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Mac Studio Storage Not User-Upgradeable Due to Software Block [Updated]

Nicole1980 said:
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.
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And that's where internal consistency for Apple ends. Apple's own marketing materials state:

  • Mac Pro = "modular system"
  • Mac Studio = "modular system"
  • Mac mini = no reference to being "modular"

Apple's marketing team so desperately wants to separate itself from the PC that they're just reinventing definitions.
 
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Apple_Robert said:
It didn't take long for Max Tech to be shown his clickbait video was just that.
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Which one would that be? (hint the the one in the topic is a Luke Miani video).

All he has done is rip them Studios apart, find 2 SSD slots and suggested that the might be useable for expansion.
Luke one the other side made some pretty far out claims with no evidence to back them up.

-> noone (except Apple) knows anything for sure, Max made that clear, Luke thinks he knows stuff he does not.
 
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SR 7 said:
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.
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My 2018 Mini is my last Mac. Sorry Apple but why should your OS update dictate what I do with my 32-bit software I own.
 
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Bug-Creator said:
Which one would that be? (hint the the one in the topic is a Luke Miani video).

All he has done is rip them Studios apart, find 2 SSD slots and suggested that the might be useable for expansion.
Luke one the other side made some pretty far out claims with no evidence to back them up.

-> noone (except Apple) knows anything for sure, Max made that clear, Luke thinks he knows stuff he does not.
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I was referring to the MR thread (and another user thread) about the Max Tech video claiming the SSD was user upgradeable.
 
CarlJ said:
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.
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Steve Jobs very much locked down the software and didn't always advertise the hardware specs in great detail, but when it came to upgrading, that was never a problem. The G4 Cube was intentionally designed to be highly repairable, and Steve Jobs even opened it up on stage to demonstrate how easy it was to access the components within the system. (Back then it was impressive for a machine of that size. Granted, they didn't leave the power supply exposed back then either, which played a big part of it. But in all likelihood, Apple could have designed the Mac Studio similarly if they wanted to).

These days, that trend has changed. I do understand it on the MacBooks (they genuinely wouldn't be able to make them this thin without shrinking the batteries if they were to use NVME slots and upgradable DIMMs). On the Apple-Silicon Mac Mini and Mac Studio, I still understand the RAM (upgradable RAM isn't really possible with Unified Memory), but as far as the storage, it doesn't really make sense to solder it on when it comes to larger form factors. And it appears Apple did in fact leave it unsoldered for the Mac Studio.

(And truthfully, while I greatly admire how thin the MacBooks are, I would personally rather them make the Macs slightly thicker and have them be user-serviceable again. That's a matter of opinion, but at least as far as the MacBook Pros are concerned, I know a lot of people who agree).

What waits to be seen is whether Apple will open programs to repair or replace just the SSD (and whether they will allow their authorized repair partners to do the same). My hope is that the answer will be yes, because nobody spending several thousand on a high-end machine will be terribly happy at the news of being told they will need an entirely new logic board or computer if their SSD fails. My expectation is that this will be rolled out in some fashion or another.

Another question is with regards to the Mac Pro: Are they going to move to external RAM and storage and make the new Mac Pro's user-upgradable like the existing ones? This one is an interesting one, I'm waiting eagerly for its release and am very curious what direction they plan on taking it.
 
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Apple_Robert said:
Max Tech video claiming the SSD was user upgradeable.
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His "clickbait" was that the SSD was upgradeable (notice the missing "user" here) which is 100% true.
Wether Apple will ever offer those upgrades or allow 3rd parties to offer them is yet unknown, but the fact still remains that it can be done in principle.
 
What are you doing reading page 9 of the comments? Go back to some of the initial sane comments on page 2 where folks didn't jump to conclusions that "Apple is so mean, waaaah" ? instead there are a few technical non-evil considerations like iBoot and Secure Enclave.
 
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This is a lot like the stunts MS is pulling with inserting ads in the software and imposing watermarks across the screens of machines deemed not new enough for their high quality, super-duper software.
 
NapoleonIV said:
This sounds like he may have wiped the efi partition. Try installing macOS on the new ssd, verify that it boots externally, and then install it.
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I posed the exact same question on the video after watching it. Though a lot of things were probably cut out of the video, I do think he tried to boot from a wiped drive. Of course it wouldn't work without an OS.

He also showed disabling Secure Boot on one of the Macs, but not both. If he did swap boot drives with an OS from another Mac, it wouldn't boot either without either disabling Secure Boot on the second Mac or pairing it with Configurator.

Something was definitely missing, so I don't think the video proved anything conclusively.
 
kamikrazee said:
This is a lot like the stunts MS is pulling with inserting ads in the software and imposing watermarks across the screens of machines deemed not new enough for their high quality, super-duper software.
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Agreed. Shenanigans like this are part of why I've been a proud Mac user for years (despite Apple's own shortcomings, no company is perfect). I almost bought a Surface recently as a secondary work machine (it would have helped me test some things on different platforms and run a few applications that run better on Windows). When I found out that Windows 11 didn't even support some of Microsoft's very own surfaces, I turned the other way.
 
kamikrazee said:
This is a lot like the stunts MS is pulling with inserting ads in the software and imposing watermarks across the screens of machines deemed not new enough for their high quality, super-duper software.
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No, it’s not at all like that.

This is just some dude making stuff up and ignoring DFU restores and ipsw’s because he doesn’t understand how keys are stored in the Secure Enclave.
 
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Spock said:
These kinds of software lockouts are something that should be against the law. I really hope that Apple catches some crap for this but they won't.
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Won't they? They are copping a lot of crap all around the world for all kinds of things. There's plenty of legal action in place, and brewing. The house of cards is in danger of falling.
 
Spock said:
These kinds of software lockouts are something that should be against the law. I really hope that Apple catches some crap for this but they won't.
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No law needed. Just don't buy it. If this is true and you can't replace/upgrade it then that stinks. But instead of a law how about users stop buying their stuff. But they will make billions in profits because they make great products that people want.
 
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Jason2000 said:
Why are people acting upset or mad over this. This is Apple and they have become a very greedy company. Either deal with it or quit buying Apple products.
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This isn’t greed. The OS is on the SSD. The SSD is encrypted. The machine can’t boot without decrypting the SSD. But the key to the SSD is on the old machine, not the machine the SSD is being transferred to.

Why *should* this work?!?! The correct procedure is to do a remote restore so you get the right key onto the SSD, and install the OS from scratch.

The guy is making up stories about why this doesn’t work, but he didn’t even do it right.
 
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InuNacho said:
My 2018 Mini is my last Mac. Sorry Apple but why should your OS update dictate what I do with my 32-bit software I own.
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Fare thee well on the other side! It’s not like Apple hasn’t been telling users and developers since 2006 that eventually 32-but would be going away. They’ve been perfectly clear in this regard. Anyone paying attention should have prepared for Apple doing exactly what it said it would do.
 
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I like Luke M., but I think he jumped a couple of guns in his UT.

1) Someone mentioned, Apple on the 2nd SSD slot could have given the option to wipe and reformat to a new key. I am sure Apple has a tool or some hidden firmware that probably can do this, but why would anyone expecat Apple in a clearly designed consumer non-upgradable machine to offer this response? Just not going to happen.

2) This is probably not the case, but the assumption is the the removable SSD adhere to industry standards. It may not. But even a slight change or a few pins changed would be a lot of work for a 3rd party to make one. Has anyone commented on the new Apple SSD interface yet if industry standards?

3Heck, Apple might have even put in some security type enclave (or raised the bar somewhat) on the removable SSD to protect removal to some device that someone could attempt a brute force attack esp is the key are weak. Who knows- some governments and celebariteys would like that added value. Or it could just be the physical placard for some future enhance proprietary APPLE SSDs.
 
skoor2 said:
I like Luke M., but I think he jumped a couple of guns in his UT.

1) Someone mentioned, Apple on the 2nd SSD slot could have given the option to wipe and reformat to a new key. I am sure Apple has a tool or some hidden firmware that probably can do this, but why would anyone expecat Apple in a clearly designed consumer non-upgradable machine to offer this response? Just not going to happen.

2) This is probably not the case, but the assumption is the the removable SSD adhere to industry standards. It may not. But even a slight change or a few pins changed would be a lot of work for a 3rd party to make one.

3Heck, Apple might have even put in some security type enclave (or raised the bar somewhat) on the removable SSD to protect removal to some device that someone could attempt a brute force attack. Who knows- some governments and celebariteys would like that added value. Has anyone commented on the new Apple SSD interface yet if industry standards?
Click to expand...

The part that is removable is not a standard SSD - it doesn’t even have the controller on-board. It’s essentially just the flash memory. The controller and keys are stored in the M1 SoC.
 
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This will be very good for the environment and poorer countries when your SSD dies you just throw it away. No need to fix it or pass it down to someone who could make use of it.
 
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