eSATA Coming to the Mac?
Apple has been using SATA (Serial ATA) hard drives and interfaces since the first PowerMac G5 shipped in the summer of 2003. Since then, SATA has expanded both in use and capabilities. While originally envisioned as an internal computer interface for storage devices, it has grown to encompass external hard drives as well.
Courtesy of Apple
eSATA (external SATA) has become a popular way to add external drive space, and many manufacturers offer eSATA-based storage solutions. Apple, however, has been slow to add support for eSATA, requiring those of us who want to use this technology to purchase eSATA interface cards or make our own eSATA cabling, in order to use an available internal SATA port.
According to Electronista, Apple recently filed for a patent that suggests eSATA may be making its way to new Macs. The patent in question brings the Target Disk Mode that Apple uses in its implementation of FireWire to eSATA ports. This means that in the future, you could connect two Macs with an inexpensive eSATA cable and transfer data from one to the other at a very high data rate, just like you can do today with the far more expensive FireWire. Which raises the question: If Apple goes forward with eSATA as a standard connection port on Macs, will we see the phase-out of FireWire?
My take is no, but we could very well see FireWire relegated to higher end desktop and portable products where it's needed for professional media use, such as professional video and audio. Consumer Macs (iMacs, MacMinis, MacBooks) would retain standard USB ports and gain an eSATA port, but lose the FireWire connection they now offer.
What do you think? Is FireWire fated to be relegated to 'Pro' Macs? Share your thoughts by adding a comment below.
Comments
My take also, is that Apple may add FireWire, but not abandon it. Apple invented/helped invent it, for Pete’s sake. And while you say that FireWire is “far more expensive,” the F/W version of a drive is usually only $10-20 more than it’s USB sibling.
eSATA is what, twice the speed of F/W? Even so, that’s not reason enough to relegate it to high-end Macs only. Bootable, daily cheaper, and completely ubiquitous FireWire external drives are here for the foreseeable future, and until video camera makers are ready to switch, FireWire will remain on consumer Macs as well as PowerMacs for professional video editing.
Hi Jack,
As I noted, I don’t expect Apple to eliminate FireWIre. I believe Apple will put eSATA on every new Mac and limit FireWire to the professional series of products, the Mac Pro and the MacBook Pro.
If Apple does indeed come up with a way for eSATA connections to support Target Disk Mode, then what value does FireWire hold? FireWire would be slower than eSATA, and with eSATA’s support of Target Disk Mode, the only advantage FireWire holds is the ability to interconnect media devices, such as video cameras and audio equipment. And for the most part, the individuals using FireWire-based audio and video equipment are professionals, not casual users.
It’s more expensive for Apple to add a FireWire controller to Macs than to just add a connector for eSATA and use the SATA controller that’s already included internally on Macs. The cost difference may be as little as $2 per Mac to Apple, but when you sell close to 10 million Macs a year, that savings adds up quickly.
So, if Apple only provides FireWire for Macs targeted at pros, and adds eSATA to all Macs, it would realize a cost savings while maintaining a high performance external interface for the entire Mac product line.
Tom
Hey Tom, Though I mentioned it, I guess I should have made more of the point re leaving FireWire on low-end Macs - where would taking it off leave the millions of users that have say, an iMac, and a home video camera? Since most of those cams have FireWire connections, so I would say it would leave them out in the cold. FireWire will remain on all Macs for the next 10 years, at least.
Unlikely that Apple will drop the Firewire format on portables and desktops anytime soon.
It is a more flexible and robust format than USB, and face it, DV video editing comprises a pretty large portion of the Apple market.
The addition of eSata in place of FW 800 ports would be a welcome site on all pro-level Macs (Macbook Pro’s, towers, and the 24″ iMacs). Face it, who uses FW800 for anything other than raw data transfer, and the eSata ports will run circles around FW800.
I run my Time Machine drive via eSata–significantly faster than the FW800 unit I used this spring. The only current frustration is the need for a 3rd party card to allow it..
Hi Dave,
I also use eSATA for my external that has a Time Machine backup on it. If you have a MacPro, you can take advantage of the two unused SATA ports on the motherboard. I simply ran SATA cables from the unused ports to an eSATA bracket I mounted in one of the PCI Express slots that was not in use. This gave me two external eSATA ports to use.
Tom
I would love to see eSATA as an additional option on the macs. eSATA is faster and as storage requirements grow…any speed improvements is very valuable to me.
eSATA may have the edge on FireWire in the speed stakes, provided the device on each end is capable of more than 100 MB per second throughput, but for now there’s no power provision in SATA connections.
FireWire 400 and 800 both provide up to 15 Watts of power, allowing many peripherals to operate without an additional power supply. USB only provides 2.5 Watts by comparison.
Also, FireWire cables can be up to 100 meters in length. eSATA cables are limited to a laughable 1 meter.
Oh, and FireWire devices can be daisy-chained, with up to 63 devices per channel. SATA and eSATA can’t.
I think Apple will hang on to FireWire for a while yet even on mid-range Macs, but on portables in particular.
Well the mew MacBook just release has no firewire. So this may support that Firewire is going away in place of something new in the future like eSATA, but I will stick with a MacPro that I can add firewire to cause Im a video editor, and I don’t see any new format coming out on camcorders to replace firewire in the next few years.
The new MacBook is indeed the first Mac to lack a FireWire port. It will be interesting to see if the same thing happens to iMacs when they are next updated.
As I have mentioned, I think FireWire will remain on the ‘Pro’ series of Mac products, but will be dropped from the consumer level Macs.
Tom
As usual Apple will have no regard for us non pro idiots out here who have spent millions on firewire powered and non powered peripherals and will have to chuck em in the bin and buy externals with an eSATA port.
I’m pissed off because I just bought a 1TB external hard drive with USB 2.0 and firewire but WITHOUT a eSATA port for my 24″ iMac
BUGGER
Why would you be pissed off? I did the same..1Tb hard drive with USB, Firewire and of course eSATA that I can’t use.
No problem, the fire wire is fast enough 800..
eSATA looks a bit difficult for my iMac. Better suited to the pro.