I''m looking for a reliable external hard drive for my MacBook Air, with a thunderbolt connection. Preferably within the $100 range. I've had trouble with cable connections in the past.
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Most drives do not use Thunderbolt connections. Especially drives in the $100 range. In that range, you would be looking at USB connections (whether over USB-A or USB-C).
Thunderbolt connections are higher-speed and cost more to implement than USB-A (USB 3.0) or USB-C (USB 3.1 Gen 2) ones. A single mechanical hard drive cannot fully saturate a USB 3.0 connection – let alone a Thunderbolt one. Thus Thunderbolt is usually reserved for things like multi-hard-drive enclosures or high-end external SSDs.
Have a look at a reliable seller such as: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/external-storage#thunderbolt-drives
Seeking reliable Thunderbolt external drive for MacBook Air
