WD brings the speed and ditches the cables with Thunderbolt drive

The WD My Passport Pro joins the brand's existing line-up of hard disk drives, solid state drives and networking products, bringing a few points of difference that are sure to get Apple fans excited. Billed by WD as "the first portable, Thunderbolt-powered dual-drive solution", this means a single Thunderbolt cable (built directly into the device) delivers both the drive's power and connectivity.

The device offers user-selectable RAID functionality, meaning the dual drives can be used in tandem to increase read and write speeds, or data can be mirrored across the drives for data redundancy and increased security. At its peak, WD is promising read speeds of up to 233 MBps, compared to 101 MBps for a single drive with Thunderbolt, or 115 MBps for a single drive with USB 3.0. Outstanding numbers for those with high-performance, high-storage needs while working on the road, from video editors to graphic designers and photographers.

These perks come with a higher price tag than other mechanical hard drives, but those who need it will be more than happy to pay the premium and finally get a set of features they've been waiting for. The My Passport Pro is available in two iterations, including a 2TB model for AU$499.99 and a 4TB model for AU$649.99. Both models will be sold in JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman and larger-format Apple stores, as well as on WD's online store.