Sonnet today announced the upcoming launch of its Fusion Flex J3i internal drive mount for the 2019 Mac Pro, which lets users add up to three SATA storage drives to their machines.
Sonnet isn't the only company to launch an internal drive mount for the new Mac Pro, and Apple itself sells Promise's Pegasus J2i system that lets you add two drives, but Sonnet says it's the first to let users add three drives right inside the Mac Pro and connected directly via SATA.
The Fusion Flex J3i offers two slots that can accept either 3.5-inch hard disk drives or 2.5-inch SSDs, and a third slot that accepts a 2.5-inch SSD, allowing for a total of 36TB of additional internal storage.
Storage installed via the Fusion Flex J3i won't be as fast as the main NVMe SSDs at the heart of the Mac Pro or PCIe-based storage upgrades, especially if you're using traditional hard disk drives, but if you're a user who wants to prioritize storage space and simplicity over drive speed, Sonnet's Fusion Flex J3i might be worth checking out.
The Fusion Flex J3i includes the mount, required power/data cable assemblies, and mounting brackets to fit 2.5-inch drives into the 3.5-inch drive slots, but the drives themselves are sold separately. It will be priced at $199.99 and launches on June 15.
Wednesday May 21, 2025 8:21 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Google recently made waves by showcasing a set of lightweight smart glasses featuring deep Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited interest in Apple's own smart glasses project, which has been the subject of rumors for nearly a decade. Here's a recap of where things stand.
Current Development Status
Apple is actively working on new chips specifically...
Apple is planning to launch a set of smart glasses by the end of 2026, reports Bloomberg. The glasses will be comparable to the Meta Ray-Bans and the Android XR glasses that Google showed off earlier this week.
Apple's smart glasses are expected to include cameras, microphones, and AI capabilities, much like the Meta Ray-Bans. The glasses will be able to take photos, record video, provide...
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature.
According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
Wednesday May 21, 2025 10:27 am PDT by Juli Clover
OpenAI is acquiring io, the hardware-based AI startup co-created by Jony Ive, OpenAI announced today. Ive has been working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on io for two years, and the duo expects to develop a family of AI devices.
In a video shared by OpenAI, Altman and Ive outlined their partnership and what they expect to create as a result of the merger. "I have a growing sense that everything ...
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube.
During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...
The big news in the technology world this week is that ChatGPT maker OpenAI is working more closely with Apple's former design chief Jony Ive on a futuristic AI device. The company is remaining tight lipped about the device, but Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has shared some alleged details about its design.
In a social media post today, Kuo said the device will be "slightly larger" ...
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple's annual developer and software-oriented event, is less than three weeks away. We haven't heard a great deal about macOS 16 ahead of its announcement this year, so we could be in for some major surprises when June 9 rolls around. Here's what we know so far about the next major update to Apple's Mac operating system.
macOS 16 Name?
Every year ...
There was a time when I would drool over stuff like this (I still kinda do).
My days of popping the hood are behind me (even though I've been keeping my 2011 17", and 2012 iMac and 15" alive for the last couple of years with those skills).
I'm amazed that we live in an age where I can ACTUALLY replace my hardware with an iPad!
I no longer need the power this machine offers, even if I think it's cool that it can provide it.
$200 for a mounting bracket and 2 slightly-customised SATA cables that should have been included with the Mac in the first place...
To be fair, the third cable is a USB3-to-SATA cable which might set you back as much as $7!
Sheesh. I've bought entire PC cases that cost less than $200 and they don't charge extra for the flippin' drive brackets. ...and that's premium Fractal Design/Silverstone stuff that you can compare with Apple and keep a straight face, although the Mac Pro blows right past "premium" and into "over-engineered to the point of parody"...
OK, I know all the big IT firms will charge you $50 for a cable tie if they think you're ordering with a corporate credit card and not watching the price, but that doesn't make it right - and they're usually doing it to compensate for under-bidding on support contracts.
Super weird how the third caddy connects via and internal USB3 cable, rather than SATA like the other two.
...probably because there are only 2 SATA connectors (plus a USB-3) on the Mac Pro mainboard...?
