OWC Acquires Popular Thunderbolt 3 Accessory Maker Akitio

Longtime Mac accessory vendor OWC today announced that it has acquired Akitio, maker of popular professional-level external storage solutions focused on Thunderbolt 3. Akitio also offers a number of other Thunderbolt 3 accessories including docks, eGPU boxes, and more.

owc akitio

"This acquisition gives us the opportunity to strengthen our core prosumer lineup and market reach with photography, video and music pros with some really exceptional new offerings," said Larry O'Connor, OWC Founder & CEO. "Our product lines and brands are quite complementary, with Akitio bringing a strong reputation in the Windows space and segments like performance gaming, AR/VR, high-end creative strengths to our base. I see tremendous opportunities ahead for our team and our customers."

While Akitio joins OWC's other brands at OWC's Illinois headquarters, Akitio's teams in California and internationally will remain at their current locations and all customer support and warranty obligations will be honored without interruption.

Tags: OWC, Akitio

Top Rated Comments

StellarVixen

28 months ago

Ewwww, I am not glad for this. Akitio was the most affordable manufacturer of TB3 stuff, I am afraid that affordability is gone now...

Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)

AMP12345

28 months ago

Maybe I'm slowly becoming a grumpy old man who doesn't like change, but this makes me nervous. I've always had a great experience with Akitio and I'm just not sure OWC can keep that up. Maybe... but only time will tell.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

monokakata

28 months ago

I wonder how much difference this will make, really. It was clear to me that the OWC TB enclosures were really Akitio, rebranded. I've had the 4 bay TB2 model, and the 4 bay TB3 model. The TB3 model is identical physically, but of course I don't know whether the firmware is the same or not.

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

macduke

28 months ago

Maybe I'm slowly becoming a grumpy old man who doesn't like change, but this makes me nervous. I've always had a great experience with Akitio and I'm just not sure OWC can keep that up. Maybe... but only time will tell.

Well, I don't have a lot of experience with OWC aside from some RAM which always worked, but in the past I looked all over and bought several USB 3.0 to eSATA controllers for some G-Drives that I had and all of them sucked until I bought the one from OWC which worked amazingly well. So, uh, that's something.

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Anarchy99

28 months ago

Akitio is awesome they have been the most affordable for thunderbolt exclosures since prior to TB3 and apple's official support.

OWC are fine for mac accessories but overpriced

bad mix, this is the worst Tech news of 2019 so far. :(

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

keysofanxiety

28 months ago

OWC = Other Worldly Currency

Now these new accessories will cost an arm and a leg. Possibly your first-born too, depending if you take out the extended warranty.

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Read All Comments

Top Stories

Apple Launches Service for Transferring iCloud Photos and Videos to Google Photos

Wednesday March 3, 2021 12:04 pm PST by Juli Clover

Apple this week introduced a new service that's designed to make it quick and easy for iCloud users to transfer their stored photos and videos to Google Photos. As outlined in an Apple support document, you can go to Apple's privacy website and sign in to see the "Transfer a copy of your data" option. If you select this and go through all the steps, Apple will transfer your iCloud photos and ...

Read Full Article • 179 comments

NASA Mars Perseverance Rover Uses Same PowerPC Chipset Found in 1998 G3 iMac

Tuesday March 2, 2021 3:21 am PST by Sami Fathi

NASA's Perseverance rover, which recently made history landing on the surface of Mars, is powered by the same processor used in an iMac more than 23 years old. Image Credit: NASA As reported by NewScientist (via Gizmodo), the rover includes the PowerPC 750 processor, the same chip used in the G3 iMac in 1998. The main chipset is the same; however, there are differences between the...

Read Full Article • 189 comments

Rosetta May Be Removed From M1 Macs in Some Regions on macOS 11.3

Tuesday March 2, 2021 5:20 pm PST by Joe Rossignol

Installing the upcoming macOS 11.3 software update on an M1 Mac may result in Rosetta 2 being removed in one or more regions around the world. In the third beta of macOS 11.3 seeded to developers for testing today, MacRumors contributor Steve Moser uncovered new strings in the beta's code indicating that "Rosetta will be removed upon installing this update." Another new string reads "Rosetta ...

Read Full Article • 342 comments

Apple Faces Another iPhone Lawsuit Over 'Programmed Obsolescence'

Monday March 1, 2021 6:44 am PST by Sami Fathi

Apple faces a new class-action lawsuit that accuses it of deliberately releasing iOS updates that slowly reduce the performance of an iPhone, forcing customers to upgrade their devices. The lawsuit comes from the Portuguese Consumer Protection Agency, Deco Proteste (via Marketeer), which in a statement says that it will proceed with a case against the Cupertino tech giant because it...

Read Full Article • 312 comments

Prosser: iPhone 12 MagSafe Battery Pack to Feature Reverse Charging

Monday March 1, 2021 1:18 pm PST by Juli Clover

Apple is working on MagSafe-compatible battery packs that will be compatible with the iPhone 12 models, and leaker Jon Prosser today said on the Genius Bar podcast that one version of the battery pack will feature "reverse charging." According to Prosser, Apple is working on two versions of the battery packs, one that's a standard version and one that's a premium version with reverse...

Read Full Article • 103 comments

MagSafe Charging Port for iPhone Appears in Apple Patent

Wednesday March 3, 2021 1:30 am PST by Sami Fathi

In a newly granted patent, Apple envisions a type of connectivity port using an iteration of its magnetic MagSafe charger to charge an iPhone, potentially paving the way for a future without Lightning. Submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday (via Patently Apple), the patent outlines a three-pinned MagSafe charger, similar to the ones found in older MacBook...

Read Full Article • 106 comments

Apple Prefer Lightning Over USB C Feature

iPhone Sticking With Lightning Port Over USB-C for 'Foreseeable Future'

Tuesday March 2, 2021 9:32 am PST by Hartley Charlton

Apple will retain the Lightning connector on the iPhone for the "foreseeable future," with no intention of switching to USB-C, according to reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In spite of much of the industry moving toward USB-C, Apple will not be using it to replace the Lightning connector on the iPhone 13, or indeed on any iPhone model for the time being. In a note seen by MacRumors yesterday,...

Read Full Article • 284 comments

Sketchy Rumor Claims 'iPad Mini Pro' Launching in Second Half of 2021

Wednesday March 3, 2021 3:04 am PST by Tim Hardwick

Apple is expected to launch a sixth-generation iPad mini in the first half of 2021, possibly as soon as this March, based on long-standing rumors. However, a new rumor out of Asia that has gained traction in the last 24 hours suggests an "iPad mini Pro" will arrive in the second half of this year. According to a post on Korean blog Naver, whose rumor track record is unknown, the device...

Read Full Article • 79 comments

New Apple Pencil Allegedly Leaks With Glossy Finish and Redesigned Tip

Wednesday March 3, 2021 6:17 am PST by Hartley Charlton

Images supposedly depicting a third-generation Apple Pencil have been shared on Twitter by the leaker known as "Mr. White." The purported new Apple Pencil appears to share a very similar design to the current, second-generation Apple Pencil, which is shorter than the previous version and charges inductively on the side of an iPad. The updated Apple Pencil appears to have a glossy...

Read Full Article • 60 comments

Apple Watch ECG Feature Gets Approved in Australia

Wednesday March 3, 2021 2:07 am PST by Sami Fathi

The Australian government has approved ECG functionality on the Apple Watch, giving Apple the all-clear to launch the feature for Apple Watch users in the country, according to a regulatory document first spotted by The 8-Bit. Earlier last month, the Apple Watch's irregular heart rhythm notification received approval in Australia, although ECG did not. Irregular heart rhythm is a feature...

Read Full Article • 40 comments