douglerner wrote:
I was wondering if it’s time to upgrade my 2013 MacBook Pro 13" now that the 2020 version came out…I’d really like something larger than my 512 GB SSD.
Well, if the main concern is storage and you don’t feel like spending $$, and are willing to risk Apple dropping support for a future macOS in a few years, you have storage expansion options, though what they are depends on whether you have an “Early 2013” (MacBookPro10,2) or a “Late 2013” (MacBookPro11,1). The former has a custom SATA interface, and the latter has a much better performing custom PCIe interface.
Mac accessories stalwart OWC offers upgrades for both, in both 1 TB and 2 TB flavors, and they have the advantage of being designed exclusively for Mac and they’ll support you as such. On the downside, I’ve had less than stellar experiences with these products’ longevity, meaning you might really need that support. (Alternatives I haven’t tried are Transcend Jetdrive, available up to 960 GB, and Mac longtimer MCE Tech’s offerings for 1 TB and 2 TB.)
Alternatively, you could buy a cheaper mSATA drive (for the Early 2013) or m.2 drive (for the Late 2013) from any vendor like Samsung, etc, and use it with an adapter that you can find on Amazon for around $15, such as those made by Sintech and others. With this solution, you’re 100% on your own – should work, but if it doesn’t, no one’s gonna support you. Also, on the PCIe/NVMe models for the Late 2013, wake from sleep may not work right, and you may have to disable hibernation (sleep when the battery is totally drained).
Splitting the difference would be products that essentially provide the mSATA or m.2 drive with an adapter as a single ready-to-use Mac-supported unit, such as Fledgling Feather drives, though I’ve seen sleep-related problems on the PCIe/NVMe versions of those, too.
All of the above are obviously not Apple-supported, and there’s always the chance that a future version of macOS or machine firmware will make them partially or completely incompatible. If you have a Late 2013, and 1 TB is enough for you, and you want to guarantee maximum compatibility for sleep and future firmware, you could instead look for a used Apple part on eBay (usually made by Samsung or Toshiba, with the former preferable). This is probably the route I would take if I wanted to get a couple more years of life out of that machine with twice the space, for a couple hundred bucks or so. Obviously you’d want to get it from a seller that supports returns.