Best Blu-ray drives for Mac iMore 2021

Blu-ray discs are the gold standard in physical video formats right now. You probably have a decent Blu-ray collection of your favorite movies, but without one of the best mac Blu-ray drives, you can't play them on macOS Big Sur. But Blu-rays aren't just great for movies; they're also great as storage devices for backups or other relevant data. If you want to play, read, or write Blu-ray discs with your Mac, you're going to need to start with an excellent Blu-ray drive and one of the best USB-C hubs so you can plug the drive into your Mac. Here are the best mac Blu-ray drives you can buy.

ASUS BW-16D1X-U

Windows and Mac compatible: ASUS BW-16D1X-U

Staff Favorite

The ASUS 12X Blu-ray drive has a 16X burning speed, which is among the fastest optical drives out there. Plus, by using a USB 3.0 connection, the ASUS BW-16D1X-U Blu-ray drive can also write data much faster than other drives that still use USB 2.0. The drive is formatted both for Mac and Windows, so you don't have to worry about reformatting the drive if you want to switch back and forth between operating systems.

$158 at Amazon
Sea Tech Blu-ray drive

Budget option: SEA TECH Blu-ray drive

Completely compatible with Mac, you won't need to reformat or install anything to get the SEA TECH Blu-ray drive to talk to your Mac. Plus, it uses a USB 3.0 connection, meaning all your data transferring is happening at the fast speed of USB 3.0!

$94 at Amazon
Pioneer Bdr Xd07uhd

A lot to offer: Pioneer BDR-XD07UHD Portable 6X Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray Burner

For both Mac and Windows, this beautifully designed reader offers BDXL support for high-capacity disc-writing for Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and CDs. It also includes M-Disc support for longer recordings. Included is the Cyberlink Media Suite, which offers Blu-ray and DVD burning and playback tools.

$215 at Amazon
Verbatim External Slimline Blu Ray

M-Disc compatible: Verbatim external Slimline Blu-ray writer

This small drive looks unassuming, but it's pretty fast for a Blu-ray drive. With a 6X Blu-ray write speed, an 8X DVD write speed, and a 24X CD write speed, you'll be able to move data onto any disc you want fairly quickly. Plus, it is M-Disc compatible and super compact, making it incredibly easy to take anywhere your MacBook goes.

$120 at Amazon

Don't forget the software

When it comes to playing Blu-rays on your Mac, you're going to need software as well as one of the best mac Blu-ray drives. The software is typically expensive. For that reason, I think the SEA TECH Blu-ray drive is worth a look for people who just want to watch Blu-ray movies.

Of course, if you plan on using Blu-rays for hard copies of your work, documents, files, and general backups, it's probably worth dishing out the extra cash for a drive like the ASUS BW-16D1X-U. It just has way more power than those slimmer drives and will help you transfer all your data to the disc a lot faster.

Either way, you'll need one of the great drives listed above if you want to watch or burn any Blu-rays on your Mac.

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