littlebigdiskLaCie's first Thunderbolt hard drives are finally available, more than 6 months after Apple put its first Thunderbolt-enabled Macs on sale.

The Apple Online Store is offering 1TB and 2TB Little Big Disks for $399.95 and $499.95 respectively, both shipping in 1-2 weeks. 9to5Mac reports that these drives are already available at some Apple Retail Stores.

In June, LaCie promised SSD drives with Thunderbolt this summer ("a question of weeks"), but those have yet to be released. (Update: LaCie now says the SSD drives will be available in October.)

The hard drives are available on Apple's website and will be available soon through LaCie directly.

Update 2: Apple has removed the 1 TB and 2 TB drives from its online store for unknown reasons. The company has also added listings for the 250 GB ($899.95) and 500 GB ($1499.95) solid-state drive versions, with shipping estimates set at 1-2 weeks.

Update 3: The 1 TB and 2 TB models have now returned to Apple's online store with a shipping estimate of one week on both models. Shipping estimates for the two SSD models have been pushed out to 1-2 months.

Top Rated Comments

CrAkD Avatar
179 months ago
Rip off. Just sell me the enclosure for $150.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OllyW Avatar
179 months ago
No cable in the box so don't forget to add on another $50.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
shaunb83 Avatar
179 months ago
Ouch. Kinda (really, really) spendy. And I don't think the little big disks are particularly user upgradeable to put in larger hard drives?

I'd love to have one - hopefully independent thunderbolt enclosures aren't that far away.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sneakz Avatar
179 months ago
Yes.

A standard mechanical hard drive these days can push data at well over 100MB/s. This LaCie design places two in parallel, doubling the throughput.

In the real world, FW800 maxes out at 65MB/s.

So expect these to be 3 or more times faster than FW800.

FW800 maxes out at 100MB/s for real world transfer rates of just short of 90MB/s. 65 is not even close.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Battlefield Fan Avatar
179 months ago
$400 for two 500GB drives and a thunderbolt connection? Ouch

Edit: FYI two drives are available for $60 each on newegg. $340 for TB?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
firestarter Avatar
179 months ago
You guys have to remember this is a raid enclosure, which means they will be using raid compatible drives. This is important. No 50$ 1TB jobbers, think 120$+ 1TB drives. Plus markup. Plus the enclosure / raid controller / thunderbolt adapter / support / r&d / etc.
Unfortunately I have my doubts.

LaCie isn't a high end brand... it's a 'designer' brand making pretty products. Sure, they make some well performing gear, but I think you're going to be very disappointed if you expect anything other than consumer level mechanisms in that box.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple 'Sherlocked' These Apps at WWDC 2025

Wednesday June 11, 2025 7:14 am PDT by
Apple at WWDC previewed a bunch of new features coming in its updated operating systems, but certain changes will have been met with dismay by third-party developers who already offer apps with equivalent or similar features. In other words, their product has been "sherlocked" by Apple. When Apple creates an app or a feature that has functionality found in a third-party app, it is referred...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
maxresdefault

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2025 in 10 Minutes

Monday June 9, 2025 5:21 pm PDT by
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Apple to Let iPhone Users Watch Videos on CarPlay Screen While Parked

Thursday June 12, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles. iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 Apple Wallet Boarding Passes

Apple Lists 10 Airlines Set to Offer iOS 26's Upgraded Boarding Passes

Wednesday June 11, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
As we previously reported, iOS 26 enhances Apple Wallet app boarding passes in a few ways. First, the passes now support Live Activities, allowing you to keep track of a flight at a glance on your iPhone's Lock Screen, and in the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro and newer. In addition, new shortcuts below the passes provide one-tap access to Apple Maps for airport directions, and to the Find...