With MacOS 26, Apple has quietly put an end to Support for Firewire. For many it is a footnote in a Changelog. But for those who thorn the late 90s and early 2000s, Firewire was the fast, progressive port that felt like the future. And in many ways it should have been.
So I thought this was the perfect time to do a small praise for the connecting standard that could have been a competition.
The rise of firewire
Firewire, officially known as IEEE 1394, was Apple’s response to the limitations of SCSI (“Scuzzy”. Yes really.) And the shortcomings of early USB. Firewire started with development in 1986 (the year of my birth!) And ended against the mid -90s. It absolutely has contributed USB 1.1 when it came to transit.
While USB 1.1 by 12 Mbps was potted, Firewire could reach a theoretical maximum of 400 Mbps with its debut. To give that a context, USB 2.0 has an upper limit of 480 Mbps, so it is not an exaggeration to say that Firewire was a whole generation in favor of the game. Firewire would later double this to 800 Mbps in the following versions.
It is also not just about speed. Firewire has a long list of tricks such as multiple devices, robust hot swapping and an architecture with which devices can talk directly with each other without dragging the CPU to the comparison.
Why firewire mattered
In an era in which external discs often meant SCSI terminators, cryptic jumpers and unreliable parallel porthacks, Firewire was a revelation. It is an important reason why Apple computers became synonymous with professional creative use. You absolutely did not want to transfer gigabytes of video about USB 1.1!
That corny-chaining possibility meant that you didn’t need any gates on your computer either. Give the signal through each device and they will sort it out.
Even when USB 2.0 became available, Firewire still surpassed in real-world scenarios. Especially with later full-duplex versions of De Standaard. Although USB 2.0 had more theoretical bandwidth, it needed a good CPU in the system to support it, while Firewire did not.
Firewire in the creative world
I said that Firewire has found a solid niche in the creative world, but I think it is interrupting. Firewire was so important for digital video workflows that DV cameras had built in a firewire gate. This meant that if you wanted to work professionally with DV, you needed a Mac or a PC with a firewire card.
It wasn’t just video either. Firewire was the key to professional audiowork flows with low latency. External disks with firewire were viable for professional use, while USB was not at that time. Although Firewire was technically not exclusive to Macs, Apple used it by including it in their computers. Combined with the creative software packages on the Mac, it confirmed the image of the Mac as the place where video, audio and photographic work took place.
The slow decline
So why do we all use USB instead of Firewire today? Well, first of all, Thunderbolt is effectively the successor to Firewire, including that great power to be Daisy-Chain devices. That said, Apple may be partly the fault thanks to the royalties it charged for Firewire -hardware. That is a habit that never really shaken it. The same applies to lightning, still found on the most existing iPhones. If you want to make an accessory that works with Lightning, you must pay Apple a cut for certification.
For most people, USB 2.0 was “good enough” and Microsoft had better support for USB on Windows systems, so these factors all worked independently to limit the spread of Firewire. Apple himself also turned to Thunderbolt on his Macs, and slowly, but certainly Firewire, was left behind.
Firewire’s permanent legacy
In a sense, it is surprising that Firewire support remained on macOS until 2025. A full thirty years later, the world experienced it for the first time. For me this means that until recently enough people still used firewire edge equipment that keeping up with support was justified. But of course Apple had reduced the support of Firewire hardware on its computers a long time ago.
But the world of computer technology remains further and Apple still contributes to advanced peripheral connection technology to this day. In many ways, USB 4 and Thunderbolt are merged and overlap, which means that for many users it does not matter what they connect to their Mac or PC, it should work fine. So although Firewire could have been the king, history went in a different way. So farewell and peace easily firewire.
8/10
- Harbor
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10
- USB Power Delivery
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Yes, up to 140W
- The power supply included
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Yes
- Max display res.
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8k 60
#Apple #Firewire #remember #standard #USB #beaten