If you’ve been hanging on to that first-generation iPod, we’ve got bad news for you. It looks like macOS Tahoe 26 is dropping support for the legacy FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 data-transfer standards.
The first macOS Tahoe 26 beta, released to developers last week, does not include support for FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 data transfers, according to @NekoMichi on X, as well as a Reddit post. (Via MacRumors) This means that the the original iPods models and any external storage devices that rely on FireWire cannot be used with a Mac running the macOS Tahoe beta.
Earlier versions of macOS, including macOS Sequoia, included a FireWire section in the System Settings app, Tahoe does not.
Keep in mind that we are in early days of the macOS Tahoe testing cycle and there are several beta seeds still to come before the new Mac operating system is released to the public this fall. This means FireWire support could make a return in a later beta.
What Is FireWire?
Newer Mac users may be wondering “what the hell is FireWire?”
FireWire is a high-speed data-transfer interface that was primarily developed by Apple but was later standardized as IEEE 1394 and licensed for use in non-Apple devices. Apple trademarked “FireWire” for its own use in 1993, while Sony Corporation, which was another early adopter of the standard, trademarked i.LINK for its products.
The original iPod used FireWire for data transfer to and from Macs. Apple began transitioning to USB for data transfer, making iPods more attractive to Windows users. While FireWire is rather dated, although I’m sure there are still Mac users out there that have a FireWire adapter rigged up on their Macs, even though the last Mac with a FireWire port was released in 2012.
We’ll keep an eye out for future macOS Tahoe betas to determine whether or not FireWire makes a return engaement to macOS. Stay tuned.
