Important note on upgrading an iMac: This is a hard, technical project. It can take 8 hours or more. There is a chance you can break your very expensive screen. Please do a lot of research before attempting this. If you get into this and decide it’s not worth it, just tell us you were working on an iMac and we’ll happily refund your purchase. If you manage the repair successfully, let us know so we can put you in our iMac Hall of Fame! Here is a handy guide from iFixit that we like.
Important note on M13 Turbo and P12: Apple used the mSATA drive form factor equivalent for EMC 2544 and EMC 2555, the late 2012 to early 2013 iMac 21.5” before swapping to SSD for all newer models.
EMC 2544 or EMC 2555: Pay attention to P12
EMC 2889, EMC 2833, EMC 3068, or EMC 3069: Pay attention to M13 Turbo
Fledging took flight in 2018 on a mission to bring premium electronics to everyone, starting with SSD storage. In 2018, our founder was in the middle of a PhD program when his Mac started dying. His only choices were to sacrifice his Apple experience or spend a ton of money on a newer device. Instead, he invented a premium Mac SSD upgrade, and Feather SSD was born.
The iMac 21.5” A1418 series offers the best of Apple in a single desktop unit, with a gorgeous retina display. But the iMac is limited by either a 1TB native SSD from Apple, or an actual HDD on most models. Not the juice you’re looking for with that kind of desktop set up. We built our Feather M13 Turbo and Feather P12 product lines to make it even better. In this article, we’ll explain the three main benefits of upgrading your iMac A1418 with Feather M13 Turbo or Feather P12 and how you can buy Feather for your iMac.
First, Feather M13 Turbo is a true SSD upgrade for your iMac 21.5”. Like Apple, we've maxed the sequential speeds of the NVMe form factor. Our M13 Turbo series runs up to 3000 MB/s Read and 2500 MB/s Write, depending on your device. Even without the maxed sequential speeds, your daily processing, running multiple apps, and prolonged use will all feel more responsive than ever. Our M13 Turbo series doesn’t slow down at all once 50% full, unlike other NVMe SSDs. We built Turbo with up to 2TB capacity, or twice what Apple shipped the iMac 21.5” A1468. Twice the storage. Faster performance. Turn your old iMac into a new iMac.
P12: Like Apple, we've maxed the sequential speeds of the mSATA form factor at 450MB/s Read and Write and up to 1 terabyte of data. With a newer SSD, your iMac will perform like new (or better!)
Second, Feather M13 Turbo is built to be affordable. By building our own SSD adapter from scratch and partnering with the best-performing and most stable SSD manufacturers, we’re able to sell this SSD upgrade for less than our competition, while giving you better results. Why? That’s Fledging’s mission - “premium electronics for everyone” means “everyone should be able to afford our products”. Feather is typically 10-20% less expensive than other SSDs that perform about as well, while notably outperforming SSDs that are less expensive.
P12: This is the same for P12. We’re here for you to win.
Third, it’s DIY with (almost) everything you need to upgrade your iMac (M13 Turbo and P12)
- Note that replacing an iMac drive requires a special toolkit for removing the screen without damaging the seal. Do your research first (here’s a handy guide from iFixit)
- We pre-load macOS High Sierra, though you can upgrade to a new OS once installed
- You can contact us online, at our FAQ, or by emailing [email protected] to connect with Laura, our Customer Success Manager (and real, live human).
- Upgrading your Apple iMac’s solid state drive SSD involves a lot of moving parts. We're worked hard to simplify all that for you
You came here looking for an SSD upgrade for your iMac 21.5”A1418. It’s a beautiful, integrated desktop Mac with a lot of power but some frustrating limits. We hope it’s clear that Feather M13 Turbo or P12 are the best SSD upgrades for you. Still not sure? Check out the reviews on our Amazon listing (and here’s P12).
What’s M13-S? Some people want to max out their iMac. That’s what Turbo is for. Others need a rock-solid SSD upgrade that matches Apple OEM performance while saving a little more cash. That’s what M13-S is for. We recommend M13 Turbo as the better SSD, but if you need to save a few dollars, M13-S is here for you at 1500MB/s Read and 1100 MB/s Write, with less snappy performance and the unfortunate SSD slowdown once 50% full. M13 Turbo and M13-S are compatible with all the same devices
Want top end speed, multi-tasking, and up to 3000/2500 MB/s Read/Write? Choose M13 Turbo (unless you have EMC 2544 or EMC 2555, then choose P12)
Want solid speeds, up to 1500/1100 MB/s Read/Write, and to save 10-15% from Turbo? Choose M13-S (unless you have EMC 2544 or EMC 2555, then choose P12)
What's next for you?
Double check your device’s compatibility here using your EMC number.
Buy Feather M13 Turbo for iMac 21.5" A1418 now at www.fledging.net!
Buy P12 for iMac 21.5” A1418 now at www.fledging.net!
Still not sure how to proceed? Check out this detailed guide from iFixit and take a peek at our comprehensive support documents.
Need to upgrade another Mac? Feather by Fledging offers upgrades for MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac Mini for storage capacities ranging from 128GB to 2TB.
Thanks for joining the tens of thousands who have taken flight with Fledging!