There is nothing preventing you from running OpenZFS on external storage if you are worried that the hardware you purchased is less reliable.

That's my point, though, is that it seems weird to spend a half billion dollars just to solve the problem for an extremely common use case by saying "use OpenZFS".

Why not come up with a solution that covers external storage too, instead of spending all that money and relying on external solutions? I just don't understand why they couldn't have optional checksums in APFS.

It's far more weird that NTFS still makes zero effort to maintain file integrity on any level, on internal or external disks.

ReFS exists, so Microsoft knew they needed to do something, but they have utterly failed to protect the vast majority of users.

To be fair, though, NTFS predates APFS by over 20 years.

Don't get me wrong, there's no reason Microsoft can't transition to another filesystem (like offering ReFS outside of Server or whatever Windows variants support it currently), but I don't understand why a company would transition to a new filesystem in 2016 and not include a data checksums option. Hell, ReFS predates APFS, and I think it even has optional data checksums.

To be fair, NTFS is still the default Windows 11 filesystem in 2025, and Microsoft still makes zero effort to insure file integrity when you use that default Windows filesystem.

Handling file integrity in hardware is a big step up.

> Handling file integrity in hardware is a big step up.

Is there any evidence that Apple actually has better hardware data integrity than anyone else, though? They make claims in the article linked a few posts back, but AFAIK SSDs in general make use of error correcting codes, not just Apple's SSDs.

That article also points out how even multi-million dollar arrays are known to return bad data, and previous Apple SSD devices have been known to do the same.

I agree that the state of default filesystems is bad, but I'm not convinced that Apple's hardware solution is anything more than them saying, "Trust me, bro."

ReFS is available on Windows 10/11 client; it's what the DevDrive feature uses. And the current Insider allows installation of the OS/boot volume on ReFS.

https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/testing-instaling-windows-...

Every time I tried OpenZFS on my iMac, it absolutely crushed the performance of the entire machine.

We’re talking “watch the mouse crawl across the machine” crushed. Completely useless. Life returned to normal when I uninstalled it.

Also, I’ve heard anecdotes that ZFS and USB do not get along.

I’ve also heard contrary experiences. Some folks, somewhere, may be having success with ZFS on external drives on an iMac.

I’m just not one of them.

Apple does not care about external storage at all, as in external disks. They offer iCloud for external storage. They don't sell external disks. They don't like cables. They make lots of money selling you a bigger internal disk.

Their store has a whole section dedicated to storage, most of it external. https://www.apple.com/shop/mac/accessories/storage

No one requires you to use APFS for your external storage!

And yet it's the default when formatting a device on macOS.

Being afraid to not use the default is evidence of not being a power user!

Default or not, are there sensible alternatives on a Mac? I'm not sure if I'd consider OpenZFS on Mac "sensible" - but I haven't owned a Mac in decades, so... what are the alternatives to APFS?

Occasionally that is mistaken by newbies as such, oftentimes it is the voice of experience and battlefield scars driving sensible decisions.

maybe apple doesn't want you to use external storage, because storage size is how apple upsells devices and grabs larger premium.

By using external storage, instead of paying $10k more for more storage, you are directly harming Apple’s margins and the CEO’s bonus which is not ok /s

Externally connected devices are not sexy, and Apple is concerned about image and looking sexy.