New 27-Inch iMac Disassembled, Aftermarket SSD Install Deemed Difficult

Yesterday, we noted that Apple's new 27" iMac for the first time allows users to configure their machines with a second hard drive, offering a 256 GB solid state drive as an option for the second bay.

215433 2010 27 inch imac open 500
Location of second hard drive bay in new 27" iMac

A number of consumers have wondered about the possibility of aftermarket installation of drives into this bay, should they choose to go with the single-drive option at purchase and perhaps add a second drive later as prices drop and/or capacities increase. To answer that question, Other World Computing has opened up one of the new iMacs and unfortunately found that the task would not be a simple one unless the machine originally shipped with dual drives.

The good news is that the SSD bay available in the new iMacs holds a standard 2.5" form factor drive, which means you can install a high-performance OWC Mercury Extreme SSD for the speed advantage over Apple's SSDs.

The bad news is that, unless your Mid 2010 iMac originally came with an Apple SSD, there's no graceful way to install an OWC one. The appropriate mounting bracket and connector cables are nowhere to be found on the non-SSD models.

The report goes on to detail one somewhat inelegant method in which a user of a single-drive iMac could add a second drive, but the solution is certainly not ideal.

Related Roundup: iMac
Buyer's Guide: iMac (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: iMac

Popular Stories

wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...

Top Rated Comments

gnasher729 Avatar
203 months ago
Haha, labor? It's Chinese wage-slave factory workers, the labor is dirt cheap for them. You're also missing the point, they make user-installation quite tricky when it doesn't really need to be.

User installation of a second drive is exactly the same or easier as with the previous model. There's a lesson to be learned here: Make something better, by adding the option to buy the computer with two drives installed, and people will find something to complain about. If Apple didn't offer the iMac with two drives, nobody would complain. So this is totally irrational.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NetJunkie Avatar
203 months ago
Umm... if Apple can find space in the NEW iMacs to ship with a 2nd drive in there, I think that space should still exist even if the new 27" iMac comes with only 1 drive.

Yeah..but why put the parts in when they aren't needed? Costs money. Takes time to install them. Then you have people that crack it open and install their own and find out the cable is bad..so there are more warranty claims. It's about money...simple.

This isn't Apple. This is everyone. When I order servers if I don't order an option the manufacturer doesn't go ahead and include the SAS RAID cage just because...or the cables to hook it up.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Object-X Avatar
203 months ago
Meme

You can take the user out of the PC, but you can't take the PC out of the user.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Patrick J Avatar
203 months ago
Your installing it wrong.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
eemsTV Avatar
189 months ago
So basically, I can't get an SSD installed since I got the HDD only edition?
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)