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Is Snow Leopard the last to support 32-bit Intel Macs?

A

Amdahl

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 28, 2004
1,438
1
Snow Leopard may default to 32-bit boot, but with 32-bit Intel Macs being almost 3 years old, and all new apps being produced in 64-bit, how much longer can 32-bit systems expect to get new OS releases?

My guess is that OS X 10.6 is the last release for 32-bit Intel hardware. Apple will make 10.7 64-bit only in order to stop splitting development between 32-bit x86 architecture and the futuristic 64-bit AMD64 architecture.

For instance, even though Safari & Firefox still support PowerPC, the latest versions do not have the optimizations that the Intel version does for JavaScript. They each run much slower. Soon, those optimizations will probably only be done for AMD64 versions of software, and the 32-bit x86 versions will be slowly phased out.

Is 10.6 end of the road for 32-bit Macs?
 
M

mathcolo

macrumors 6502a
Sep 14, 2008
860
16
Boston
Somehow I really doubt this. I think that there are still a ton of good quality 32-bit EFI computers out there. This includes mine... (specs in my signature).

My MacBook runs very fast. It's old, given its 2007 release date, but I still love it. I don't mind having a 32-bit EFI computer, and I also do think it will be able to run 10.7 and beyond.

I don't completely disagree agree with this thread though. To be prepared for the future, old technology does need to be left behind at some point.
 
J

J the Ninja

macrumors 68000
Jul 14, 2008
1,824
0
Some of us held out hope once that Win 7 32bit wouldn't even see the light of day. I agree with Eidorian, this in the end of the road for 32bit on both Windows and OS X. And good riddance. IA-32 has clung on plenty long enough.
 
Eidorian

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
J the Ninja said:
Some of us held out hope once that Win 7 32bit wouldn't even see the light of day. I agree with Eidorian, this in the end of the road for 32bit on both Windows and OS X. And good riddance. IA-32 has clung on plenty long enough.
Click to expand...
I don't seem to remember why Microsoft put 32-bit Windows 7 out again. Atom supports 64-bit.
 
Markov

Markov

macrumors 6502
May 18, 2007
399
0
Philadelphia
Well, I think Microsoft owed it to the 32-bit only crowd because Vista just sucked out loud (this is MY opinion, others may disagree). Apple JUST dropped PPC support in Snow Leopard, so I think 10.6 will be it for 32-bit.
 
wrldwzrd89

wrldwzrd89

macrumors G5
Jun 6, 2003
12,110
77
Solon, OH
I think at least some of the oldest Intel Macs will be phased out with 10.7. As whether that includes all the 32-bit Intel Macs, that remains an open question, though I suspect we'll find out sooner than we all think we will (we'll know much more at WWDC 2010, but leaks before then will reveal a fair amount). :eek:
 
MorzillA

MorzillA

macrumors 6502
May 16, 2007
302
0
Miami
So if most ppl are saying and agreeing that the 32-bit Intel Macs are fased out of the new 10.7 OS X, then my question is the following and this has something to do with Eric S. post.
Once Snow Leopard is out, is there any rumors that the current Macs can/will be upgradeable with the new chipset, or does the public face the hard$hip of buying a refurb with the new OS.
It's always cheaper to do the upgrade, especially if one does it instead of coughing up $$$ for some one else to do it. Unless you have no clue as to what you are doing, of course!!!
Only time, leaked news and WWDC 2010 will tell.....


:apple:
 
JFreak

JFreak

macrumors 68040
Jul 11, 2003
3,151
9
Tampere, Finland
mathcolo said:
Somehow I really doubt this. I think that there are still a ton of good quality 32-bit EFI computers out there.
Click to expand...

Ever heard anyone saying "Somehow I really doubt this. I think that there are still a ton of good quality 64-bit G5 computers out there." in the not-so-distant past?
 
Barbie

Barbie

macrumors regular
Jan 28, 2009
188
0
ocean
at the moment, every macbook air's processor is 32-bit kernel so they will keep support for 32-bit

barbie
 
Small White Car

Small White Car

macrumors G4
Aug 29, 2006
10,966
1,463
Washington DC
Amdahl said:
and all new apps being produced in 64-bit,
Click to expand...

Well, this isn't true at all, so I have a hard time following the rest of your argument.

Besides, it's not like the Intel/PPC difference. Apple had to put a lot of work into keeping OS X working on both platforms. Would they really save THAT much time dropping 32-bit support? I just don't think's the same level of work to do that as it was to continue supporting PPC.
 
Sun Baked

Sun Baked

macrumors G5
May 19, 2002
14,937
157
MorzillA said:
Once Snow Leopard is out, is there any rumors that the current Macs can/will be upgradeable with the new chipset, or does the public face the hard$hip of buying a refurb with the new OS.

:apple:
Click to expand...
Refurbs and new machines ARE the upgrade path for chipsets.

Sort of sucks, but even in the PC world. A new chipset requires a new logic board/motherboard.

And with the Macs, Apple tends to alter the machine innards a bit making the motherboard swap messy and expensive. And not much cheaper than a refurb, or the cost of a Big Mac away in some cases (seems like it).
 
gnasher729

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
Apple will have to support 32-bit applications for a long long time, just as you can run PowerPC applications on an Intel Mac under Snow Leopard, and that will have to continue to work for a long time.

As long as 32-bit applications are supported, there is very little reason to not support 32-bit Macs.
 
chrfr

chrfr

macrumors G5
Jul 11, 2009
13,520
7,043
Eidorian said:
How many 64-bit OS X applications are out there under Leopard right now? Transmission is the only one I have. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Adobe Lightroom is, as is at least one high end digital camera application from Hasselblad.
 
A

Amdahl

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 28, 2004
1,438
1
Small White Car said:
Besides, it's not like the Intel/PPC difference. Apple had to put a lot of work into keeping OS X working on both platforms. Would they really save THAT much time dropping 32-bit support? I just don't think's the same level of work to do that as it was to continue supporting PPC.
Click to expand...

It's exactly the same level of work. X86 and AMD64 are two different architectures, same as PPC and X86 are different architectures. The logical argument that since the X86 work is already done (or the PPC work was already done), there is no reason to drop support didn't fly in 10.6, and it won't fly for X86 at some point.

This is the 'silent transition' and the Yonah (32-bit Mac) owners are on their way to a silent spring after the Snow. Indeed, it appears likely even some of the 64-bit 2006 Mac Pro owners are heading there as well, based on 10.6's behavior.

eldorian said:
How many 64-bit OS X applications are out there under Leopard right now? Transmission is the only one I have.
Click to expand...
There weren't any Intel 32-bit apps three years ago, either. The apps will still be supported, just as PPC apps still run on SL even though it can't boot on a PPC machine. x86 apps will still run on 10.7, it just won't boot on 10.7. PPC apps probably will not run on 10.7, hence the reason Rosetta was made 'optional' install for 10.6.

gnasher729 said:
As long as 32-bit applications are supported, there is very little reason to not support 32-bit Macs.
Click to expand...
Non Sequitur.

This is the Apple way: Abandon the slightly old product, to keep moving the platform forward and not become Windows. Also, it makes them more money because you have to buy everything again. And again. I hear the next iMac is going to go completely cordless, with a 30-day battery; you'll take it to the new Apple Store in WalMart once a month to have it replaced. Johnny Ive has a new masterpiece on his hands! :)
 
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