Apple yesterday published a new support document warning that macOS 28 will no longer support encrypted Mac OS Extended (HFS+) volumes, meaning affected external drives will need to be decrypted or reformatted ahead of the update.


Starting with macOS 28, "the Mac OS Extended file system format will be supported only for volumes (disks and other storage devices) that aren't encrypted." Any encrypted HFS+ disks, such as older encrypted external hard drives, will stop working with the Mac unless users take action before upgrading.

Apple has not given a specific reason for the change. APFS, which natively supports encryption, has been the default file system on the Mac since macOS High Sierra launched in 2017, and dropping encrypted HFS+ support looks like a further nudge toward retiring the older format altogether.

The transition will start showing up before macOS 28 arrives. Apple says that beginning with macOS 26, a Mac might notify users if it detects an encrypted Mac OS Extended disk that will not carry over to macOS 28 or later, identifying the affected volume by name.

Users can also check manually through Disk Utility by selecting a volume and looking at the format details listed beneath its name; a volume showing both "Mac OS Extended" and "Encrypted," such as "CoreStorage Logical Volume • Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled, Encrypted)," will be incompatible.

Unencrypted Mac OS Extended volumes are not affected. Apple says macOS 28 and later will continue to support them, and notes that Mac OS Extended is also known as HFS Plus, or HFS+.

For anyone who wants to keep using an affected drive after upgrading, Apple recommends backing up its contents first, then either reformatting or decrypting it. Reformatting means erasing the volume and setting it up again in APFS or APFS (Encrypted) format through Disk Utility, which permanently deletes existing data but ensures the drive keeps working in future versions of macOS.

Decrypting is the alternative for anyone who wants to preserve their existing data on the drive. That involves connecting the drive, unlocking it with its encryption password, then Control-clicking its icon in the Finder or on the desktop and choosing Decrypt, entering the password a second time to begin the process. Apple notes that decryption "takes time, especially for large volumes," and progress can be checked in Terminal.

Once decryption finishes, users can optionally convert the volume to APFS without erasing it via Disk Utility's Convert to APFS option, and re-encrypt it afterward if desired. Apple notes that this decryption path does not apply to encrypted Time Machine backup disks.
This article, "Apple to Drop Support for Encrypted Mac OS Extended Drives Next Year" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Code spotted in the third developer beta of iOS 27 suggests that Apple is preparing to add car key support for Lucid and Xiaomi vehicles, and that the feature could be nearing launch.


The code references the identifiers "LCID" and "XIA1," which appear to correspond to Lucid and Xiaomi respectively. With an Apple car key, drivers can use their iPhone or Apple Watch to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle instead of relying on a traditional key fob.

Lucid Motors was already named as one of 13 brands Apple said would "soon" gain car key support at WWDC 2025, alongside Acura, Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Porsche, Rivian, Smart, Tata Motors, Hongqi, WEY, Chery, and Voyah. Apple did not give a timeframe for that rollout at the time, and Lucid has yet to formally confirm when the feature will arrive on its Air or Gravity models.

Xiaomi's inclusion would be new. The Chinese electronics maker has expanded rapidly into electric vehicles with models like the SU7 sedan and YU7 SUV, and car key support would mark one of the company's first tie-ins with Apple's ecosystem despite Xiaomi being a major Apple rival in the smartphone market.

This is not the first time code has recently hinted at car key support ahead of an official announcement. MacRumors previously found code pointing to Volkswagen adding Apple Wallet car keys to future vehicles, and similar backend references preceded confirmed support for General Motors brands. As with those cases, the code does not confirm which specific models will be compatible or give an exact date, though its presence in a live beta suggests Lucid and Xiaomi support could arrive relatively soon.
This article, "iOS 27 Code Points to Car Key Support for Lucid and Xiaomi" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple is testing DRAM memory chips from China's state-backed ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), according to a new report from the Financial Times.


Last week, it emerged that Apple was in discussions with CXMT and fellow Chinese chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) about sourcing memory, with no deal finalized. The new details suggest Apple has since progressed to qualifying CXMT's chips specifically, running the company's memory through the kind of technical validation that typically precedes a supplier being approved for production use. Apple has apparently still not committed to using CXMT's chips commercially, and is continuing to lead a lobbying effort among U.S. tech companies to get Washington's blessing for broader use of the supplier's products.

CXMT has grown from a heavily subsidized and unremarkable domestic chip maker into the world's fourth-largest DRAM producer, behind Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology, accounting for roughly 11% of global DRAM wafer capacity last year. That share is expected to climb to 15% by 2028 as new production lines come online in Hefei, Shanghai, and Beijing. Qualifying CXMT as a working supplier now would let Apple tap into that capacity as soon as it needs to, rather than starting the testing process from scratch once a political green light arrives.

Standard DRAM contract prices are reported to have surged an estimated 55% to 60% in early 2026 as AI server demand pulled capacity away from consumer devices, and Apple recently raised prices across almost its entire product lineup as a result. A qualified fourth DRAM supplier would give Apple leverage in future negotiations with Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, as well as a potential hedge against further shortage-driven price increases on devices built for the Chinese market.

Both CXMT and YMTC appear on the Pentagon's 1260H roster of firms Washington links to the Chinese military. In practice, that mostly cuts off Defense Department contracting rather than blocking ordinary commercial purchases, so nothing legally stops Apple from buying CXMT chips today. YMTC carries a heavier restriction, since it's also on the Commerce Department's Entity List, meaning any U.S. company needs an export license before dealing with it. What Apple reportedly wants from the administration is a promise that CXMT won't get pushed onto that same Entity List down the road, since that would effectively cut off the supply.

Back in 2022, an earlier attempt to work with Chinese memory suppliers, including YMTC, drew objections from Washington and was shelved after lawmakers pushed back. According to Bloomberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook has now taken the pitch directly to administration officials, framing it as a way to route Chinese-made memory into devices for the Chinese market specifically, which would leave more Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron chips available for products sold elsewhere. Not everyone in the administration is said to be on board, so it remains unclear whether the lobbying push will succeed.
This article, "Apple Begins Testing Controversial Chinese Memory Chips" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple CEO Tim Cook and incoming CEO John Ternus are attending this year's Sun Valley Conference, according to Forbes.


Allen & Co., the boutique investment firm behind the event, uses the conference as an annual excuse to put media, tech, and finance leaders in the same rooms for a week of closed-door talks at the Sun Valley Lodge. This year's event began on July 7 and is expected to run through July 11.

This marks Cook's final Sun Valley trip as Apple's chief executive officer. Apple announced in April that Ternus will take the CEO title on September 1, ending Cook's 15-year run atop the company as he moves into the newly created executive chairman role.

Apple's SVP of Services and Health, Eddy Cue, is also attending the Sun Valley Conference again this year. Cue has been a regular at the conference in previous years.

This year's guest list places Apple's leadership alongside a heavy concentration of AI industry figures, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor, OpenAI president Greg Brockman, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Palantir CEO Alex Karp, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.

Beyond the AI contingent, this year's attendees include Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.

Sun Valley's reputation as a dealmaking backdrop goes back decades. Casual conversations at the resort are widely credited with laying the groundwork for Disney buying ABC in 1995, Bezos picking up The Washington Post in 2013, and Verizon's 2014 deal for AOL.
This article, "Tim Cook and John Ternus Attend Sun Valley Conference Together" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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