Apple Says macOS 27 Won't Be Compatible With These Macs

[Hastings101]

A good number of people spent a lot of money on those MacBook Pros from 2020, often using them for work. Six years might seem a lot, but many Lenovo laptops from 2018 are still getting the latest Windows updates and will for a while to come. This is within an ecosystem where thousands of different models of computers have to work with an OS

MacOS is easily better, less buggy and more efficient, but considering how much more controlled the hardware is and the premium markups, the current bugginess and restrictiveness of MacOS is tough to swallow.

I know you mean that they won't get macOS 27, but I still think it's important to remember that these machines are not dropped from any software updates for macOS 26. I wouldn't be surprised if Intel macs were supported beyond the usual two years of security and other updates after the next OS release.

8-9 years of software support imo is still too short considering how long tech lasts now, but it is a good lifespan for the machines nevertheless. And let's be real, anyone using one of these for daily work that isn't in a browser or word processor like video, AI, 3D graphics etc. most definitely upgraded by now.

 

[M4irmidnight]

I will be replacing my iMac (Late 2020) in my signature below,
to an M5 Pro Mac mini, this coming Fall.

🤷‍♂️

What display?

Your “OMG it’s lightning fast” M1 Mac you purchased a few years ago will likely be slow as molasses on MacOS 27 - with nothing to show for it.
Isn’t progress great?

Brother, my 2017 12 inch intel MacBook isn’t even slow as molasses on its final version , Ventura.

This isn’t iOS.

 

[fredfnord]

Your “OMG it’s lightning fast” M1 Mac you purchased a few years ago will likely be slow as molasses on MacOS 27 - with nothing to show for it.
Isn’t progress great?

Don't know what you're running, but my M1 on macOS 26 continues to be indistinguishable from my M4 on macOS 26 until I start doing multi-machine virtualization, heavy-duty video stuff (which I almost never do), or compiling very large projects. These days, even editing very large graphics files is equally instantaneous on both machines.

For day to day stuff, I have little doubt that the M1 on 27 will be the same way. It won't have the same on-device AI 'features', but honestly that's not a concern for me.

 

[match14]

3 years will keep my Intel Mac ticking over to retirement.

 

[fredfnord]

A good number of people spent a lot of money on those MacBook Pros from 2020, often using them for work. Six years might seem a lot, but many Lenovo laptops from 2018 are still getting the latest Windows updates and will for a while to come. This is within an ecosystem where thousands of different models of computers have to work with an OS

MacOS is easily better, less buggy and more efficient, but considering how much more controlled the hardware is and the premium markups, the current bugginess and restrictiveness of MacOS is tough to swallow.

On the other hand, many Lenovo laptops from 2016 and even later were not able to update to Windows 11 at all (or at least not without workarounds, and then they're unsupported).

Just so we're comparing, y'know, apples to apples.

 

[mblm85]

The only remaining Rosetta apps I have are by Western Digital. They don't seem bothered though.

 

[applicious84]

I know you mean that they won't get macOS 27, but I still think it's important to remember that these machines are not dropped from any software updates for macOS 26. I wouldn't be surprised if Intel macs were supported beyond the usual two years of security and other updates after the next OS release.

8-9 years of software support imo is still too short considering how long tech lasts now, but it is a good lifespan for the machines nevertheless. And let's be real, anyone using one of these for daily work that isn't in a browser or word processor like video, AI, 3D graphics etc. most definitely upgraded by now.

I agree with a lot of what you're saying. I also know someone who got their 13" 2020 MacBook Pro with 32GB ram for Illustrator. They won't need the newest release of MacOS for what they do, and Illustrator works well enough for them. Because of this economy though, their company doesn't have the funds to upgrade to a new workstation laptop.

This is happening at a time when everyone acknowledges current/coming markups due to memory shortages, and while most people might not need to update those machines to the latest OS, it's too bad the option won't be there.

 

[EugW]

Longer than they do now would be good. Given the brand new Neo is in the same CPU, GPU, RAM and storage class as the 2020 M1 there is some hope for that. Yes, there will be new "features" that are not supported on the old hardware which is fair, but as long as I can get the MBA online securely that is what I need. Current Firefox runs just fine on a 2012 Mini if that Mini is running Linux. The 2009 is a bit slow. The 2006 is Really slow. (Yes, it's 32 bit and 2 GB and a hard drive. Go figure.)

I highly suspect macOS 28 in 2027 won't support the M1 MacBook Air, M1 MacBook Pro, and M1 Mac mini. The Neo has a much more recent SoC, but it's not really about that, but about the year of release for the Mac. To put it another way, going forward the Neo will likely get more macOS updates than the M3 MacBook Air, since the M3 MBA came out in 2024.

 

[applicious84]

On the other hand, many Lenovo laptops from 2016 and even later were not able to update to Windows 11 at all (or at least not without workarounds, and then they're unsupported).

Just so we're comparing, y'know, apples to apples.

I haven't checked, but I think that the Thinkpads would have all be upgradeable. It's their "pro" machine if we're going to keep it apples to apples 😉

And it's just not the same controlled environment that Apple enjoys

 

[Fleuronique]

Your “OMG it’s lightning fast” M1 Mac you purchased a few years ago will likely be slow as molasses on MacOS 27 - with nothing to show for it.
Isn’t progress great?

Is it hard being so neurotic, or does one just learn to live with the negativity?

 

[jontalk5]

I went from an Intel iMac to the M1 Mac Mini and there's no comparison whatsoever. And while the M1 is slower than later models, it boots in 30-45 seconds and has been 100% reliable which is more than I can say for the older iMac

 

[progx]

Ugh, really annoyed that my PowerBook isn't compatible.

It is RISC based 😂

 

[kagharaht]

So no updating my Mint Condition 20th Anniversary Mac (no buzzing BOSE Subwoofer)? 😉 Man if only this guy can do more than just look pretty these days, I would use it every day like I used to.

 

[racerhomie]

Ugh, really annoyed that my PowerBook isn't compatible.

I miss my old iBook G4! OSX Tiger was so much fun

 

[ChrisMac47]

The only remaining Rosetta apps I have are by Western Digital. They don't seem bothered though.

I use CrossOver (a version of WINE) that allows me to run a couple of Windows Apps seamlessly ... great software but it does use Rosetta to some extent. My understanding is that the developer will ensure it still runs after Rosetta is withdrawn but they are waiting to hear exactly what aspects of Rosetta will remain after MacOs 27.

 

[progx]

That's somewhat comforting. It's too bad there's no 27-inch iMac successor on the horizon or Mac Pro for that matter. I'm mindful of the fact that the iMac Pro is a power hog in relation to later Intel iMacs and especially Apple Silicon. My next desktop Mac will probably be a mini or a gently used M1 or M3 iMac.

Depending on what monitor you get for the mini, you can get BetterDisplay and turn on HiDPI mode to get a similar visual experience to an Apple display.

Surprisingly, my ASUS 27" TUF Gaming monitor (VG27BQ) can use that mode. My LG 27BL55U 4K and 24ML44B 1080p monitors take advantage of it as well. My Samsung OLED Odyssey G8 34" Ultrawide (LS34DG856SNXZA) doesn’t though, which is a bummer. The ASUS and LG 24" I use for my work MacBook, which I put the free version on it.

Plus, using RustDesk I can create a virtual third display on my mini for my iPad Air M3 to use as well.

 

[trhoffmann]

So we have one more year for Intel-based apps to run on macOS with Apple Silicon? I think the only app I use that's not AS-native now is Intuit's TurboTax. Have a feeling they'll transition to web-based instead of transitioning to Apple Silicon.

They already have a web-based version of TurboTax. I have used it for at least 5 years to prepare my taxes.

 

[izzy0242mr]

I wonder how much more efficient macOS will be once they drop the x86 code like when they dropped the PPC code in... wasn't it Snow Leopard? IIRC there was a significant drop in install size for the OS. I wonder if macOS 27 will see a similar reduction.

How "efficient" it will be is a completely separate question from the install size.

macOS isn't using Intel code (except to run occasional Intel apps) when it runs on our Apple Silicon machines. It's running natively compiled AS code.

The installer size of the OS should drop in size compared to Tahoe because it's not including another copy of the OS for Intel machines, but that has zero impact on the efficiency of the OS since the OS already isn't using Intel code for the OS. It will just make updates smaller (in theory).

 

[Fleuronique]

..//
The installer size of the OS should drop in size compared to Tahoe because it's not including another copy of the OS for Intel machines, ..//

I didn't know that the installer for Apple Silicon included installer for Intel as well.
Good that we get id of it in that case. 👍

 

[Corefile]

Notably this is 3 years from Tahoe release, not from macOS 27.

Apple only does security fixes for the most recent 3 major versions. So your first year of security fixes is just the normal bug fix and minor version updates.

I wonder if Apple will put Tahoe into "read-only" mode like MICROS~1 is doing with their Mac software.

 

[MikeSmoke]

The decent thing for apple to do going forward is to limit or make switchable new features on M1 Macs and not cripple them by cramming in every new feature. My base model M1 MBA on MacOS 26 is performing well for my usage. There is no legit reason for it to deteriorate. The Neo gives hope that minus the x86 bloat even a modest CPU/GPU with 8gig RAM has a future. Long live the 2020 M1 MBA!!!

 

[bluecoast]

Ok this was expected.

At least Intel Mac owners can lurk on sequoia a little while longer, but getting marooned on Tahoe is a bitter pill.

I’m more concerned for 27, as Tahoe has been one of the most unpopular releases in the Mac community for a good while now.

I’ll expect the worst but hope for the best. My faith in Apple has been very dented by Tahoe.