Of course people are queuing up to gulp down Apple’s latest FU to customers. It’s why Apple can get away with it.
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Mac Studio Storage Not User-Upgradeable Due to Software Block [Updated]
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Apple did go to the trouble of explaining how to restore M1 Macs, though, which is a very different process than the old Target Disk Mode rigamarole.
Also, love it or hate it, I’m willing to bet one kidney that the new Mac Pro will still come with user-acessible SSD modules and slots (if the locked-down Studio – with a measly rubber gasket, but still – has it, it makes no sense it wouldn’t have those as well) and that the instructions will be the same as for the Mac Pro 7,1 and work perfectly fine with the Studio as well.
Methinks the so-called average “pro” spewing bile over Apple’s most recent security push and somewhat opaque communication on their newest machine doth protest too much; Apple has a LOOOOONG history of undocumented and officially unsupported upgrade paths, such as advertising half or 75% of the top memory capacity on MacBooks with SO-DIMM slots (because they never bothered to sell those kits and would deprecate certain models before denser memory chips came out, but the Intel chipsets they were using accounted for manufacturers’ roadmaps anyway), slotted CPUs and GPUs *and even extra SATA ports* on very much glued-down, or otherwise hazardously exposed PSU-bearing iMacs, SuperDrive slots which you could install SSDs onto, the uncanny ability to use WiFi+BT modules from newer models on older machines (and even *different* machines; I installed at one point the module from a 2011 MacBook Pro onto my Rev. A 2009 27’’ iMac, for instance), etc.…
And they also have a LOOOOONG history of offering somewhat modular machines on the inside which were a PITA to crack open (do you still remember the OG G4 and Core Solo/Core Duo Mac mini models? How was having to use a godd*mn putty knife to pry those open any better than ungluing a simple gasket – which neither Max nor Luke tried to make any easier with a heat gun or a lowly hair drier, mind you – and/or buying a Torx security bit/driver? It was MUCH worse, and you know it, and I recently had terrible flashbacks from that procedure when I first saw photos from the bottom plate of the Studio, which were fortunately misguided but did seem to suggest a friction fit unibody part).
As for the complaint that ooooh, poor us, having to have *two Macs* (oh, the humanity!) just to be able to open Apple Configurator 2… Give me a break. Any self-respecting professional Mac user will have at least a backup machine, if only a lowly MacBook Air to fire up some e-mails or whatever. Especially if said user is on a budget and keeps their old workstation(s) user-upgraded, on the cheap. The kind of person who does that (I speak from experience) also tends to hoard old Macs for that *very* reason (back during the Target Disk Mode days you also needed a second Mac to do all manners of at-home or at-office repairs, and I didn’t see you complaining this much, my dears).
To wrap it up, and still on the subject of modularity, but here specifically on its effect on repairability: no one here seems to be giving Apple any credit for the INSANE modularity of the Studio’s IO. EVERY. SINGLE. PORT. IS. REPLACEABLE. It’s the first time we’ve ever seen that in an Apple desktop. Not even the freaking Woz-designed Apple II was this repairable when it came to high-wear, movable and power-surge-sensitive parts. Ffs. ?♂️ If Apple ever makes a cheaper version of this thing, or ever applies the same philosophy to a Mac mini, that machine will be a *godsend* for computer labs and libraries. It’ll effectively be the most vandalism-proof machine (or at least the most repairable in the event some punk tries to destroy it with a USB-killer) on the market, period. And that includes, funnily enough, PCs.
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Exactly, and that's why I think it is important that Apple goes back to socketed flash modules on all of their machines - except for those where it is absolutely not doable for space reasons, such as the MacBook Air.
Apple Silicon Macs use the same boot process as iPhones including iBoot. They also are unbrickable as such that even if there is no firmware, they can still use DFU. Apple provides macOS images as IPSW files for Apple Silicon Macs which are used to restore them if they are bricked. It is done through Apple Configurator 2 exactly the same way as with iPhones. You can also use Linux machines with iDeviceRestore to do the same.
For the 2019 Mac Pro and other Macs powered by T1 or T2 security chips, they also support DFU in case the firmware of the T1 / T2 is corrupted. This is done through an IPSW package as well. And exchanging the flash modules of the 2019 Mac Pro requires... (drums) ... an IPSW restore as well.
They simply won't sell them in the same way as the ones for the Mac Pro due to the power supply issue. But I am sure they will sell them to end users through the self-service repair store they are working on. This way, they can rule out liability and are not accountable for users getting shocked by the caps while tinkering.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it here as well: even if they don’t do so at the outset, this looks like a bit of an insurance move, in case the European Commission/Parliament and the US Congress pressure them further with right-to-repair laws. They could effectively add those to the store, or allow users to disable this or that security measure at their own risk, and avoid heavy fines in one fell swoop.
This is another dumb route Apple has gone with inflation, cost of living going up, more people choosing ways to save.
Apple will start losing its customer base. Several people I know already left Apple for Microsoft. I left Apple TV for 4 Amazon Fire Sticks because of pricing.
Some will keep 1 or two Apple products like an iPad and iPhone but customers for items like desktop computers and MacBooks will be lost.
I waited 5 years to get the new 27" iMac. Then Apple released the stupid Studio instead. And no, I won't go to the previous model iMac because I don't trust Apple. In 1-2 years they will do what they always do. "oh you have our previous model? that doesn't use M1? Sorry, you can't upgrade your iOS or download this or that app until you get the new M1 Apple product."
Apple will start losing its customer base. Several people I know already left Apple for Microsoft. I left Apple TV for 4 Amazon Fire Sticks because of pricing.
Some will keep 1 or two Apple products like an iPad and iPhone but customers for items like desktop computers and MacBooks will be lost.
I waited 5 years to get the new 27" iMac. Then Apple released the stupid Studio instead. And no, I won't go to the previous model iMac because I don't trust Apple. In 1-2 years they will do what they always do. "oh you have our previous model? that doesn't use M1? Sorry, you can't upgrade your iOS or download this or that app until you get the new M1 Apple product."
While this could indeed be a reason I rather doubt it or would at least say, it's just a part of the decision. The fact that Apple Silicon Macs with a defective SSDs are entirely broken and can't even be booted off an external SSD is something that Apple surely are aware of. And since those machines are intended for really heavy workloads like a Mac Pro, making it more likely for the storage to reach end of its life before the Mac itself, it's rather important to be able to easily swap out the flash modules instead of having to replace the whole logic board. I bet this was the main reason to go this route.
Im wondering if Apple Silicon is as great as it seems. Yes there are great benefits but
Dont forget how they throw your AirPods in a bin when you need the battery changed and they give you new ones instead.
So you’ve configured your next Windows computer on PC Part Picker and are heading to the dark side? Or just posing?
Who said it was modular? I don't recall Apple asserting such.
Well, if you take it very strictly, they did indeed not claim modularity. They just said that Pro users want modularity if I remember correctly.
Apple defines modularity as being able to plug in thunderbolt accessories for additional functionality, not that you will be able to upgrade the internal specs yourself.
Uh. Steve Jobs was always a fan of locking computers down. Bill Gates wasn’t.
It's right in their press release.
The main issue is Apple redefined the definition of "modular." Based on their new definition, the iPhone would be "modular" because you can plug in a Lightning to video adapter.
IPSW is the boot image, in this case of macOS. ARM Macs boot similarly to iPhones.
Thanks for your informative reply and thank you for not using any snark. ?Exactly, and that's why I think it is important that Apple goes back to socketed flash modules on all of their machines - except for those where it is absolutely not doable for space reasons, such as the MacBook Air.
Apple Silicon Macs use the same boot process as iPhones including iBoot. They also are unbrickable as such that even if there is no firmware, they can still use DFU. Apple provides macOS images as IPSW files for Apple Silicon Macs which are used to restore them if they are bricked. It is done through Apple Configurator 2 exactly the same way as with iPhones. You can also use Linux machines with iDeviceRestore to do the same.
For the 2019 Mac Pro and other Macs powered by T1 or T2 security chips, they also support DFU in case the firmware of the T1 / T2 is corrupted. This is done through an IPSW package as well. And exchanging the flash modules of the 2019 Mac Pro requires... (drums) ... an IPSW restore as well.
The Mac Studio is specifically _not_ sold as being modular, which is why they ended the presentation by pointing out that there's one last model, Mac Pro, that's not yet moved to Apple Silicon.
Right, but when Apple does that, it's usually because it'd cost more to not be modular, but they don't want to deal with the customer support issues of people opening up a computer that's not meant to be user-serviced - it's a pretty complex process, so fine for a tech, but not for random consumers. If it were intended to be consumer upgraded, it'd be more like (for example) the RAM in sockets in iMacs, where there's a door that opens directly to the RAM for users to swap in. In this case they don't want people swapping storage, but didn't spend more to invent non-swappable storage when they can buy SSDs from the industry more efficiently. Given how obsessively Apple removes points of failure, perhaps they found that swapping internal storage was a major source of problems when they've done it before? A bit like removing swappable batteries from iPhones - inconvenient for people who know how to do it, but fewer failures and support issues for Apple to deal with.
They did refer to it as 'modular' (see posts above). However I think Apple defines 'modular' as having the display separate from the computer. Thus the Mac mini is also 'modular' by that definition.
Indeed, with the Lisa and Mac, and then with the iPhones, Steve Jobs had Apple release the first computers where they intentionally didn't list the specs in the first place, if I recall correctly.
