A reader of AppleInsider has unleashed pictures of an unreleased prototype of Apple's Xserve RAID. While externally the new prototype looks much the same as the existing model, the prototype was configued with SATA drives (rather than the current Xserve RAID's UltraATA bus), and had 6 Fibre Channel ports (up from the current version's 2).
While the admin software (listed at version "2.0d32 dev/A3.10", up from 1.5 in the current model) was mostly disabled, AppleInsider muses that the additional ports may be for more flexible drive access.
On the currently shipping Xserve RAID, when one Xserve is connected to both ports it has access to all 14 drives. When two Xserves are connected (one to each port), both have access to 7 of the drives. It's likely that newer RAID Admin software will allow arbitrary assignment of drives to any of six connected Xserves. It is also possible that these newer Xserves RAIDs have an integrated 6-port fibre channel switch. This won't be known until an actual release of the hardware when new firmware and admin software is available.
Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces.
The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014.
This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019.
Q.ai...
Thursday July 30, 2026 3:43 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
We're less than two months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a dramatic change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year,...
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a ~5.5-inch outer display and a ~7.8-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.
