According to @NekoMichi on X , the usual FireWire section has vanished from System Settings, and gear that depends on the standard refuses to mount. That includes early iPods and ancient external drives that once cost the Earth.

This is a slap in the face for users clinging to older hardware and a classic example of Job’s Mob erasing its history. After all, it was Apple that championed FireWire in the first place before it became the IEEE 1394 standard. But now the cult wants to pretend it never happened.

Of course, there is always the hope that this is just a cock-up and FireWire might sneak back in a later beta or final release. Given Job’s Mob’s track record, though, you wouldn’t want to bet your 2004 iPod on it.

Apple stopped including FireWire ports on Macs in 2012, so anyone still connecting old gear has been relying on a mess of adapters. And now even that is looking bleak.

We did ask Job’s Mob if this was a deliberate move or just a blunder, but, shockingly, there has been no reply yet. If they ever do break their silence, we will let you know.