macOS 27 requires Apple Silicon, as Apple draws down the Intel Mac era - Ars Technica

Skip to content

AI

Biz & IT

Cars

Culture

Gaming

Health

Policy

Science

Security

Space

Tech

Forum

Subscribe

Story text

Size

Small<br>Standard<br>Large

Width

Standard<br>Wide

Links

Standard<br>Orange

* Subscribers only

Learn more

Pin to story

Theme

Search

Sign In

Sign in dialog...

Text<br>settings

Story text

Size

Small<br>Standard<br>Large

Width

Standard<br>Wide

Links

Standard<br>Orange

* Subscribers only

Learn more

Minimize to nav

As Apple announced last year, this year’s macOS release will end support for Intel Macs. The macOS 27 Golden Gate release will require a Mac with an Apple Silicon chip inside, including the original M1 that launched in the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini back in late 2020.

Intel Macs running macOS 26 Tahoe can expect security and Safari patches for about two more years after the release of macOS 27 Golden Gate. Macs running macOS 15 Sequoia will receive one more year of updates. Apple Silicon Macs will still be able to run Intel Mac apps via the Rosetta 2 compatibility layer in macOS 27, but future releases will begin to limit the technology (Apple has said it will mainly be used to support older games that still use Intel code).

This change has been a long time coming, and every new macOS release has left a longer and longer list of Intel Macs behind. But many Mac owners who purchased late-model Intel machines in 2019 and 2020 could still run the latest version of the operating system, and third-party utilities like the OpenCore Legacy Patcher helped more adventurous Mac owners use their unsupported hardware a bit longer.

Apple’s compatibility list for macOS 27 includes no Intel Macs.

Credit:<br>Apple

Apple’s compatibility list for macOS 27 includes no Intel Macs.

Credit:

Apple

Those workarounds will presumably no longer work for macOS 27 Golden Gate. Apple is jettisoning most of the remaining Intel code in macOS, as it did when ending support for PowerPC machines in the Mac OS X Snow Leopard release; without that code, continuing to force new macOS versions to run on old Intel machines will become functionally impossible.

Even some Apple Silicon Macs will miss out on some of the new Apple Intelligence features Apple demonstrated during its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote today. The basic version of Apple Intelligence will continue to work on all Apple Silicon Macs, including M1 devices and models like the MacBook Neo with just 8GB of RAM. But Apple’s more capable on-device models will require an M3 Mac or newer with at least 12GB of RAM.

The first macOS 27 and developer beta is available now, and a version aimed at public beta testers will follow in July. The final release will land in the fall.

Andrew Cunningham

Senior Technology Reporter

Andrew Cunningham

Senior Technology Reporter

Andrew is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica, with a focus on consumer tech including computer hardware and in-depth reviews of operating systems like Windows and macOS. Andrew lives in Philadelphia and co-hosts a weekly book podcast called Overdue.

58 Comments

Comments

Forum view

Loading comments...

Prev story

Next story

1.<br>For the 2nd time in weeks, Microsoft packages laced with credential stealer

2.<br>A Falcon 9 booster turns 5 years old—and just set a remarkable reuse record

3.<br>Tests suggest Russian satellites can jam GPS on a continental scale

4.<br>"Chat is dead": OpenAI preps overhaul of ChatGPT

5.<br>How a USB-connected speaker can infect a PC without ever being touched

Customize