The jump from macOS 18 to 26 is a leap which makes me wonder if this is the year ALL Intel have been cast adrift. The last new Intel Mac was released five years ago. Maybe Apple have called time on Intel for good.
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macOS 26 Rumored to Drop Support for These Five Macs
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Very true. I used my non-retina 2012 MBP for three years after OS support ended (moved to the M1), and could have used it longer...but the battery was getting pretty bad. It hindsight I should have done a battery swap and kept it for another couple years.
For us M-series owners it will be a nice day when all Intel legacy code is finally stripped away from macOS.
Probably in 3 to 5 more years, based on previous history.
Sad, because I have 2 of the MacBook Pro 2018 I use. Got a good 7 years out of it, and can still use them without issues. Macs have a much longer usability life than any PC.
Once you try a Mac with Apple Silicon, you won't miss Mac Intel.
How does it affect you aside from knowing it exists?
I agree. Mine has 64 GB RAM and I can do so much on it. I even have VMWare running windows in the background for certain work-related tasks and testing, and it doesn't affect my overall performance.
Hopefully Apple will continue supporting it for a few more years, no need to drop it. It's a very powerful Mac, a day and night contrast between Intel and Apple Silicon.
Not any time soon. Dropping support for Intel Macs is no different than when support for Power PC was dropped after Intel adoption. Apple Silicon has been around long enough for developers to create universal versions of their products that will run on either Intel or Apple Silicon. The fair-weather developers will leave. Apple will remove Intel code from macOS as well as certain other Apple software, like Safari. Whether Rosetta 2 remains enabled is the question. The usual suspects will demand forever compatibility so they can run their ancient software but that's not how Apple has operated in the past.
Why would any Apple Silicon Mac get cut off? It’s not part of supporting Intel Macs? Besides these Intel Macs are 2018 varieties and it’s 2025.
I guess there's no chance for my Mid-2012 MacBook Pro. I'm going to have to get a newer laptop some day. Just can't stand any of the current ones.
Just drop Intel support already. This will help lazy developers to make a proper ARM versions of software instead relying on Rosetta.
i already own an m series mac, but i wish apple was actually a little green minded instead of BS media green and keep support for these intel macs. i kind of like the easy cross compatability and the ability to use powerful GPUs. that doesnt mean i am asking for any new features, it just means compiling the kernel for older macs, and not mysteriously dropping drivers that worked fine for years. The cost is probably close to zero since new features don't need to be adapted and Linux and even MS can handle this with far more complex amount of configurations out there.
they seem to purposely make older machines and phones worthless landfill. we know this since there are work arounds by third parties out there to keep them going a little longer. even on a simple level, take locking the safari browser on IOS to the operating system and making all browsers use webkit so there is no possibility of updates to simply browse the web safely.
i for one would far more happily invest in apple products if i knew i could repurpose them way down the line, like for a little kid, parent, project, etc., instead as a long time buyer of their products I just slowly get more angry.
ok, rant over. LOL
they seem to purposely make older machines and phones worthless landfill. we know this since there are work arounds by third parties out there to keep them going a little longer. even on a simple level, take locking the safari browser on IOS to the operating system and making all browsers use webkit so there is no possibility of updates to simply browse the web safely.
i for one would far more happily invest in apple products if i knew i could repurpose them way down the line, like for a little kid, parent, project, etc., instead as a long time buyer of their products I just slowly get more angry.
ok, rant over. LOL
That's fine. Intel had a good run.
The next major version of macOS, now dubbed "macOS 26," is rumored to drop support for several older Intel-based Mac models currently compatible with macOS Sequoia.
According to individuals familiar with the matter cited by AppleInsider, the following Macs will not be supported by the next version of macOS:
- MacBook Pro (2018)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac mini (2018)
- MacBook Air (2020, Intel-based)
These Macs were the oldest supported by macOS Sequoia, and their omission in development builds suggests they are likely to be excluded from macOS 26's official compatibility list.
This would mark the second consecutive year that Apple has narrowed support for Intel-based Macs, while continuing to deliver the full feature set primarily to Apple Silicon devices. macOS 26's compatibility list is expected to be as follows:
- MacBook Pro (2019 and later)
- iMac (2020 and later)
- Mac Pro (2019 and later)
- Mac mini (M1 and later)
- Mac Studio (all models)
- MacBook Air (M1 and later)
macOS 26's first developer beta is expected to exceed 17GB in size—approximately 2GB larger than the initial beta of macOS Sequoia. The update is expected to borrow heavily from the design language of visionOS with 3D translucent materials and rounded window elements. The design changes are said to be among the most significant visual updates to macOS in years.
Apple is rumored to be shifting the naming system used by its software platforms toward consistent year-adjacent numerical titles. As a result, we are expecting the next major version of macOS to be "macOS 26" rather than "macOS 16."
macOS 26 will be officially introduced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which starts on June 9, with the first developer beta expected to be released immediately following the keynote address. Public beta testing typically follows in July, with a full public release in the fall.
Article Link: macOS 26 Rumored to Drop Support for These Four Macs
What’s wrong with any of the current M4 MacBook Pro, Heck I got a M1 based MBP to replace my 9 year old mid 2012 retina MBP and without any problems it’s performance was vastly superior to the 2012 technology,
If true, poor MacBook Air 2020 Intel model. Literally only 5 major version updates.
Yeah this time I decided to keep the annual AppleCare plan and I will keep this machine until they won't allow me to keep it supported. I work mine like a dog and it just holds up, I've owned a looooot of Mac, this is easily the best one I've owned.
My friend got the M4 max and was complaining about the heat from it, both of ours are 14" mine has never been an issue I've heard the fans come on once in 3.5 years!
Yes, this will be interesting to see indeed. The performance of Apple Silicon has been great. It’ll be a hard sell to cut off support for those before the 8-10 year mark at this rate.
Give this a try:
I thought that, given that this year’s macOS 26 is going to experience such a big upgrade and change, they would rebuild the operating system maybe not from the ground up, but at least reaching deeper levels than previous years…
If they are keeping Intel code around, I don’t think this is the year with such deep remodelation, only the UI.
If they are keeping Intel code around, I don’t think this is the year with such deep remodelation, only the UI.