Apple USB SuperDrive

Reviews for Apple USB SuperDrive

Customer Reviews and Ratings

3.0 out of 5 stars

Based on 133 reviews

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Great Product

    • Written by from Oakland

    I use this product all the time and it works great.

    13 of 19 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Tribute to simplicity

    • Written by from Elmira

    Just finished re ripping my classical and jazz cd collection to new MacBook pro well over a hundred cd's. Flawless performance just proves simplicity is best. No drivers no hassles just plugged into usb port and was ready to go.
    IMO this is a great little cd player.

    19 of 26 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Std USB

    • Written by from Mont Saint-Hilaire

    Nice product, looking good and works nicely. It is a bit deceptive that this writer comes with std USB instead of a USB3 connexion. I had to add this drive to my new iMac and since I have USB3 connexions, I thought that Apple could have come at least with this type of connexion for the drive.

    13 of 24 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Does exactly what you ask of it

    • Written by from Grand Rapids

    It just works and looks good doing it.

    30 of 58 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Only works for DVDs and CDs

    • Written by from peabody

    I was disappointed the drive wasn't capable of bluray technology. I'm a long time pc user, my last pc had bluray 5 years ago, this is my first Mac. That's why I gave it 4 stars. Other than that, it works good and the size is great, and nice looking!

    40 of 60 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Great accessory, wish it had Thunderbolt

    • Written by from Dallas

    Thunderbolt has been out since 2011, so why does this drive not do Thunderbolt, or USB 3? Also, it's high time that Apple made this thing work with more than just Macs without an optical drive. What's up with that? For all of the people who come here to bash this product, and complain about it not working, why don't you contact AppleCare instead of complaining? Bad reviews are fine, but don't you think you should get help before writing the bad review? Perhaps you just got a lemon, or maybe you're doing something wrong? I've used this drive a lot, and it has always performed well. I would rate it with 5 stars if it had more current I/O.

    21 of 29 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Start-up detail

    • Written by from Emeryville

    My late-2012 iMac (my first Apple computer) showed no signs of recognizing a new device when I followed the 4 line-long instructions to plug the Super-Drive into the USB. I opened up Finder/Devices/Remote Disc. No information. But upon pushing a CD into the device, it awoke and listed the CD in Finder/Devices. No big deal, I am just used to Windows.

    20 of 22 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    to the owner of the 27" imac

    • Written by from Kokomo

    OK Run software update install al updates plug in the usb superdrive then it should work.

    13 of 21 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Really great product!

    • Written by from San Clemente

    I've never had any problems with it and it is fast!!
    The only downside, in my perspective, is it's limited capabilities. For the price, I think apple can create a SuperDrive to include the ability to play Bluray Discs. Considering the new MacBooks with the Retina display, bluray would be a wonderful option.

    24 of 28 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    It works.

    • Written by from Seattle

    Works as advertised. Solid construction, light.

    16 of 21 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Pretty good/okay so far

    • Written by from East Freetown

    The drive is nice and fast. I have had it a few days and have been loading many CDs into itunes. Many of the CDs are nearly new. One James Taylor CD that I have only played once that was new and clean would not be accepted by the drive until I put it in 8 times after it kept rejecting it. When it works, it is really very good. It is just this one CD that it did not like. Hopefully is stays working.

    29 of 33 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Works Reliably - But Needs a USB Extension cable - for practical use.

    • Written by from Longmont

    This drive has worked great for me. I have had it for almost 2 years. It has never failed. My only complaint is the very short USB cable. The short cable does not allow you to sit the drive in an optimal orientation for use. I had to use a short USB extension cable (not included) so that I could position the drive where I wanted it to be on the work surface. I would have given it 5 stars otherwise. It would be nice if an extension cable was included.

    45 of 50 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    God for occasional use

    • Written by from Lexington

    I bought this to use with my Macbook Air, I only need it occasionally and for the most part it does its job. After using it for the last few weeks (6 or 7 times) it seems pretty reliable my only complaint is if the drive isn't completely flat it doesn't always eject the cds. Most of time I have to eject them a couple of times before it works. Otherwise it's great, light device. I am not sure though if I would recommend it for regular use considering the price and the problems with getting to eject.

    70 of 86 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    It works. Period.

    • Written by from Clearwater

    Purchased one today to use with the 15" MBP Retina display I purchased yesterday. I used it to install Office for Mac 2011 and CS5 Design Premium. It worked quickly and flawlessly. Frankly, I am not sure why so many people have issues with this optical drive. Only 4 stars as the design is adequate but not breathtaking.

    66 of 80 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Drive is dependent on disk?

    • Written by from Mississauga

    Yesterday I rated the drive 1 star. I put in an HP DVD-R 16x with LightScribe disk and it refused to recognize the disk at all. Total fail. I tried several known virgin disks.

    Today I bought some Memorex DVD+R 16x disks and popped one in and it worked perfectly first time. Not the fastest drive in the world (limited to 8x on my system) but like all Apple stuff, it just worked, no fiddling with man pages!

    Wonder if it is the minus R that is the problem, or the Lightscribe, or something else?

    However, if you have a DOA drive as mine was, I suggest putting in a new, vanilla +R disk.

    66 of 74 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    The SuperDrive has been a work horse

    • Written by from Ottumwa

    I purchased my SuperDrive at an Apple Store shortly after I received my 15" MacBook Pro with retina display. All of my music was on a 6 year old MacBook and Apple wanted me to leave both of my laptops at their store for 24-48 hours to get the music transferred. I didn't really want to be without my machines. I had a little time on my hands (I am retired) so I decided to load all of my music CD by CD. The SuperDrive performed nearly flawlessly. It took a couple of days but I got it done! I synced all of the remaining music from my iPhone. I did have some disc ejection issues, but it was always a slightly warped disc. When I loaded Office 11 it took me a while to locate the eject command in Office, otherwise the disc would still be in the drive. It would be nice to have an eject button on the SuperDrive.

    61 of 64 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Yes, it's overpriced; yes, it's worth it.

    • Written by from Orlando

    I have a MacBook Pro with Retina Display, which has no built-in optical drive, and I was in need of one. Initially, when I saw the price of the Apple USB SuperDrive, I laughed and looked elsewhere for a Mac-compatible external USB DVD Burner. I found one on Amazon by a very reputable manufacturer at less than half the price. It had good overall reviews, so I didn't hesitate to order it. I got it, and my first impressions were, "wow, this thing feels cheap." It was made of glossy, cheap-feeling plastic, which I had no problem with since I would only have to use it occasionally.

    However, the performance of the unit was awful. It would disconnect at times, burn jobs would fail, and when it did work, it was painfully slow even for an optical drive. I had to return it because it was practicably unusable. I then bit the bullet and ordered an Apple USB SuperDrive, and I'm glad I did.

    My first impressions were, "this feels sturdy," and "wow, that's pretty." It matches the MacBook Pro perfectly, with the same finish and build quality. Performance was excellent compared to the first drive I tried, and it "just works."

    Overall, I'm very happy with it. Yes, the Apple drive is a little overpriced, but you definitely get what you pay for in this instance, at least in my experience. I would recommend just going with the Apple USB SuperDrive if you don't want to deal with the hassle of the cheaper drives.

    133 of 143 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    It is what it is.

    • Written by from Rochester

    I wish it had blu-ray capability but it otherwise works fine.

    115 of 138 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Great, but...

    • Written by from Orlando

    I really loved this product, as I am a gamer and need a DVD drive. Though, it is really bad that Super Drive takes up one of my USB ports as there are 2 USB ports in the new MacBook Pro (retina). I would rather use my Thunderbolt port as it is less used. Still, does my job.

    63 of 73 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    the Superdrive is SUPER!

    • Written by from Topeka

    Just like the product description, takes up very little space. The short cord is both a positive -no mess of wires and a negative -short wire means it has to be close to the unit (air, mini or pro).

    Overall though it burns fast and the design is very nice.

    Vibrates, but not enough to be bothersome.

    40 of 48 people found this useful

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