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Good luck repairing anything in the new iMac
If you've read our review of the new iMac, you already know that a majority of what's really new about Apple's latest all-in-one is its accessories. The destructive folks over at iFixit say that the 21.5-inch model has what "looks like" an LG ultra-HD display and a Texas Instruments chip, while the fan and HDD are the same -- the speakers are too. The logic board is where the surprises come in, and they might not make you too happy. Configure a machine without flash storage or a Fusion Drive? You won't be able to add one at a later date because those don't include an onboard connector to do so.
Daily Update for October 7, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Apple adds 256 GB, 512 GB flash storage options to iMac
There's something new under the sun for those interested in buying an iMac. MacRumors is reporting that Apple now has two new flash storage options available for the iMac, both of which can be purchased when buying a configure-to-order device from the online Apple Store. iMac buyers interested in replacing the standard 1 TB SATA hard disk drive have had the 1 TB Fusion Drive option available since the introduction of the new thinner models last fall. Now that slow mechanical drive can be replaced with either a 256 GB (US$300 extra) or 512 GB ($600) flash storage option. With the 27-inch iMac, it's always been possible to purchase an all-flash storage solution -- a 768 GB drive at a $900 price tag -- as well as 1 TB and 3 TB hard drive and Fusion Drive configurations. Apple's current move appears to be aimed at those people who might not need tons of storage in their iMacs, but who want the speed of flash storage instead.
Finding Steve's recovery partition: Solving an Apple mystery
Yesterday, fellow blogger Steve Sande hopped into the TUAW backchannel all fussed. As part of some iMovie troubleshooting he was doing with Apple's support wizards, he was trying to get his new iMac to boot into the recovery partition and was getting nowhere. Holding down the Option key during reboot wasn't showing the volume as an option the way he expected. Has this happened to you? Well, there's a reason the recovery partition didn't show up -- Steve was working with a Fusion drive-based system. We started by checking that the disk contained the recovery partition. To do this, I had Steve launch the Terminal app and enter "diskutil list" (no quotes) at the command line. As you can see in the screenshot above, there was a "Recovery HD" partition listed under /dev/disk1. After confirming the partition, I recommended that Steve use the standard Command-R trick. You press and hold Command-R during reboot to choose the recovery partition. (Using Command-Option-R starts Internet Recovery for completely hosed systems where you need to to install a new drive.) This worked. A few quick Google searches later, we realized that Fusion drives seem to disallow the option-key-then-select-Recovery-volume-to-boot-from trick so many of us are used to. Apparently, this applies to both Apple-shipped Fusion drives as well as roll-your-own solutions. Fusion Drives also use a unique version of Disk Utility. As this Apple knowledge base article points out, "The version of Disk Utility that comes with Fusion Drive is unique. Earlier versions of Disk Utility can't be used with a Fusion Drive."
New 27-inch iMac's HDD, SSD and Fusion Drive options benchmarked
The folks at Bare Feats have put together a handy look at the performance of four of the five storage options available when custom-ordering a new 27-inch iMac through Apple. These include a 1 TB and 3 TB hard disk (a 7,200 RPM Seagate Barracuda), 768 GB solid state drive and 1 TB Fusion Drive. Their results with the latter are pretty impressive, but come with a noteworthy caveat. In their testing, Bare Feet found that the SSD option obviously performs best, offering a throughput of 440 MB/s when writing large files and 477 MB/s when reading large files. Small random transfers hit 208 MB/s when writing and 140 MB/s when reading. By comparison, the Fusion Drive managed 325 MB/s when writing large files and 482 MB/s when reading them (127 MB/s and 129 MB/s when writing/reading small files, respectively). The Fusion Drive saw a substantial (nearly 50 percent) decrease in transfer speed when attempting to move files larger than the free space on the drive's "fused" SSD portion, however. As for the traditional hard disk options, they performed about as well as you'd expect. You can check out the full benchmarks on Bare Feats -- a recommended read for anyone thinking of going built-to-order.
Fusion Drive now available on entry-level 21.5-inch iMacs
Over the weekend, Apple began offering the Fusion Drive as an option on the entry-level 21.5-inch iMac. The Fusion Drive is a hybrid traditional HHD/SSD combo, which allows the faster write speeds of SSDs while offering the larger storage capacity of HHDs. Previously the Fusion Drive was only available as a BTO (built-to-order) option on the high-end Mac mini, high-end 21.5-inch iMac and the 27-inch iMac. As with other Macs, adding a Fusion drive to the entry-level 21.5-inch iMac will set you back US$250.
Mac mini review (2012)
More Info Mac Mini updated in two new flavors, at $599 for i5 dual-core and $999 for i7 quad-core server model iFixit opens up new Mac Mini, has no trouble putting it all back together again Mac mini review (mid 2011) October 23rd was mostly the iPad mini's coming out party; an event with one major headliner. But that newborn product didn't enter Apple's ecosystem alone. Amidst the flurry of announcements, there was one other wee hardware relative on hand ready to join in on the launch festivities: a refreshed 2012 Mac mini. Addressing criticisms of last year's model, Apple added USB 3.0 ports, upgraded to third-generation Ivy Bridge Core processors and boosted the standard RAM allotment to 4GB (you can configure it with up to 16 gigs). Perhaps most interestingly, it's now offering a hybrid storage option, the so-called FusionDrive, which combines flash memory with a SATA HDD. One quirk still remains, though: the product's demographic leanings. Just who is the Mac mini for? Is it the go-anywhere, portable desktop best integrated in yachts, airports, automobiles and living rooms? Or, with a starting price of $599, is it the perfect, low-cost migration assistant (pun intended) for consumers making the switch from a Windows desktop? Follow on to see which hat this not-quite-an-HTPC wears best.
Mac Pro owner crafts an example Fusion Drive, shows the fearless how it's done
Mac fans not keen on picking up a new iMac to get that best-of-all-worlds Fusion Drive might not have to consider a full-on system swap if they're brave enough. Knowing how Apple's approach unites an SSD and a spinning hard drive in a single logical volume, developer Patrick Stein has used command line code to do just that inside his Mac Pro and prove that it works. His series of experiments with organized data shows the effect on storage speeds and that the pseudo-Fusion should even work with less common ZFS formatting. The publicly available instructions could well be tempting to Mac fans who want speed and storage all at once, although we might personally take a pass -- there's more than a fair share of risk in using an unofficial hack to recreate a storage technique that Apple hasn't even shipped.
Want to Roll-Your-Own Fusion drive? It's not for the faint of heart
If you've been lusting after a Fusion Drive but own an older Mac, a Fusion-like solution may not be entirely out of your reach. Posts at the jollyjinx tumblr detail how the eponymous hacker built his own Fusion-style SSD/Hard Drive hybrid using features built directly into OS X. Lee Hutchinson over at Ars Technica explains the technology behind this, discussing how Core Storage (first introduced in Lion) can tie two devices together into a single logical volume. If you're interested in the fundamentals that power Fusion, both Hutchinson's post and jollyjinx's write-ups (Fusion drive on older Macs, More on BYO Fusion Drive, Fusion Drive Loose Ends) offer absolutely fascinating reads. As for me, I'm just going to use the Apple-built version that should arrive on November 6, according to my shipping statement. If you have a spare Mac with an internal SSD and end up trying this all out, please let us know how it worked for you.
Apple posts Fusion Drive FAQ
Have you just ordered a new Mac? Today, Apple posted a Knowledge Base article regarding the new Fusion Drive for the refreshed iMac and Mac mini. The storage technology, which was launched this past Tuesday, combines flash and traditional hard drive technology to create a hybrid system that "combines the performance of Flash storage with the capacity of a hard drive." According to the FAQ, Fusion Drive requires a special version of Disk Utility. This release is "unique," and Apple mentions that you cannot use older Disk Utility releases with the new setup. Fusion Drive will allow users to add at most one extra partition. Boot Camp will not be supported on the 3TB configuration. The write-up surveys a few other points like restoring Startup Disk preferences after resetting PRAM, how to use Fusion Drive with Target Disk Mode, and offers warnings regarding the sustained capture rate of Fusion Drive for video editing applications It's well worth a read if you've just ordered a Mac equipped with the new tech. For more Fusion Drive news and notes, check out Dave Hamilton's post at Mac Observer. Thanks, Steve. [Via 123MacMini.com]
Apple's Oct. 23rd event roundup: iPad mini, 4th gen iPad, new iMac, 13-inch Retina MBP and more
Apple teased that it had "a little more to show" us prior to today's San Francisco event, but it's clear now that the phrasing was humble at best. Not only has the much-anticipated, rumored and leaked 7.9-inch iPad mini been officially revealed, but so has a smattering of new and refreshed offerings across its range of gizmos. The standard iPad is seeing its fastest refresh yet (about six months) to a Lighting port and A6X-packing fourth-generation model, and the iMac has ditched its optical drive to go Air-thin in its Ivy Bridge-driven seventh-generation. Mobile power users should be especially be pleased, too, as a 13-inch variant of the MacBook Pro with a 2,560 x 1,600 Retina Display is now a reality. Lest we forgot that the iBooks app and iBooks Author have both been updated -- right on cue with that book-like iPad Mini. Hop past the break for a full listing of all the news and all of our on-scene coverage that came out of today's event.
Daily Update for October 23, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Apple announces Fusion Drive
Apple has pulled one unexpected rabbit out of its hat today, the Apple Fusion Drive. It's a combination of SSD and HDD technology. Fusion Drive is part of the new iMac just announced, and is a technology supported by Mountain Lion. In concept, it's similar to auto-tiering that is used in enterprise environments. In practice, Apple is offering a 128 GB SDD with a 1 TB or 3 TB HDD drive that are combined with smart software. The OS will monitor which apps you use the most and runs them from the SDD. Apple claims that, when the system is idle, it uses 50 percent less power than a standard hard drive. No word on whether this tech will hit other Apple products but it's logical. I'd love to see external drives with this configuration as well.
Apple introduces 'Fusion Drive' as a build-to-order option for the new iMac
So you want the performance of a new-fangled SSD with the extra storage of a good 'ole HDD? Apple has you covered with Fusion Drive for its new iMac. Unlike existing standalone hybrid drives the company is apparently "fusing" together a separate SSD and HDD with custom software in Mountain Lion. Better yet, the OS and all the pre-installed applications live on the SSD by default, while your documents and media reside on the HDD. This sounds similar to the software RAID functionality in OS X, but cranked to the next level. Stay tuned for details as we find out more. For more coverage, visit our Apple Special Event hub!
Apple unveils next-generation iMac with slimmer design and Ivy Bridge, starting at $1,299
Who said Apple's event was all about the little things? Apple just unveiled its first redesign to its iMac desktop in three years. The new all-in-one makes the widely expected leap to Intel's Ivy Bridge Core i5 and Core i7 processors, but also represents a much leaner and meaner replacement for the 2009-era template -- its edges are just 5mm thick, and it's constructed with "friction stir welding" as well as a gapless, less reflective display that's laminated together with the glass. Screen sizes remain the same and include both a 21.5-inch, 1080p model and a 27-inch, 2,560 x 1,400 model -- sorry, no Retina displays this year. They share 720p-capable front cameras with dual mics as well as NVIDIA's GeForce 600-era graphics, up to 32GB of RAM and a panoply of storage options that peak at 3TB of spinning storage, a 768GB SSD or what Apple calls a Fusion Drive that mixes both 128GB of flash with 1TB or 3TB of conventional storage (a hybrid drive, for those of us who've seen it before). There's no optical drive unless you plug in a USB option. The 21.5-inch model ships in November, and will set you back $1,299 for a 2.7GHz Core i5, 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive; pony up for the 27-inch model at $1,799 and you'll get a 2.9GHz Core i5 as well as the same memory and storage. Apple's larger iMac doesn't ship until December, however, which will give some impulse buyers at least a brief respite. %Gallery-169056% For more coverage, visit our Apple Special Event hub!
