18 pins connection to upgrade MacBook Pro Retina Mid 2012 - Early 2013?
There is still a lot of confusion regarding upgrading the PCIe blade SSD on the above MacBook Pro. These particular models use Apple proprietary 8 + 18 pins connector SSD. This is often confused with the late 2013 and newer MacBook Pro SSD, which is different.
These were the first MacBook Pro models shipped with the new PCIe flat blade SSD instead of a standard 2.5-inch SATA HDD. This new PCIe SSD was still SATA 6G with maximum speed around 550MB/s, but its small size, flat design, and no moving parts greatly enhanced battery life and enabled Apple to make MacBook thinner and lighter than previous models. It was a leap forward, and next-generation Macs were then equipped with an even faster PCIe SSD, which was first AHCI-based and later NVME based. These new SSDs are capable of speeds starting 1400MBs up to 2800MB/s, but this depends on Mac PCIe lanes available, and higher speed is only achieved with Macs supporting PCIe 3 x 4 lanes. All other Macs with PCIe 2 x 2 and PCIe 2 x 3 lanes can only support up to 1400-1500MB/s.
Here at Flexx, we always ensure you order compatible SSD for your model. To choose the correct type, you need to know the model identifier of your Mac. Please follow this link to see how.
The MacBook Pro models discussed in this article model identifiers are as follows: MacBookPro10,1 and MacBookPro10,2.
OWC manufacture compatible SSDs for these Macs, and we have all capacities available: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB. This SSD is manufactured at the highest standard, ensuring durability and compatibility with this model. They come with a 5-year warranty, which proves that OWC is very confident in the quality of their products. We have SSD only and SSD with an external enclosure upgrade option. You may want an SSD with the enclosure when your old SSD is still working so that you can use your old SSD as additional external storage after the upgrade, and it also helps you quickly transfer data from the old SSD to the new one. Check the link below for compatible products and installation videos.
There is also option to increase storage with expansions cards from Transcend. These are available from 128GB up to 1TB. See the link below.
SSD with external USB enclosure