A new 30TB LTO-10 tape drive is now available for purchase and can be connected directly to an Apple Mac Mini. The drive offers speeds nearly matching those of an SSD. With compression enabled, its cartridge capacity expands to up to 75TB.
The introduction of the 30TB LTO-10 tape drive marks a significant advancement in archival storage options for users of the compact Apple Mac Mini. This device allows for direct attachment, providing data transfer rates that approach the performance of solid-state drives (SSDs), making it suitable for high-capacity backups and long-term data preservation.
Key specifications include a native capacity of 30TB per cartridge, which can increase to 75TB when using compression techniques. This development, reported on December 6, 2025, expands the utility of tape storage in modern computing environments, particularly for professionals handling large datasets.
While traditional tape drives have been associated with slower access times, this LTO-10 model bridges the gap with SSD-like speeds, potentially appealing to content creators, data archivists, and small-scale enterprises using the Mac Mini as a workstation.