Expertise is at all times shifting ahead, which regularly means previous know-how will get left behind. For instance, NekoMichiUBC on X has found that the macOS Tahoe beta lacks help for FireWire. That signifies that legacy units, such because the authentic and 2nd-generation iPod, storage units. cameras, and extra gained’t work with Macs operating Tahoe.
It’s truly spectacular that Apple has supported FireWire for thus lengthy, since Apple tends to drop previous tech in just a few years. Identified by the usual identify of IEEE 1394 (FireWire is Apple’s branding), Apple led its improvement within the late Eighties as an answer for units that wanted high-speed connectivity. Within the 2000s, USB turned standard and FireWire ports on Macs have been finally dropped, however help had been saved in macOS till Tahoe.
What to do when you have a FireWire system you wish to use? Properly, you don’t must improve to Tahoe; your Mac is simply nice operating that older model of macOS. It means, although, you could’t use Tahoe’s options. It additionally signifies that any options that function between iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and Tahoe gained’t be accessible to you, resembling Name Screening. In case you have a spare Mac, you possibly can determine not set up Tahoe on it and use it when it’s essential use FireWire units, like an iPod.
In case you rely on these previous FireWire units day by day, it’s a good suggestion to improve, particularly if it’s a storage system. That FireWire onerous drive has a number of miles on it, so its probabilities of failure are comparatively excessive and rising daily. You’ll be able to in all probability get a sooner drive with much more storage for a lower cost than what you paid for that FireWire drive (storage was way more costly again then). Get our picks for the finest exterior onerous drives and SSDs. If it’s a digicam, your iPhone 15 in all probability produces higher high quality photographs, although utilizing previous cameras for stylistic functions is a factor. We get it.
There’s at all times an opportunity Apple might reinstate FireWire help in Tahoe–it’s in beta and modifications at all times occur throughout the cycle. There doesn’t appear to be any technical consequence to it, however Apple likes to drop previous tech as a part of its correct housekeeping apply. Chances are high, it’s gone, so take the time to organize your self earlier than Tahoe is formally launched within the fall. Be taught extra about macOS Tahoe.
