Professional storage and networking accessory company Sonnet Technologies today announced a pair of solutions for Mac Studio users who are looking to rack mount their machines alongside other components.
The RackMac Studio is a 3U rackmount enclosure measuring 9.5 inches deep that can support a pair of Mac Studio units while preserving access to the front ports and offering front access to a USB-A port and the power button for each machine right from the front of the enclosure. Space beneath the Mac Studio units can also be used to house small peripherals like bus-powered external SSDs. It will be priced at $449.99 and will be available starting the week of October 24.
The xMac Studio is a larger enclosure that still measures 3U high but 16.5 inches deep and which can pair a single Mac Studio with Sonnet's Thunderbolt to PCIe card expansion systems. The enclosure is available in three configurations for maximum flexibility: with either an Echo I or Echo III module or without a module in case you want to reuse an existing one. All versions also include a four-port USB-A hub fed from the Mac Studio, as well as a front-mounted power button and space underneath for small peripherals.
The Echo I module includes a single x16 PCIe slot for one full-height, full-length card, a single 40Gbps Thunderbolt port, dual fans, and a 400W power supply, while the Echo III module bumps that up to three PCIe slots (one x16 and two x8) and two Thunderbolt ports. The version without an expansion module will be priced at $549.99, while the Echo I version will be priced at $1,249.99 and the Echo III version will be priced at $1,649.99. The xMac Studio systems will begin shipping the week of September 26.
Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development.
Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag.
Timing
Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false.
The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by Tim Hardwick
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence.
Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476
The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick.
"We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote.
If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by Juli Clover
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices.
With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...
Has anyone been able to get GPUs working with M1 Macs via Thunderbolt to PCIe bridges?
There are zero 3rd parth GPU drivers for macOS on M-seires. In fact, there is not even an DriverKit API for "Graphics" at all for 3rd party drivers. There is a PCI-e DriverKit API. So there are already more than several cards that work. Apple has provide not even a long term abstraction on how to get 3rd party GPUs working with Apple Silicon. It has been three WWDCs (2020 , 2021 , 2022 ) and nothing.
I would not hold my breath waiting on one. Intel's current purgatory on jacked up , immature GPU drivers is only even more evidence about why Apple probably is in zero hurry to provide one. Just getting the Apple GPU driver family smoothly flushed over a much wider breadth of performance implementations and a large set of 3rd party controlled applications fully updated on optimizations is a huge task.
I have used the xMac 2013 MacPro version of this with PCI expansion and currently using the Mac Mini version of this with my M1 Mini and BlackMagic Decklink Duo 2. They are rock solid. I have been holding off on getting a Studio until Sonnet made a solution for it.
Looks good and is something I would do but the price is hilarious.
How is it hilarious? The price is nothing to the professionals who will be purchasing it. If you're able to afford a Mac Studio, surely you are able to afford this, or at least be able to get the work, to then be able to afford this. Surely this was not made for the hobbyist.
