Apple is a company that doesn’t require an introduction. Everybody knows about their fantastic iPhones and laptops. But they are especially known for their innovative thinking. Back when they first released the super thin laptop, the MacBook Air, they also removed an optical disc slot from it. Something that used to be included by every other company.
Well now in 2018 it’s actually hard to find a laptop that comes with a DVD drive. But there’s still plenty of people who need to use them every now and then. Apple has the solution. They have created the Apple USB SuperDrive, which is an external DVD drive that has a USB connection.
Design & Build Quality
The Apple USB SuperDrive has an incredibly clean and simple design. Which shouldn’t be surprising as that’s what the brand is known for after all. Just like their laptops, even the external DVD drive is made out of solid aluminum. Which elevates its build quality to the next level. Especially when compared to its competitors.
The drive itself has a dimension of 139 x 139 x 17 mm and it weighs 344 grams. Which isn’t doesn’t make it the lightest external DVD drive. But it makes sense, considering that it’s made out of aluminum after all. The weight also keeps it steady on your desk. So you don’t have to worry about it sliding around when you use it.
But what really makes this one of the best available external DVD drives is its loading system. Instead of a standard slide out tray, the Super Drive simply has a slot. It’s a fantastic mechanism that only requires you to push in a CD. The drive will automatically eat it. It’s a really convenient and smooth system.
Like most of the modern external DVD drives, the Apple USB Super Drive connects to your computer via a USB port. Which is why it already has a 33 cm long USB cable attached to it. Also, it’s a USB 2.0connector at the end of the cable. Which means that you can use it with a USB 3.0 port as well. It just won’t provide any extra speed.
Performance
The Apple USB SuperDrive has a pretty typical 8x write speed and a 16x read speed. This is standard for most DVD-R discs. And the plus side of this is that you can reach those speeds with a standard USB 2.0 port.
I did run some tests as well to see if the drive actually matches the ratings given by the disc manufacturers. I burnt a 1 GB size file onto my DVD-R disc and it took exactly 4 minutes to fully write it. That does not include the time it takes to process and verify the files. I also monitored the writing speeds and it mostly matched the spec sheet.
I also want to add that the writing speed does depend on the type of disc you are using. Overall the SuperDrive supports all of the most popular CD and DVDdisc formats. Here are the ones I got from the data sheet: CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R,DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-R RL and DVD+R RL.
During the burning process, the external DVD drive managed to stay pretty quiet. Especially when I had it next to a Samsung DVD drive that I bought almost a year ago. It was pretty much a night and day in terms of noise.
Conclusion
TheApple USB SuperDrive is one of the best looking external drives available. Not only that but it’s build quality is above all of its competitors. The only downside is the price, which is definitely more than most other companies ask for. But quality does cost so it comes down to how much you value the design features that Apple has included.
