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

[danbuter]

I bought my Intel MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports, 16GB) back in June of 2020, so that's 6 years of full support so far and Apple will provide security updates for a further 3 years. Almost a decade of support. I'm more than happy with that.

You can easily install Linux Mint or Fedora on that macbook and have it last another 10+ years.

 

[csalm87]

I just want to point out that from an OS standpoint, Apple has supported Intel Macs longer than they did PowerPC Macs after the announcement of the transition to Intel.

 

[DrRadon]

It’s sort of painful that’s a dual shift. I have a fully stacked 2020 27 inch iMac than can do more than enough but the second use case via bootcamp is also out of the window with the weird windows 11 situation. The flipping thing can play cyberpunk fine but new releases simply won’t work because it is not signed for win 11.

I am sure m chips are cool and all, but the computer dos everything I need it to do, the only draw back is how slow Tahoe made it. I won’t be getting a new machine in the next five years min.

 

[M4irmidnight]

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

Google earth pro for me.

 

[connectedr]

We have known this since WWDC 2025. This is like the fourth time they've published the same exact story with no new info.

 

[HVDynamo]

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

I remember the Dashboard widgets from Tiger. I really liked the liquid effect when you placed a new one and it would drop in place. Was so cool back then.

 

[Spock]

They gave Intel a lot more time than they gave PowerPC. I have been through it all, 68k, PowerPC, Intel and now Apple Silicon. The future is fun.

 

[kagharaht]

I'm keeping my Late 2013 iMac and MBA 2017 around forever. That way I can still run INTEL Applications when needed. I also keep my HP running on Windows 8 just for legacy stuff also. They mostly sit in the closet, but I do turn them on occasionally when needed. The iMac Late 2013 less often and probably will be stored permanently. The MBA 2017 runs Monterey so I use that more often.

 

[elvisimprsntr]

The only app I use that is Intel only is TurboTax. Intuit better or get off the

 

[EugW]

Didn't I read that this won't be compatible with the Neo on here?

No. Where did you get that strange idea? Or are you just talking about some random uninformed forum post?

 

[Howard2k]

No. Where did you get that strange idea? Or are you just talking about some random uninformed forum post?

Yes, some random uninformed forum post.

 

[novagamer]

The rosetta thing is going to be an absolute cluster especially for professional workflows. So, sooo many installers for barely maintained expensive niche software all use intel and rely on Rosetta (which is stupid!) but I guarantee this is going to be major a story in 15 months.

I tried HARD to never install Rosetta on my DAW and it just wasn't possible because of nonsense like that, and a lot of that software gets updated twice a decade.

For clarity: the apps are OFTEN "apple silicon compatible" but the way you get them into your system requires intel. It's absolutely asinine.

 

[southerndoc]

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

It's not available for small businesses. If you have schedule Cs and other forms, you have to purchase the app.

 

[ResolutionNZ]

I hope at the very least Apple brings the UI fixes to Tahoe. Leaving Intel users with a broken OS isn’t cool.

 

[iDento]

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

🤷‍♂️

I was going to do the same, but what about the screen? The Studio Display is overpriced, and any other screen won’t give you the seamless experience of the iMac.

I decided to go with the iMac M5, 24 GB, 1 TB. RAM is a priority anyway since even the M1 does everything I want, including vibe coding with Claude.

 

[racerhomie]

I remember the Dashboard widgets from Tiger. I really liked the liquid effect when you placed a new one and it would drop in place. Was so cool back then.

Yes, the traffic lights and minimizing animations felt like from the future to me

 

[neuropsychguy]

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).

It depends on how you define efficiency. While it won't change CPU cycles or battery life, it improves storage and bandwidth efficiency. Dropping gigabytes of legacy code that a machine can't even read is a textbook definition of making a system more efficient.

 

[BuffyzDead]

What display?

I already own two Apple Studio Display's.

One for my MacBook Pro (below) and the other,
as a second display to this very iMac.

So I will be all set, in that respect. 😎

 

[mlayer]

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.

I have a cheapo 34" Samsung ultrawide that I use for auxiliary streams from the iMac Pro. My next project, if I can get around to it, is to convert a 2015 27" iMac to a 5K monitor. It has a blown logic board, so it's currently gathering dust.

 

[M4irmidnight]

I already own two Apple Studio Display's.

One for my MacBook Pro (below) and the other,
as a second display to this very iMac.

So I will be all set, in that respect. 😎

Awesome. I recently ordered a used 22 one. Still waiting .

 

[Nermal]

I was hoping that they'd hold off for another year, given the supply issues with some of the new machines. Alas...

Edit: I'd thought this article was a new announcement, but it turns out that it's a repost of last year's. Let's wait until WWDC.

 

[izzy0242mr]

It depends on how you define efficiency. While it won't change CPU cycles or battery life, it improves storage and bandwidth efficiency. Dropping gigabytes of legacy code that a machine can't even read is a textbook definition of making a system more efficient.

Efficiency in computing terms virtually always refers to performance (i.e., active use), not size. "Space-saving" or "smaller storage footprint" are the way that's said.

Maybe "space-efficient" would work, but "efficiency" is never used in computing marketing to mean "the software now takes up less space on your drive." It's always used to mean "the software now actively uses fewer resources when you're using it (RAM, CPU, battery, etc.)."

Let's not Gen Z this by using words in contexts that they're really never used in simply because one person misspoke but could, arguably, "well ackshually," be sort of right if you squint really hard.

 

[izzy0242mr]

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.

This was more than expected. Apple literally told us this a year ago when Tahoe came out. I don't know why people are acting like this is news. It's been known for a year at this point.

I agree with you about faith in Apple being hurt by Tahoe. I run it on my Neo because I have no choice, but I refuse to upgrade my other Macs. I will probably skip Tahoe altogether and daily drive Sequoia until I cannot do so anymore unless macOS 27 proves to be more like Snow Leopard was back in the day (aka GREAT).

 

[izzy0242mr]

I was hoping that they'd hold off for another year, given the supply issues with some of the new machines. Alas...

Edit: I'd thought this article was a new announcement, but it turns out that it's a repost of last year's. Let's wait until WWDC.

Oh wow, I missed that it's a repost. Typical MacRumors trying to milk non-stories for clicks…guess it worked.

 

[Shirasaki]

I sure hope M Macs get at least 10 years of full software support.

M1 is showing its age unfortunately, evidenced by my iPad Pro M1 running noticeably slower on iOS 26 than on iOS 18. I can still use it but not great anymore. My M1 MacBook Pro is still decent but does not feel as snappy as it once was on older macOS. However it might be good for customers for long supports, if M1 is to get major software update for 10 years, that also means devs targeting platforms for new apps would also be M1, instead of M2/M3/M4, which might not be as good as you think.