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Mac App Store Apps Can Now Drop Support for Intel Macs
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Piplodocus
macrumors 6502a
If you throw away perfectly good hardware because you can't run a modern OS on it you should feel even worse.
I've seen many apps on 12, which is a previous common support line for older Intel macs, say they now need macOS 13 or 14. So the window is definitely closing from both ends, requiring higher macOS but the higher macOS allowing apps to drop universal.
As much as people can say and are right about Apple Silicon being so much better, some of those Intel macs are still a lot of computer for a lot of people, still way better than most budget chromebooks and such. Seems like OCLP is struggling a lot with Tahoe and still have major bugs to work out on Sonoma/Seqoia like the M370X red graphics switching bug.
I just hate to see working good hardware go to waste for software support, but I guess Linux is an option, heck even Windows 11 with a TPM 2.0 bypass.
As much as people can say and are right about Apple Silicon being so much better, some of those Intel macs are still a lot of computer for a lot of people, still way better than most budget chromebooks and such. Seems like OCLP is struggling a lot with Tahoe and still have major bugs to work out on Sonoma/Seqoia like the M370X red graphics switching bug.
I just hate to see working good hardware go to waste for software support, but I guess Linux is an option, heck even Windows 11 with a TPM 2.0 bypass.
No, it's not. Currently, people are upgrading their Macs by reballing, replacing the chips themselves. I don't think that's right.
Jakol
macrumors regular
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
I totally agree.
It’s so depressing to see folks embracing such a materialist mindset… “just because”
aespana
macrumors 6502
It hurts so much. Also, for Apple Silicon, installing Retroactive is more difficult but yeah, man a what a loss. Apple took just too much removing iTunes and give us so so less with Apple Music..
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
I hate use Apple Music because I have no choice..
(just to keep some organization so I can sync my devices)
I absolutely hate the Apple Music software itself.
Jakol
macrumors regular
macOS has a real problem when it comes to music players that can properly stream to multiple homepods or their stereo pairs, so you have no choice but use Music app.
Unfortunately we're already seeing pieces of that. Some developers have said they had to drop support for pre-Monterey macOS not because their software stopped working / wanted to use a new API but because the App Store won't accept their binaries if the Minimum Version attribute isn't set to Monterey or higher. They could of course could make a separate App Store binary set one way and offer direct downloads the other way but few want to do that. There's only so many permutations developers want to maintain.
My guess is that it will be impractical for commercial developers to offer Intel binaries even they want to in about 2 years. Mac/Intel will just be for hobbyists with source code for what they want to run.
Our ecosystems are essentially becoming subscription even if not billed monthly. It's not just about the money but 3rd parties controlling what we software we can and can't run and when. All that the free software people warned about but seemed too crazy to believe.
Jakol
macrumors regular
Personal computing was always like a subscription it's just that you could choose the period between payments.
Every Mac already has an app to do this installed. You don't need to download anything. Google "Appname"
What next? We download an app for viewing the contents of folders and another for deleting files and so on.
Im still using a 2019 MBP 16" i9 as my main work photo/design computer, the battery is shot and it runs hot as hell but it gets the job done. It will probably have to be upgraded in the next year or two though.
Happy_John
Suspended
But not en masse, to be fair.
What you have are a tiny minority of people doing it as a source of content for YouTube videos, after having it proved it can be done by people who did it just to see if it can be done, and a small amount of repair shops offering this as a bespoke service for people who want to have it done.
This is not equivalent to people replacing a failing battery in an iPhone or MacBook.
If you're not experience and competent in soldering / reballing chips, and don't have the necessary equipment, you'd be absolutely crazy to try this.
As one of the only large firms that uses all Macs, we'd love to transition everyone to Apple silicon Macs (already did for like 400), but replacing the remaining 100+ Macs that work perfectly fine for users is kind of expensive, especially since we use MacBook Pros and not Neos or even Airs.
CouponPages
macrumors regular
As an Apple owner for decades, I've come to accept that these sorts of decisions are what make Apple products work so well.
By contrast, Microsoft has massive amounts of legacy code blended into Windows that break down or interfere with newer hardware and code. The fact that Windows still runs 32-bit code is a perfect example.
Apple did the reverse, and removed support for 32-bit Apps a long time ago, even though it would mean the end of some of their most popular 32-bit Apps such as iLife and Final Cut Pro.
The end result... A solid and reliable 64-bit operating system with minimal bloat to get in the way.
I must admit, I have mixed feelings about retiring my 2020 Intel based iMac. It's still a beast with a 10 core i9, 128 GB of RAM, 16GB GPU and 2 TB SSD, but 6 years is a long time and I'm looking forward to getting my new Mac Studio M5 Ultra to replace it. The M1 was released the same year, so I knew this day would come.
Eventually, even the M5 Ultra will be outdated. That's not a bad thing. That's why I chose the new upgrade / leasing option.
By contrast, Microsoft has massive amounts of legacy code blended into Windows that break down or interfere with newer hardware and code. The fact that Windows still runs 32-bit code is a perfect example.
Apple did the reverse, and removed support for 32-bit Apps a long time ago, even though it would mean the end of some of their most popular 32-bit Apps such as iLife and Final Cut Pro.
The end result... A solid and reliable 64-bit operating system with minimal bloat to get in the way.
I must admit, I have mixed feelings about retiring my 2020 Intel based iMac. It's still a beast with a 10 core i9, 128 GB of RAM, 16GB GPU and 2 TB SSD, but 6 years is a long time and I'm looking forward to getting my new Mac Studio M5 Ultra to replace it. The M1 was released the same year, so I knew this day would come.
Eventually, even the M5 Ultra will be outdated. That's not a bad thing. That's why I chose the new upgrade / leasing option.
phuklok1
macrumors regular
would be wonderful is they extended these intel macs another year with all the AI caused shortages and price increases - like Microsoft surprisingly did with windows 10 very recently (never thought that would happen). such a move would also not let these macs die on 26 (which almost everyone admits has not been a great release for IOS or MacOS) and instead end with dignity with a supposedly cleaned up 27. but we live in crazy times when M$ seems more friendly than apple. LOL
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My past three desktop Macs at home and the one-before-last at work were all loaded 27” iMacs, and I too was initially disappointed in the lack thereof in the AS lineup. But I’ve now very much changed my opinion, and view a Mini or Studio plus an external display as a vastly better option.
Basically, back in the day, the screen you got with a large iMac was a good deal and happened to have a computer attached for a bargain. By the time a new iMac came out, the new screen was so much better that I didn’t miss the old one.
But we’re now starting to retire 5K iMacs at work that have better screens than any of the Dell monitors we currently buy, and said monitors still have years of life left in them. It went from being a good deal—a lower end 5K iMac at release cost around what a 5K monitor alone did—to throwing out a perfectly good screen because the attached computer aged out.
In contrast, a Mini combined with a nice monitor (Studio Display or other) bought 5-7 years ago could be upgraded today for $1000 while keeping the perfectly good monitor.
Basically, the rate of improvement in monitor technology has flattened out to the point you no longer need or maybe even want a new one 5 years later, so I no longer want my computer attached to my monitor. Besides, the current Mini is so small it’s barely visible unless you’re a minimalist fiend—the drive dock at home is twice the size of the computer I’m about to buy, and the USB and Thunderbolt hubs combined are about the same size.
GregoryPeckEPA
macrumors 6502
sdfox7
macrumors demi-god
This is a blessing in disguise. Many apps are turning into bloatware and spyware anyway.
You make some very good points and I suspect that I probably will end up doing as you suggest when I purchase my next desktop Mac--buy a Mac Mini together with some high quality third-party display. (Thankfully the cost of displays hasn't been rising like the prices of RAM and SSDs).
Alas, it's a darn shame that the our old 5K iMacs can't be paired with a new Mini and used in target display mode. If it were, I'd have already laid out money for that new Mini.
I hear ya. I still use my 2012 non-retina MBP for occasional tasks. Possibly my favourite Mac model of all time and built in those good old days of inexpensive, DIY upgrades of RAM and SSD.
That 2012 MBP was also built like a tank. It accidentally slipped off my desk one time and hit the concrete floor. I thought it would be a goner, but aside from suffering a corner dent in its aluminum casing the computer has continued functioning flawlessly for 8 years since! (Don't try this at home, kids).
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