Category: Apple Insider

There is no doubt that Apple needs to diversify its processor supply chain, but Samsung and Intel are weak alternatives next to TSMC. Apple may try anyway.

Rumors have come and gone about Apple buying Intel for its US foundries, but something about that idea stuck. More recent rumors suggested Apple could start relying on Intel for Apple Silicon production as soon as 2027 or 2028.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple has been considering Intel and Samsung to build “main device chips” for some time. While the recent chip and memory shortage has added some pressure, Apple had allegedly been making these considerations well before the current situation.

Samsung makes sense as an option because it is the distant number two chip fabricator to TSMC. It has the capabilities of meeting Apple’s strict quality demands, though it would be vastly limited on capacity.

Intel has been repeatedly mentioned in many rumors for various reasons. There was a time when it seemed Intel would dissolve, but it was revived thanks to a controversial 10% stake purchased from the US government under Trump.

The company even approached Apple for a direct investment, though it appears that nothing ever came from that.

Even if the Intel and TSMC’s joint venture results in some Apple chip production in the United States, it would be a paltry amount that barely put a dent in TSMC’s monopoly. However, it would surely score some brownie points with the US administration.

The report suggests that no decision has been made and Apple may not move forward with any new partners. TSMC continues to be the producer of Apple Silicon with over 60% of that made in Taiwan.

Apple is stuck between a rock and a hard place, as is the rest of the world. TSMC has been one of the few companies the world can rely on for advanced silicon, and if China decides to invade, it could devastate the global economy.

At this point, it seems Apple’s only options are strengthening its rival Samsung or embracing the flailing Intel. This situation could be among the defining aspects of John Ternus’ tenure as CEO, though some are apparently more worried about retiring executives.

In this week’s “Sunday Reboot,” Apple drives on with F1 in Miami, Q2 was a financial spectacular, and ‘Ted Lasso’ season 4 can’t arrive fast enough.

Sunday Reboot is a weekly column covering some of the lighter stories within the Apple reality distortion field from the past seven days. All to get the next week underway with a good first step.

This week, there were rumors the Apple Vision Pro hardware team was breaking up, Adobe’s Firefly AI Assistant showed just why it was still in beta, the Towson Apple Store employee union complained about the store closure, and Apple has to face the Circuit Court and the Supreme Court at the same time over its ongoing saga with Epic Games.

Formula 1 gets bigger on Apple, but it wants more

It’s the Miami Grand Prix weekend, and that means F1 fever for Apple TV. For U.S. Apple users, this may have been an inescapable period of promotion for the sport.

On Wednesday, Apple flexed its promotional muscles to hype up its U.S. coverage of the motorsport. That means, for U.S. users, up to 30 simultaneous live feeds including onboard cameras, timing data, and a Driver Tracker.

Then there’s the selection of IMAX theaters streaming it to the public, and something happening in Times Square too.

Of course, the promotion wasn’t just tied to Apple TV. There was a live Apple Music set from Dimelo Flow and an Apple Books talk with Susie Wolff.

Apple News users had live updates, while visitors could take advantage of Apple Maps to navigate the circuit over the weekend, thanks to some extra additions.

While this was largely limited to the United States, Apple wants to bring the experience to other territories.

In an interview, SVP of Services Eddy Cue said he was happy with how the coverage has gone so far, but Apple wants to grow its presence. This includes increasing its streaming coverage into more countries.

Add in the mention of a possible sequel to “F1: The Movie” and Cue’s insistence that inbound CEO John Ternus is a petrolhead, and Apple has big intentions to do more with the motorsport.

Ternus, however, wasn’t in attendance at the weekend. Instead, he’s at Laguna Seca.

Maybe he saw the decorated Porsche.

Big money quarter, as usual

On Thursday, Apple revealed its quarterly financial results for Q2 2026. As expected, Apple crushed the quarter, with the headline $111.2 billion revenue setting a new second-quarter record.

For reference, Q2 2025 was 95.4 billion. This now means Apple has broken the $100 billion revenue barrier in two successive quarters in 2026.

Apple even forecast that the Q3 figures could be as high as $110 billion.

The rest of the numbers from the quarter are also quite startling. Such as iPhone revenue up from $46.84 billion one year ago to $56.99 billion.

The Mac, iPad, Wearables, and Services categories also all saw growth, with the last one hitting the $30 billion level. On a regional basis, there was double-digit growth in every geographic segment, too.

It was enough for Apple to launch another $100 billion share repurchase program.

While Tim Cook had to field the utterly predictable clamoring for information from analysts as Ternus waits in the wings, at least he can be happy with the massive growth in the company during his tenure.

‘Ted Lasso’ is coming back in August

“Ted Lasso” is one of the best shows Apple has on Apple TV. It has a massive following that wanted the show to go on beyond just three seasons.

While we have heard rumblings of the production being underway, the release of a trailer for the fourth season confirms it is actually happening. That premiere will happen on August 5.

This is feel-good in and of itself, but I’m writing about it here because I actually like it. Not an unusual statement for most people, but there is some qualification to this.

For a start, I have to admit that I’m not a sports fan at all. I understand the basic idea behind soccer, the massive fandom of it around the world, and I even live very close to a stadium, but I just can’t watch more than about ten minutes of a match before getting bored.

The second thing here is that I’m British, and am very picky about comedies and shows that I watch. Everyone lauds “The Office” in its weird U.K. form as well as the U.S. version, but I can’t really stand either of them.

When it comes to comedies on Apple TV, I can’t get behind most of them. I have given everything from “The Studio” to “Mythic Quest” a try, but barely have I managed to get beyond the first episode.

Heck, the Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell vehicle “Spirited” was a bit amusing, but not worth rewatching. And I’ve watched “Deadpool” multiple times.

Obviously, I’m picky about what I watch, and it takes a lot to win me over. And yet, the soccer-focused comedy “Ted Lasso” is the only thing I have season-watched multiple times on Apple TV.

I may not know how to adequately describe the offside rule, nor really enjoy that much of what’s on Apple TV itself. Maybe I’m an empty husk of a human without a soul.

But “Ted Lasso” just works as a comedy show for me, even with the sports theming.

Season 4 just cannot come fast enough.

Last week’s Sunday Reboot covered the Ternus CEO transition plans, the DOJ being sassy, and Apple Vision Pro’s Star Wars story.

Apple retailers have issued steeper discounts on the MacBook Pro for May, resulting in record-low prices on several M5 Pro and M5 Max 14-inch and 16-inch configurations.

Prices have dipped to as low as $1,949 for the 2026 MacBook Pro, with a variety of 14-inch and 16-inch configurations now up to $250 off. You can check out top deals below, with a full rundown of markdowns in our 14-inch MacBook Pro 2026 Price Guide and 16-inch MacBook Pro Price Guide.

14-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pro and M5 Max deals

• M5 Pro, 15C CPU, 16C GPU, 24GB, 1TB, Standard Display: $1,949 ($250 off) at B&H
• M5 Pro, 15C CPU, 16C GPU, 24GB, 2TB, Standard Display: $2,394.50 ($205 off) at Amazon
• M5 Pro, 18C CPU, 20C GPU, 24GB, 2TB, Standard Display: $2,637.49 ($162 off) at Amazon
• M5 Max, 18C CPU, 32C GPU, 36GB, 2TB, Standard Display: $3,359 ($240 off) at Amazon

16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pro and M5 Max sale

• M5 Pro, 18C CPU, 20C GPU, 24GB, 1TB, Standard Display: $2,549 ($150 off) at Amazon
• M5 Pro, 18C CPU, 20C GPU, 48GB, 1TB, Standard Display: $2,899 ($200 off) at Amazon
• M5 Max, 18C CPU, 32C GPU, 36GB, 2TB, Standard Display: $3,699 ($200 off) at Amazon
• M5 Max, 18C CPU, 40C GPU, 48GB, 2TB, Standard Display: $4,199 ($200 off) at Amazon

In our M5 Max 16-inch MacBook Pro review, we found the M5 Max chip is blazing fast with great graphics and AI performance. We’re also pleased to see support for Wi-Fi 7 in the 2026 line.

A month after Apple’s AirPods Max 2 went on sale, there’s a lot to like, but little of it is new, and there’s not much reason to upgrade from the original model.

That’s the uncomfortable truth that I came to after spending a few weeks with Apple’s premium headphones. But it also shouldn’t be a surprise for anyone who took even a cursory glance at the specs sheet.

Any second-generation product takes what the first-gen model did well and then builds upon it. But with AirPods Max 2, Apple took the easy way out. And it’s a real shame that it did.

AirPods Max 2 do improve upon the original model, bringing some AirPods Pro features along for the ride. Still, too many first-gen problems persist, setting users up for the same frustrations.

And that’s the problem here. Those buyers will spend $549 for a pair of AirPods Max 2 headphones. What they’ll get is great audio, but with issues that shouldn’t be there.

If you’re shopping for great audio with some striking design issues, I have good news for you. There are likely some great OG AirPods Max deals available. You should probably buy those instead.

AirPods Max 2 review: Familiar look, familiar mistakes

When I say that AirPods Max 2 look familiar, I’m not kidding. I’m not even exaggerating, because they’re identical.

That even extends to the colors on offer. There are still five for you to choose from. And they’re still Blue, Purple, Midnight, Starlight, and Orange.

I’ve been using the Midnight headphones, and they have a slightly different hue from my original Space Gray model. Those also have a Lightning connector, but apart from that, they’re almost impossible to tell apart.

AirPods Max 2, of course, have a USB-C port for charging this time around. You can also use a USB-C to USB-C cable if you want to enjoy lossless audio.

Like the original and mid-cycle USB-C refresh, AirPods Max 2 use metal as their material of choice. That means they’re still heavy, weighing in at 386.2 grams or 13.6 ounces.

As someone who isn’t a fan of plastic headphones, I’m happy with the metal construction Apple uses. I also don’t mind the weight because it adds an air of quality to the headset.

What I don’t like is Apple’s continued use of a mesh headband. It’s notorious for stretching and sagging, and there’s little to suggest that AirPods Max 2 buyers won’t have the same issue.

The good news is that there are aftermarket accessories that help here. They attach to the headband and use another material to distribute the weight. You’ll likely spot one on my AirPods Max in some of the photos here.

Controls-wise, nothing has changed here. You’ll find holes for the microphone and for air movement on the left ear cup. On the right, there’s a USB-C port on the bottom.

Up top, Apple’s familiar Digital Crown is used for volume and playback controls. The remaining button is used to cycle between the active noise cancellation (ANC) and Transparency modes.

Finally, there’s the case. It’s the same as the original AirPods Max case and one of the main things I expected Apple to fix with this second generation.

Alas, it chose not to. And this case still does almost nothing to protect the headphones during transit. The top and bottom of the metal ear cups are left bare.

Unfortunately, the case is also the only way to put the AirPods Max 2 to sleep. Leave them out, and they’ll never slip into the deep sleep mode that preserves battery life.

That means you’ll need to fiddle with the case and its magnetic flap a lot. The lack of a way to sleep the headphones outside of the case is another issue I expected to be fixed this time around.

Again, alas.

AirPods Max 2 review: The H2 makes its presence felt

One of the few places where Apple has tweaked things is the use of a new H2 chip. The same chip first debuted in Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 from 2022, so it’s not new technology.

It’s new to Apple’s headphones, though, and brings with it some new features. Apple says the new chip is capable of improved audio processing. But as Andrew O’Hara said in his initial review, you’ll be hard-pressed to tell the difference.

Apple also says that AirPods Max 2 offer 1.5x more active noise cancellation than the previous generation. I can’t refute the claim, but AirPods Max were already class leaders here, and I’ve found AirPods Max 2 to be just as good.

Thankfully, you will notice a difference if you use any of these new features:

• Adaptive EQ adjusts the sound based on the fit and seal between the ear cups and your head.
• Live Translation that translates languages as someone speaks
• Adaptive Audio that adjusts the ANC and Transparency modes based on the volume of your environment.
• Conversational Awareness that lowers the volume when someone speaks to you and raises it when they’re done.
• Personalized Volume automatically adjusts the volume after learning your preferences.
• Head gestures so you can control Siri by shaking and nodding your head.
• A Camera Remote feature means you can press the Digital Crown to take a photo using your iPhone.

Remember that these features are also available on AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3. Some are even present on the entry-level AirPods 4 as well.

The H2 also handles all of the features AirPods owners have become accustomed to. Instant device pairing and switching are still present, and as welcome as ever.

Rounding out the features, Apple’s H2 helps AirPods Max 2 run for up to 20 hours between charges, even with ANC and Spatial Audio enabled. I’ve found that to be a reasonable expectation, and they charge quickly using a USB-C cable.

AirPods Max 2 review: Apple’s audio chops shine again

Apple knows how to make great audio. It’s proven it with all of its most recent AirPods wireless earbuds, and it proved it with the original AirPods Max.

With AirPods Max 2, it’s once again proven that few can compete with its wireless audio capabilities.

AirPods Max 2 sound excellent. They benefit from new high dynamic range amplifiers this time around, marking the one hardware change besides the H2 chip.

The result is the familiar, rich AirPods Max sound. Except, dare I say, turned up to 11 this time around.

Music sounds warm and full of body thanks to a strong bass performance when the audio calls for it. The highs may be a little on the brighter side than some might like, but that’s nitpicking.

With the excellent ANC enabled, AirPods Max 2 make it easy to fall into an album. It envelopes you. In a desert of lackluster wireless headphones, AirPods Max 2 are an oasis of crisp, clear sound.

But then, so are AirPods Max. Even over five years after their 2020 release, I’ve yet to find wireless headphones that have bettered them.

And yes, that applies to AirPods Max 2 as well. They’re every inch as good as AirPods Max, but better? I’ve yet to experience it, unfortunately.

Rounding things out on a more positive note, AirPods Max 2’s ANC and Transparency modes don’t disappoint. Again, Apple’s headphones surely sit at the top of the pile in both regards, although Sony continues to give it a run for its money.

AirPods Max 2 review: A missed opportunity

As I sit here, writing this review while listening to AirPods Max 2, I find myself disappointed. Not because they don’t live up to the original, but because Apple had such a solid foundation to build upon.

And yet, it chose not to.

As great as AirPods Max 2 sound, and as much as I enjoy listening to them, they’re almost impossible to recommend.

For existing AirPods Max owners, there’s little here to warrant spending so much money to upgrade. Not unless one of the new H2-powered features calls to you, and not when all of the same mistakes have been made.

They’re an easier sell to anyone considering AirPods Max 2 as their first Apple headphones. But you absolutely need to be aware of the problems before you put down your $549.

As I write this in 2026, AirPods Max 2 are likely the best-sounding wireless headphones I’ve ever worn. But whether they’re the best, overall, is a harder question to answer.

At $549, they’re a costly purchase. They don’t have a real case to keep them safe, and there’s no way to turn them off. They’re also heavier than most people will be used to, and the headband mesh will likely sag much sooner than it should.

If you’re still happy to throw down $549 for AirPods Max 2 with that in mind, more power to you. You’re going to get a pair of headphones that sound great with excellent ANC for your money.

Or you could save a hundred dollars or more and get the original. They’ll sound great.

AirPods Max 2 review: Pros

• No wireless headphones sound better
• Industry-leading ANC and Transprency mode
• H2 chip adds some nice-to-have features
• Instant pairing and device switching

AirPods Max 2 review: Cons

• They still won’t sleep outside of the case
• Smart case offers little protection
• Same colors as last-gen model
• Costly at $549

AirPods Max 2 rating: 4 out of 5

Scoring something like AirPods Max 2 out of five is difficult. Scoring anything out of five isn’t easy, but when you’re reviewing the successor to a previous release, things get more complicated. In the case of AirPods Max 2, Apple has a good pair of headphones on its hands. They sound great, and are about as premium-feeling as these things get.

On the other hand, AirPods Max 2 don’t improve upon AirPods Max in ways that I think they should have. The improvements that have been made are unlikely to change the game for most headphone buyers, too.

In choosing a score, I’ve gone with a 4 because, in isolation, AirPods Max 2 are a quality product. If AirPods Max didn’t exist, they’d easily get a 4 for their sound and build quality.

If you already own AirPods Max, consider the review score a 3 or 3.5, instead. AirPods Max 2’s score would be reduced by the lack of meaningful improvements to the original’s shortcomings.

For AirPods Max owners, there is little, if any, reason to upgrade to AirPods Max 2.

Where to buy AirPods Max 2

AirPods Max 2 are on sale now at Apple and other retailers, with Amazon and Walmart discounting the headphones slightly.

You can also pick up first-gen AirPods Max with USB-C for $449 at B&H Photo and Walmart while supplies last.

Our AirPods Max Price Guide offers easy price comparison across popular Apple resellers as well.

Apple CEO Tim Cook made it clear, that the company will reinvest any tariff refund it gets into new U.S. manufacturing initiatives, further funding domestic production.

In almost an afterthought at the end of the earnings conference call, Cook made a big announcement. Beyond just going through the recently-announced motions and filing for that tariff refund, Apple has a plan.

While there were no specifics, and nobody left to follow up the statement, Apple will invest what it gets back into US manufacturing.

Tariffs and tariff-related costs continue to pressure results, though Apple hasn’t framed them as a dominant constraint in the March quarter. Prior disclosures show those costs remain significant, and performance indicates Apple is absorbing much of the impact instead of raising prices.

Apple is making a deliberate tradeoff to protect pricing stability and demand. Scale is helping hold volume steady even as rising costs limit margin expansion.

Tariffs are now a recurring cost line

Apple has previously disclosed tariff and tariff-related costs ranging from about $800 million in a single quarter to more than $1.4 billion as rates and volumes shifted during and after the U.S.-China trade war. Figures include more than direct import duties and account for added costs tied to logistics and supply chain adjustments.

So far, Apple has committed $600 billion to domestic manufacturing. While the about $3 billion it will get back from tariffs is a small slice of that, Cook promised new projects will be funded with those refunds.

Tariffs have moved from a policy shock to a more predictable cost structure. Apple now treats them as an ongoing expense alongside currency shifts and component pricing.

Apple has largely absorbed those costs so far and kept pricing stable across most of its hardware while posting strong financial results. Restraint suggests the company is testing how far it can hold prices as demand for premium devices remains strong but not unlimited.

Supply chain shifts reduce risk but don’t remove pressure

Supply chain changes remain one of Apple’s main tools for managing tariff exposure, and the strategy has clear limits. Apple has expanded manufacturing outside China and increased iPhone production in India while shifting more assembly of other products to Vietnam.

Moves reduce reliance on any single region for U.S.-bound devices but don’t remove the underlying cost pressure. Shifts to improve resilience cannot match China’s scale, efficiency, and supplier concentration.

China still plays a central role in Apple’s global manufacturing footprint, particularly for high-volume and high-end production. Moving capacity at scale takes years, which constrains how quickly Apple can rebalance its supply chain even as diversification continues.

The company is turning tariffs from a one-time financial shock into a manageable ongoing cost. Apple is relying on its scale, supply chain adjustments, and financial flexibility to keep growing.

The Iodyne Pro Data 24TB delivers enormous uninterrupted transfer speed, isn’t network attached, and it isn’t limited to one user. It’s also a $14,995 wallet-breaking money-saver for the right audience.

It’s not every day we get a second loaner for a review product years after the fact.

The market has changed, workflows have changed, since we first reviewed the Iodyne Pro Data. Video workflows are getting bigger and bigger with 8K HDR 3D, and so forth. A single iPod like the Lord of the Rings dailies were shuttled around on are a thing of the past.

Thunderbolt 5 isn’t as fast as it could be. The media inside is impacted by cache and slow writes as that cache fills up with large transfers.

The Iodyne Pro Data aims to let the user have their cake and eat it too. It is, in effect, a giant external drive that can be accessed by multiple Macs at the same time.

All at Thunderbolt speeds, uninterrupted by full caches, and not throttled by transferring over a network.

It’s costly, of course. It’s also a money-saver if you’re moving enormous files around.

Iodyne Pro Data 24TB review: Physical design

The Pro Data is hefty. At 15.39 inches long by 10 inches wide, it has a considerable footprint on any desk. It’s also 1.22 inches thick, or 1.4 inches including the feet.

So, it’s fortunate that there’s a vertical stand included.

It’s physically larger than a 16-inch MacBook Pro. It also happens to be heavier than a MacBook Pro, at 7.3 pounds. Its aluminum enclosure, which helps with thermal management, certainly counts a lot towards that figure.

I tested putting it into the ebags Pro Slim Laptop Backpack, a pretty typical tech bag capable of holding a 17-inch notebook. It fits, but only barely. If your bag is thick enough, you can cram in your 16-inch MacBook Pro, too, but don’t try this with one of the thinner bags.

For single-person use, this is really impractical compared to a much smaller and lighter external drive. And, a single person can store data locally.

But, in the context of being used by a group of people on a project, this is still relatively portable. At least, it’s better than your typical boxy NAS in this respect.

The supplied power brick is relatively small and is a 180W Gallium Nitride (GaN) charger. It’s a merciful addition, given the overall mass of the unit.

Iodyne Pro Data 24TB review: Connectivity

The interesting thing about the Iodyne Pro Data is that it is intended as a fast storage device that runs off Thunderbolt, for multiple users. That lends itself to the relatively lean connection setup at hand here.

On one edge, there are eight Thunderbolt ports, each of which connects at 40Gbps. They are divided up into pairs, with each consisting of an upstream to a Mac and a downstream for other hardware to be connected.

For the upstream, you’ve got two options. One: four users can access the storage.

And two, the more interesting use case: if you need even more speed, you can connect two of the upstream ports to one Mac.

As originally reviewed, and is still the case today, each port is 40Gbps.

As for the downstream ports, each can be used to daisy-chain more Thunderbolt devices. You can connect up to six devices as a daisy-chain for each Thunderbolt pair, though that chain only works with the host connected to that pair’s upstream port.

That means if you have two upstream connections to one Mac, the host can also use two of the daisy chains, in what is called by Iodyne as Thunderbolt Multipathing.

It’s possible to use all four Thunderbolt connections with one host Mac. That’s really only practical if you want to maximize the daisy-chaining capability, and it isn’t possible at all on the MacBook Pro, since there are only three Thunderbolt ports now.

And yes, to be clear, all computers connected to the upstream ports can access the storage in the device.

As for host connectivity, a pair of 1-meter (3.2-feet) Thunderbolt cables is included. You are going to need to get more — and longer — cables if you want to connect more Macs.

There’s support for macOS 13.0 or later, with Windows 10 version 21H2 and Ubuntu 22.04 or later also capable of connecting to the device.

Iodyne Pro Data 24TB review: Storage

The Pro Data includes 12 NVMe SSDs, with supplied capacities between 12TB and 192TB. The version supplied to the review is 24TB in capacity, holding 12 2TB drives.

However, it is possible to expand the storage considerably, with Iodyne claiming it can go up to 6.9 petabytes. However, really, it’s a maximum of 576TB using built-in drives, with the petabyte level achieved using daisy-chaining.

This would be an astronomically expensive thing to do, but at least there’s headroom.

If you do want to add more, it is possible to take the enclosure off and replace the NVMe drives yourself. There’s no fixed-in-place storage here.

The panel can be removed by loosening just two screws, with each NVMe M.2 SSD able to be pulled after removing one more. Each module also has its own heatsink to help cool each drive.

All of these drives are connected and configured under RAID-0 or RAID-6. RAID-0 stripes data across all drives with no redundancy, so it’s full-speed but without a failsafe option.

RAID-6 is the more favorable one, as it uses dual parity to allow for two drives in the array to fail and still keep the data intact, while sacrificing some capacity. This provides robust redundancy, which, for the kind of projects this sort of drive would be used for, is the best option.

For the 24TB version supplied to us, that equates to 20 terabytes of usable storage.

The supplied software to manage and configure the device lets you set up separate containers with different properties. For example, one container could have RAID-6 and a large capacity as well as a password, while another could be a RAID-0 scratch disk without a password.

Practically speaking, you can configure storage for specific users or Macs, or for multiple Macs to use, depending on the task.

You can enable per-container passwords, using XTS-AES-256 encryption and a hardware Secure Enclave. Up to 15 containers can be set up per unit, which should be more than enough for small teams.

The software management in the app is also used to monitor the health of each installed SSD, warning of hardware issues when they come up.

You can also register the unit with the Iodyne Cloud, though it’s not a cloud storage service. Really, it takes telemetry reports on the health of the Pro Data itself and the SSD modules, not stored data.

This is very handy since replacements for under-warranty drives can be sent to users automatically at no charge. Users are also guided on how to replace the drive to minimize downtime.

Iodyne Pro Data 24TB review: Performance

I want to get this in front of this section, as it is key to the entire product, and why it exists.

This unit will run at maximum speed, essentially until the drive is full. You won’t be held back by slow SSD caches as the transfer size increases.

According to Iodyne, it is capable of up to 5.2 gigabytes per second for read speeds and up to 2.4 gigabytes per second for writes.

This sounds impressive, and it is. It’s also something we observed for ourselves, with 5.2 GBps on reads and 2.2 GBps for writes under multi-path RAID-0.

Single-path connections will be a little limited by the 40Gbps Thunderbolt connectivity. However, at 3.1 GBps for reads and 1.8GBps for writes, also under RAID-0, it’s still more than adequate for a single transfer.

If you were to throw multiple users at it, the bandwidth will hit a bottleneck as all that bandwidth will be consumed. But even that is an extreme case.

In our testing, the speeds aren’t linearly cut, but you do see a bit of a drop as more devices connect up. Connecting two Macs using two Thunderbolt cables each and with different containers, reads reached 2.6 gigabytes per second, and writes were at 950 megabytes per second.

At three devices, we saw 2.1 gigabytes per second reads and 700 megabytes per second writes.

Changing over to RAID-6 instead of RAID-0, performance does dip a tiny bit. But, at about 200 megabytes per second down for both reads and writes, and under single- and multi-path modes, this is still a pretty speedy connection here.

One key point to clarify here is that the connection speeds are sustained over several hours. The bandwidth doesn’t dip over time as data is thrown at it.

Single- or dual-drive units will hit a transfer wall quickly. Each SSD has an onboard cache, which absorbs as much of the inbound data as possible and feeds it into the main storage element over time.

Normally, this results in a fast transfer at first, either to DRAM or relatively faster flash media, before slowing as the cache gets full. However, since we’re talking about 12 drives and therefore 12 cache allocations, that’s constant cache availability, especially since the data is striped across drives.

The sheer number of drives and caches means that you’re just about always going to have this high level of transfer speed.

And that’s the key to the Iodyne Pro Data. If you’re moving 20TB of data, it can take half a day on a dual-drive enclosure. It will just take a few hours on this unit.

If you buy one, take advantage of the container capabilities. There’s no versioning in play here, just bare RAID storage, so you have to be careful of users potentially overwriting the work of others if they are all working collaboratively on the same file.

Iodyne Pro Data 24TB review: It’s expensive and probably not for you

The idea of a massive and fast data store is a very appealing thought for most computer users. That said, the vast majority of people have no real need for this sort of device in the first place.

Partly because of the price, partly because of its utility.

It is safe to say that the cost is prohibitive for your average home user. To get the cheapest configuration at 12TB, you would have to pay $5,995.

The version sent to us, 24TB, would set you back a steep $14,995, with 48TB at $29,995, and 96TB for $58,995. The top-spec option, 192TB, is $117,995. The two new capacities were released after our first review, and the price of the smaller ones was half of what it is now.

Again, thanks AI data farms buying up all the flash media that’s made. This is your fault.

The key to remember here is that it is really specialized gear. It’s Thunderbolt storage designed to work with multiple hosts, with consistent data speeds, which really is something designed for a really narrow use case.

In the course of this second review, I’ve spoken to animation houses that have produced movies you have seen, some military and federal folks that need consistent transfer speeds, and filmmakers who have made movies that you’ve watched. I even threw in a few large YouTube channels to boot.

To a person, they all salivated at the hardware. They uniformly said that this would fix one workflow or another, where data ingestion speeds and access to that data by more than one user were major, major bottlenecks for production.

That said, home users working on just one Mac at home would find getting a NAS or a normal external drive to be a much more fiscally prudent approach.

Really, this sort of hardware is made for groups of people with a need to deal with a ton of data, and therefore need consistently high speed. That, as well as the pricing, puts it firmly into enterprise, federal, and creative industry offices.

If you’re producing a video and need to offload tons of video to a central store, so it can then be worked on by editors who are also on location, this device makes perfect sense. It’s more than fast enough to ingest footage and have that data available instantly for editors to immediately work on it.

Its size is also an advantage, as you can also imagine that same team of people being used to carrying around a lot of other equipment. A seven-pound storage appliance that is shaped like a very large notebook wouldn’t be much of a burden in that instance.

The mention of small teams working closely together on location is also apt, since it’s all based on Thunderbolt connections. If you want to connect at the maximum speed the 40Gbps Thunderbolt connections can manage, you’re going to be limited to keeping your Mac within about nine feet of the device.

A NAS device using Ethernet can cover a very large area, but in 2026 and probably through 2035, will not come close to delivering this speed. If you want the speed, you’re going to have to play within the limitations of the Thunderbolt specifications, and shell out for some expensive cables too.

As it stands, the Iodyne Pro Data 24TB is a great tool for YouTubers and others with data needs in both capacity and speed, and can afford it. In that respect, there’s no complaint to be made.

Calling it overkill for a home user who happens to have the spare cash lying around for it is an understatement. Unless they happen to be working on projects that require high-speed storage access in a locally collaborative fashion, there’s no need for this.

For the kind of groups and situations where it is useful to employ the Iodyne Pro Data, it is worth the weight of your choice of precious metal.

The average user, or even the most prosumer user, should not even begin to think about getting one.

Iodyne Pro Data 24TB review pros

• Massive bandwidth, massive fast storage
• User serviceable
• Per-host daisy-chaining

Iodyne Pro Data 24TB review cons

• Usage range is limited by Thunderbolt cable specifications
• Massively expensive

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

I hate giving scores because they will never be universal. It’s clear that this product is not for the home, not for the small office, and not even for most large companies.

To be clear, the score here is based on it being useful for the target market, its intended purpose being to move mass quantities of data around, as fast as possible, for as long as possible.

For that, it is an incredible product. For that, it is best in class, and it is not close right now.

There’s no better product in this capacity to do that. You know if you need it already, and if you’re on the fence, you probably don’t, and have better options.

It’s been incredibly fun showing this off to people, and having that kind of consistent speed has been a joy to play around with. I’m going to miss it when it goes back.

Where to buy the Iodyne Pro Data 24TB

Iodyne sells the Pro Data directly, starting from $5,995 for 12TB. The 24TB model loaned for this review costs $14,995.

It’s also available from B&H Photo, with the 12TB priced at $5,995 and the 24TB at $14,495.

Apple will have to comply with previous mandates as it takes its fight with Epic Games back to the Supreme Court, so expect App Store changes soon.

The Apple vs Epic saga is years long and could easily fill a book at this point, but it hasn’t ended yet. The latest update comes after Apple won a stay against enforcing App Store changes as it appealed the Supreme Court.

That stay was short-lived, as Epic immediately appealed the stay and 9to5Mac shared that it has won. The US Ninth Circuit Court has reversed the stay it placed on enforcing a mandate that would require Apple to change how it charges developers for external purchases.

Basically, Apple won on every count in the Epic lawsuit except one. It was ordered to end its anti-steering rules and allow external purchases.

Apple complied, but its new setup for external commissions was constructed in a way that wouldn’t make it worthwhile for developers to adopt. Apple was found in contempt of the order, and an injunction was filed to force Apple to allow external purchases with zero commission.

The injunction was appealed again and again, and eventually an agreement was reached that Apple should be allowed to charge a commission, just not 27%. A later ruling said that Apple and Epic must decide on what would be acceptable, but that hasn’t happened yet.

Apple was taking the case to the Supreme Court again and requested that the negotiations over a new fee and more App Store changes be stayed. It argued that there would be no need for lower court involvement until the Supreme Court appeal was done, and that stay was granted.

Epic appealed that stay order, and that’s where we are today. Even as Apple appeals to the Supreme Court, it will have to go back to the lower courts and work out the new commission structure.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney took to social media to celebrate.

Apple’s delaying tactics have come to an end! Now Epic v Apple returns to Judge Gonzales Rogers for hearings on exactly what fees Apple can charge to recoup costs of reviewing apps using competing payment methods. https://t.co/eukYzpu0dY

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 29, 2026

That’s quite the fall from wanting free and open access to the App Store user base. Even as Epic “wins,” Apple still gets to collect its dues.

Apple has the power to end this

Given that the case was refused at the Supreme Court already, it doesn’t seem like things will go Apple’s way. The company may not be able to charge as much as it wants, but at least the courts have agreed it is owed something.

All of these regulatory cases around the world can’t be avoided when you’re as big as Apple. However, I fully believe that Apple could reduce the pain if it wanted to.

It is well within Apple’s power and resources to come up with a new App Store commission system that would still earn it plenty of money, that governments would approve of, and only a few developers might sneer at. Epic will never be satisfied short of running Apple’s App Store itself for all of the profit, but others would be happy with more revenue.

This ongoing epic began in 2020 with Epic purposefully violating App Store policy so it could goad Apple into a lawsuit. The entire campaign was pitched as Epic taking on big bad Apple and even came with a 1984-style advert.

Like with Spotify and other giants that take on Apple, it’s about maximizing their bottom line while leeching off of Apple’s user base. Users might benefit in the long run, but Epic has paid more than a billion dollars for what could be considered rather small victories.

The iPhone 18 Pro’s camera specs are solidifying, thanks to a repeated claim that portrait shots will be improved thanks to the inclusion of variable apertures.

On April 16, a report claimed the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will gain an often-rumored variable aperture camera system, and that the model was entering production. A week later, a leaker has doubled down on the story.

In a Wednesday post to Weibo, leaker Digital Chat Station ran down a list of photographic changes Apple is working on for the iPhone, for inclusion in the future. That list includes:

• Variable apertures
• A 1/1.12-inch super-large main camera sensor
• An optical image stabilization for the ultra-wide lenses
• A 200MP telephoto camera

While the account did bring up the high-resolution sensor on Tuesday, the latest Weibo post concludes by saying the iPhone 18 Pro line will probably be the first to use variable apertures. The evaluations for the component have supposedly gone smoothly, and the other technologies will arrive in later generations.

They add that a key to this is the use of a “slightly curved aperture.” However, the account again doesn’t go into details about what this will do for users.

As for the rest of the specifications for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, you can expect them to be close to what is already provided in the iPhone 17 Pro versions. That would include three 48MP sensors, an 8x telephoto capability, and macro support.

Variable and curved apertures

The idea of a variable aperture is to get away from the problem smartphone cameras have in typically using a fixed aperture. This refers to the hole that lets light into the sensor.

In a normal camera, the aperture is adjustable, changing how much light hits the sensor and affecting the final shot in various ways. This can affect the number of in-focus items in an image, the amount of bokeh blurriness, and how long the shot needs for a proper exposure.

However, due to the severe space constraints in a smartphone, there’s little room for the motors or servos needed to adjust the aperture. The variable aperture rumor would reintroduce this capability.

For Apple and end users, this would mean being able to properly bring back focus control to smartphone photography. Instead of relying on computational photography to fake bokeh, the camera can do the real thing without the extra processing.

A curved aperture is an interesting concept, as it is used in a variety of different ways. For an iPhone, this could result in a more circular bokeh “ball” effect that’s also softer and more aesthetically pleasing.

There’s also the possibility of sharper images and the need for fewer optical corrections of an image, all by increasing the control of light before it hits the camera’s sensor.

For consumers, this can mean a creamier bokeh for portrait shots and a better base for Apple’s image processing to work with.

Speaking of curved elements, there’s also an Apple patent from 2016 for a spherical photosensor and lens array. The idea would be to use a concave sensor surface and specially crafted lenses to increase the amount of light hitting each pixel of the sensor.

The result would be sharper and low-distortion images, despite the curved sensor.

Alas, despite the patent being ten years old, Apple has yet to incorporate it in an iPhone or iPad.

A long-time rumor

Weibo leakers are notorious for repeating claims sourced from elsewhere and generally not being that accurate. This is also the case for Digital Chat Station, with sporadic accuracy and a penchant for repeating rumors.

In this instance, the account appears to be piggybacking on the April 16 report, adding very little new information. The only real addition is the mention of a curved aperture.

Previous comments go back to 2024, with claims the variable aperture would arrive in the iPhone 17, followed by assertions that it will appear in the iPhone 18 Pro range instead.

This is also far from the first time Digital Chat Station has mentioned this particular rumor. There were mentions in October 2025 supposedly sourced from the supply chain about variable apertures, which were resurfaced by the account in February 2026.

Director Jon Favreau says a specialized app let him better frame IMAX shots using a virtual theater environment in Apple Vision Pro. He cites it as one method to cut back on reshoots and reduce costs.

Filmmaking has only become more and more expensive even as commercialized tools make the medium more accessible. It’s easier than ever to grab a smartphone and shoot some footage, but reaching Hollywood calibre isn’t so simple.

In an interview conducted by The Town podcast during Cinemacon, Jon Favreau discussed ways that technology was helping reduce costs in filmmaking. One of the tools he mentioned was Apple Vision Pro.

“So I’m making an IMAX movie and I’m looking at a TV screen,” shared Favreau. “No matter how big your TV screen is, it’s not an IMAX screen.”

The solution was building software that would let Favreau frame a shot while viewing it in a virtual IMAX theater.

“I could watch that take and see what people will see. That’s a piece of technology that existed without us,” he continued, discussing how the film industry benefits from consumer tech.

Apple Vision Pro might be an expensive headset with its own tradeoffs, but it offers a unique feature set. The resolution of the displays combined with the fully immersive experience allows for better shot planning and realization.

Tools like Apple Vision Pro cut back on overall costs because they prevent reshoots. Favreau says that one of the more expensive aspects of filmmaking is the shots that sit on the cutting room floor.

The director has been known to utilize emerging technologies when making films. The Lion King was filmed on a virtual set where Favreau could direct shots from VR, for example.

The Mandalorian is a show and soon-to-be Star Wars movie that is filmed almost entirely via virtual sets. The actors perform in spaces surrounded by green screens, which provides its own challenges.

The ability for Favreau to view a shot of the live actors in a pre-vis environment through Apple Vision Pro simulating an IMAX theater is quite the accomplishment. The use might be unique to Favreau, but with how TV and film creation are evolving, it could become a go-to method.

Apple Vision Pro has, so far, been a product without a killer feature. It seems that it might actually be great for many specific use cases instead of one flashy feature.

At the least, Apple has sold one to Jon Favreau.

Amazon’s latest earbuds sale delivers a $50 price cut on AirPods Pro 3, with the entire AirPods line eligible for discounts.

Apple AirPods Pro 3 are on sale for $199.99 at Amazon today thanks to a $50 discount (and ringing in within $0.99 of the lowest price seen this month).

Buy AirPods Pro 3 for $199.99

If you’re looking for the lowest price across the AirPods line, Amazon has AirPods 4 without ANC on sale for $119, a $10 discount off MSRP.

Today’s top AirPods offers

In our AirPods Pro 3 review, we found the earbuds fit better than previous models. Apple includes five silicone tips with the AirPods Pro 3, up from four that came with AirPods Pro 2.

Even more Apple deals

There are plenty of spring sales going on across Apple’s product lines. Here’s a sampling of our top picks, with hundreds of bargains available in the AppleInsider Apple Price Guide.