Unlike 2023, this past year was not so product-rich, but it did introduce some interesting new devices that are both new for Synology, as well as an evolution of their existing models and services.
One of the biggest surprises we might say of this past year was the introduction of a brand-new type of device. A NAS device, but not in Synology's conventional way. The new Beestation is a turn-key solution for non-tech-savvy users.
Featuring DS124 specifications, with a prepopulated HAT3310 4TB hard drive, this new device is a perfect backup, sync, and share network device. Paired with a brand new OS, the BSM offers up to nine users to use it as their backup storage point with hassle-free share and sync capabilities.
The latest version of the said OS also introduced support for the new BeeStation-only backup platform called BeeProtect. It is a C2 cloud-supported service that allows an easy way to back up the BeeStation appliance in case there is no other local or network device present.
The whole Bee topic has been one of the most frequent ones in terms of major hardware and software changes in 2024. Speaking of changes, the NAS lineup has got no new device in the past year but work on the DSM OS has continued forward with new changes in the 7.2 version
Unfortunately, while new security updates and patches have made the OS and devices by extension more secure, Synology also dropped the ball in the latest 7.2.2. update.
Elimination of Video Station support across the board, as well as no support for local H264 or H265 on-device processing. This update has made a lot of end users angry and with good reason, but while Synology is no stranger to sunsetting or depreciating their apps, this radical removal with no previous announcement was a bit much, to say the least.
On top of their NAS devices and services that are connected to them, Synology also offers surveillance solutions. Both in hardware and software, the 2024, continued from the previous year with the introduction of one new WiFi camera model. The CC400W is the first Synology device that is fully wireless (apart from the power source) unlike the two PoE-powered models introduced in 2023. This small, magnetic, and AI-assisted model offers a lot for the price point.
With new camera models, we also got a few changes in the C2 Surveillance department. All current cameras will get a "cloud" version as well, accompanied by some more models coming in 2025. Synology also rolled out the C2 Surveillance Station cloud platform. For users that do not have any Synology NAS running the on-premise version of the Surveillance Station, now there is a cloud-assisted version offering users direct cloud backup of their footage in any of the three worldwide accessible C2 data centers.
Getting back to on-premise updates, Synology has continued to develop and expand its hard drive segment with the new HAT3310 series of drives. These 7200 RPM models now come up to 16TB in size with a very competitive price compared to other 3rd party vendors.
It is now clear that the company does not intend to back out of the hard drive segment, and in fact, it has intensified both production and support across its entire portfolio. The upcoming 2025 models will for sure be only officially compatible with Synology drives, eliminating 3rd parties moving forward, for the upcoming new NAS devices.
On a personal note, I can't say anything special or negative regarding the drives. I have had them running inside my RS2423+ models for over a year and there have been no issues whatsoever regarding the drives themselves.
One final, and I might say, huge addition to the Synology whole setup, has been the brand new DataProtection lineup powered by an entirely new OS, the ActiveProtect Manager.
This is Synology's backup appliance solution designed for heavy business and larger enterprise usage. While it comes in desktop versions as well, the whole idea and pricing behind it will give a clear intention that this is not a SOHO device.
The company has big plans with these prepopulated and license-based devices while staying true to their SOHO and enthusiast-level products as well. By refining their DSM code as well as hardware compatibility over the years, the time has come to move forward with a Synology-only philosophy.
Again, while 2024 didn't bring much for the average user, Synology has used it to place some interesting products and platforms on the market, giving clear intentions of its direction moving forward. This will be the year when we will start seeing updated models that most users are waiting for. Let's hope that many wishes and complaints have reached Synology and that the next retrospective article will be more like 2023, and less 2024.