Seeing a very sus pattern with Supported Mac Devices

[WilliApple]

Hello!

When Apple Silicon was first teased, Apple said this at WWDC20 at 1:46:10: "We plan to continue to support and release new versions of macOS for Intel-based Macs for years to come." However, I think this was a lie.

Why?

I think Apple will drop these Macs for macOS 14:

Spoiler: Predicted Dropped Macs for macOS 14

- 2018 MacBook Air
- 2019 MacBook Air
- 2018 MacBook Pro
- 2017 MacBook Pro
- 2017 MacBook
- 2017 iMac
- 2018 Mac mini

I 90% guarantee this is what they will do.

Ever since Apple released Apple Silicon, they have been dropping 2-3 generations of Macs at a time every year.
Before this, it was either they dropped 1 generation every year, or support all previous Macs, but drop 2 gens the next year.

I think for whatever reason, Apple wants to ditch Intel Macs as much as possible. I can see the 2017 MacBook Air run perfectly fine if the base model 2017 MacBook can run Ventura perfectly fine, because the 2017 Air is faster, it just has a dated design. I think Apple dropped the 2017 Air solely because it's more popular, and they want everyone to get an Apple Silicon Mac as soon as possible. However, I know for a fact that Gen Z doesn't care about macOS updates as they do with iOS updates. Why? Because they barely add any customization features. I bet if they added the iOS customizable lock screens, a ton of Gen Z would want to update as soon as possible, but instead, we get a controversial settings overhaul instead. I also see this with iPadOS as well, iPadOS 16 lock screens are not customizable, yet I see this mix quite a lot among Gen Z:
- iOS 16
- iPadOS 15
- The latest macOS when they bought their Mac (I see Catalina quite a bit in 2023! Some High Sierra too!!!)

I remember when iOS 16 came out, and Gen Z saw how much you can customize the Lock Screen, they immediately wanted to update.

The hype for macOS updates is almost nonexistent because of the lack of customization features added. This is why you may see a ton of Gen Z use third party apps for their widgets because they can be customized.

Now what does this have to do with the very fast rate of Macs getting dumped by Apple? The rate before and after Apple Silicon and after Apple Silicon has been very insane for the past 2 years. I think that Apple thinks if they drop these older Macs, they will hope people are hyped for the "New Settings menu!" or the "New Weather App!" or the "New Clock App!" or the "I can now unsend and edit messages on my Mac!", Im sorry to say this, but most of Gen Z doesn't care about this stuff. To the average Gen Z user, macOS 11-13 are exactly the same, and they just don't update. This is why there are still a bunch of older Macs that don't support Ventura still out in the wild. If Apple were to add more customization features, that will get a lot to update, and maybe all these older Macs will be upgraded. (I have seen iPhone 6S's and 7's get replaced because they don't support iOS 16)

Let me know what your thoughts on the sus pattern for these dropped Macs are!

 

[Clix Pix]

Apple is making a change in its platform with its own processing chips.....nothing suspicious about that at all. Yes, they're going to continue to eliminate older (Intel) machines from compatibility with new versions of MacOS: why wouldn't they?

Users can certainly continue to cling to their older Intel-based machines and continue to use whatever the last version of MacOS was compatible with it, but of course Apple wants people to move into the present and the future, not be hanging on for dear life to an old machine with an old platform.

Welcome to the real world.....

 

[iStorm]

When Apple Silicon was first teased, Apple said this at WWDC20 at 1:46:10: "We plan to continue to support and release new versions of macOS for Intel-based Macs for years to come." However, I think this was a lie.

How is it a lie? I mean, three years (so far) is technically "years to come". Still have the 2019 and 2020 Intel Macs to phase out. Those could potentially get four, five, or more years of support since Apple Silicon.

Just because Apple used to support Macs for 7-ish years doesn't mean it always has to be that way. Nothing is forever; patterns don't last forever. They could very well choose to support Macs for 5-ish years now, like they do with iPhones and iPads. Have to keep in mind that Apple is in control of the CPU now and will likely have a new one every year, unlike with Intel.

Previously, they were at Intel's mercy for new chips. A lot of Intel's architectures spanned several years. For example Kaby Lake was used in some Macs from 2017, 2018, & 2019. Coffee Lake was used in some Macs from 2018, 2019, & 2020. So while Apple may have been releasing a new Mac every year back then, some of them actually still had the same Intel CPU architecture from one year to the next.

Also, upgrades or customization has nothing to do with Gen Z. People across all ages have longed for customization for quite awhile. Heck, even my mom in her 60s was excited to be able to customize her Lock Screen now.

P.S. I find it amusing your signature says you aren't looking at any leaks until after WWDC, yet you already seem to know some leaks about macOS 14.

 

[Fishrrman]

Apple is STILL SELLING Apple-refurbished 2018 Mac Minis at its online refurbished page.
They are not going to be dropping OS support for it.
Not yet.

 

[WilliApple]

Apple is STILL SELLING Apple-refurbished 2018 Mac Minis at its online refurbished page.
They are not going to be dropping OS support for it.
Not yet.

Well Apple sold the Apple Watch Series 3 until they released watchOS 9, which dropped support. Even then, they sold refurbished Series 3's for a while after.

 

[retta283]

That was 3 years ago. 'years to come' doesn't specify length or duration in any meaningful manner. If they drop them all in 2024-26, that will have been around half a decade. These days that isn't as long as some would like, but it's longer than Apple continued to support PPC Macs.

Apple said other untrue things in that event anyway, they failed to meet their 2-year transition timeline. You're putting too much value into what was said that day. They want to move on. I'm all for long support as someone who maintains machines for a decade or more before discontinuing my use of them, but Apple doesn't have to agree with me or anyone else on this issue.

 

[Andres Cantu]

Hello!

When Apple Silicon was first teased, Apple said this at WWDC20 at 1:46:10: "We plan to continue to support and release new versions of macOS for Intel-based Macs for years to come." However, I think this was a lie.

Why?

I think Apple will drop these Macs for macOS 14:

Spoiler: Predicted Dropped Macs for macOS 14

- 2018 MacBook Air
- 2019 MacBook Air
- 2018 MacBook Pro
- 2017 MacBook Pro
- 2017 MacBook
- 2017 iMac
- 2018 Mac mini

I 90% guarantee this is what they will do.

Ever since Apple released Apple Silicon, they have been dropping 2-3 generations of Macs at a time every year.
Before this, it was either they dropped 1 generation every year, or support all previous Macs, but drop 2 gens the next year.

I think for whatever reason, Apple wants to ditch Intel Macs as much as possible. I can see the 2017 MacBook Air run perfectly fine if the base model 2017 MacBook can run Ventura perfectly fine, because the 2017 Air is faster, it just has a dated design. I think Apple dropped the 2017 Air solely because it's more popular, and they want everyone to get an Apple Silicon Mac as soon as possible. However, I know for a fact that Gen Z doesn't care about macOS updates as they do with iOS updates. Why? Because they barely add any customization features. I bet if they added the iOS customizable lock screens, a ton of Gen Z would want to update as soon as possible, but instead, we get a controversial settings overhaul instead. I also see this with iPadOS as well, iPadOS 16 lock screens are not customizable, yet I see this mix quite a lot among Gen Z:
- iOS 16
- iPadOS 15
- The latest macOS when they bought their Mac (I see Catalina quite a bit in 2023! Some High Sierra too!!!)

I remember when iOS 16 came out, and Gen Z saw how much you can customize the Lock Screen, they immediately wanted to update.

The hype for macOS updates is almost nonexistent because of the lack of customization features added. This is why you may see a ton of Gen Z use third party apps for their widgets because they can be customized.

Now what does this have to do with the very fast rate of Macs getting dumped by Apple? The rate before and after Apple Silicon and after Apple Silicon has been very insane for the past 2 years. I think that Apple thinks if they drop these older Macs, they will hope people are hyped for the "New Settings menu!" or the "New Weather App!" or the "New Clock App!" or the "I can now unsend and edit messages on my Mac!", Im sorry to say this, but most of Gen Z doesn't care about this stuff. To the average Gen Z user, macOS 11-13 are exactly the same, and they just don't update. This is why there are still a bunch of older Macs that don't support Ventura still out in the wild. If Apple were to add more customization features, that will get a lot to update, and maybe all these older Macs will be upgraded. (I have seen iPhone 6S's and 7's get replaced because they don't support iOS 16)

Let me know what your thoughts on the sus pattern for these dropped Macs are!

Technically, the 2017 MacBook Air is just a 2015 MacBook Air with a slightly faster clocked chip. It's still 5th generation Broadwell, compared to 7th generation Kaby Lake on the 2017 MacBook. The 2017 MacBook was a much faster machine in terms of CPU, so it made sense from that perspective to keep it updated for longer.

It's kind of difficult to predict what Apple will do next, but I don't see them supporting any Intel Macs past 2025.

 

[leman]

Ever since Apple released Apple Silicon, they have been dropping 2-3 generations of Macs at a time every year.
Before this, it was either they dropped 1 generation every year, or support all previous Macs, but drop 2 gens the next year.

I think for whatever reason, Apple wants to ditch Intel Macs as much as possible. I can see the 2017 MacBook Air run perfectly fine if the base model 2017 MacBook can run Ventura perfectly fine, because the 2017 Air is faster, it just has a dated design. I think Apple dropped the 2017 Air solely because it's more popular, and they want everyone to get an Apple Silicon Mac as soon as possible.

They are dropping support based on the CPU generation and original manufacturer support. The 2017 Air uses Intel Broadwell, the 2017 MacBook uses Kaby Lake. Intel dropped support for Broadwell, but still have Kaby Lake on their support list. By the way, Windows 11 does not officially support Kaby Lake, so Apple actually supports older hardware.

It is a common misconception that once a CPU works it works. CPUs are highly complex devices which can have bugs. Intel Skylake was particularly notorious for its bugs. These have to be worked around in the OS and firmware. Supporting these older CPUs is additional maintenance effort and requires tight cooperation with the CPU vendor. I don’t think there is any conspiracy to be found in Apple dropping support for older hardware that is not supported by its original manufacturer anymore.

Apple will drop support for Intel Macs in a few years, that’s for sure, but it will likely follow the usual pattern.