Several macOS Monterey Features Unavailable on Intel-Based Macs

[lilkwarrior]

Think of the ones that paid over $10 grand for a Mac Pro…

They're creative pros; pros typically upgrade desktops/laptops every 3 years. The timeline of Apple Silicon being fully transitioned away from Windows is exactly within the window that it's time for Mac Pro users to upgrade.

Mac Pro users likely made their ROI from it by their benefactors within a month or two of having theirs. I know I did. The M1 is not at all appropriate for the audience of a Mac Pro today; it's merely an entry-level CPU that's more efficient & better designed than Intel & AMD chips for everyday techies.

Features only being available on Apple's newest devices is a natural thing that occurs in tech; it's only a good thing Apple is making meaningful reasons to upgrade that makes the inevitable upgrade for people a year or two from now that much sweeter.

The Mac Pro being modular, I would not be surprised they have a means of upgrading to Apple Silicon that's actually appropriate for high-end content creatives when they're ready in addition to new pro-oriented SKUs. A trade-in system will likely be available to pros as well they absolutely will handle delicately since pros are very lucrative, vocal, & smart customers.

 

[puckhead193]

I'd be more then willing to buy a new MBP/iMac Pro if they were updated... but nope..

 

[matrix07]

This is silly. Again feel the need to point out that I have a fully spec'd late 2019 2.3ghz 8-core i9 MBP with 64GB of Ram and a Radeon 5500 8GB video card. It's a year old, having been purchased in May 2020. There is NO reason it should start to feel obsolete from Apple's new OS just 2 years after it arrived on the scene. Add to that Apple repeatedly stated they'd continue to invest and develop their intel line after announcing the M1, and this just feels like pure disrespect.

You bought a Mac at a unique time. At any other times your machine will be fine. The move to Apple Silicon is a right decision. If you want Apple to fully support legacy like Microsoft and as a result can't successfully pushed new tech then you already chose a wrong eco-system.

 

[joebeazelman]

If you think this is bad, imagine the anal pain experienced by those who purchased the Mac Pro in 2019 only to have it discontinued with no upgrade path after it is no longer the fastest machine in a year or so.

I am more upset about Apple dropping Monterey support for the 2013 through 2014 MBPs. It makes no sense since they do support other iMacs, minis and Air from the same era. It's purely a business move. The Air and Mini's consist of a larger base of first time Mac converts thar you don't want to piss them off just yet. Apple can afford to screw over the Pro users, however, because they are already addicted and can afford to upgrade.

 

[jeblis]

Yeah, not simple programming and significantly different on a video card vs the neural engine/Apple GPU to make it costly. Frustrating though since they’re still selling intel based macs.

 

[Icelus]

Not surprised. There is also a new feature that requires 16 GB memory while they sell 8 GB M1s.

 

[Mr.Blacky]

I think the point was 2 external monitors

The Mac mini does support 2 external monitors.

 

[nevhoffman]

This is an outrage. No technical reason this can’t be on Intel.
Forced depreciation in action.

First of all, outrage is a bit extreme. Second, there are very good technical reasons this can't be done on Intel: Intel chips suck.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Just gonna leave this here...

 

[dba415]

Apple can literally rob customers in broad daylight and there will be people defending them on here.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Tim is that you?

I'm surprised the list is actually that short — was expecting a lot more features to be limited to Mac silicon.

This is the CURRENT list. They’ll add features as time goes on, and many of those will be Apple Silicon only!

 

[carrrrrlos]

Planned obsolescence. Apple has played this game for decades, no news here.

 

[leman]

I think that's a bit of an exaggeration.

Depends on the application. I doubt that Coffee Lake or Ice Lake can do real-time high-quality face detection that you need to do the FaceTime portrait calls for example. The performance most likely is there, but do you want your CPU+GPU to hit 100% when on a video call?

In the end, doing virtual background like Zoom does it, where edges are obviously leaking and everything looks kind of crappy is one thing. What Apple does is something completely different.

 

[Spock]

One of the big benefits of an Intel Mac at this point is Windows.. I have a 2014 MacBook Pro that will not be Monterey compatible and a 2012 iMac that wouldn’t run Big Sur. Both of those machines run the most current versions of Windows 10 just fine.

 

[leman]

Planned obsolescence. Apple has played this game for decades, no news here.

Planned obsolescence You folks really use this term for anything that causes you even the slightest inconvenience, aren't you?

"Guys, we have created this amazing new power-efficient machine learning hardware but we can't use it in any software product because carrrrrlos will get upset"

 

[Kaptajn Haddock]

Very stupid move! Bought my Intel Mac mini weeks before the M1 version and I am already feeling short changed. Not okay, Apple! Not okay!

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I wish all the posts saying "it begins" would come to an end...

Other than trying to sound somehow profound I'm really not sure what they achieve...

it… ends?

 

[Bandaman]

If people are not seeing this as planned obsolescence, I don't know what to say. This is blatant.

 

[turbineseaplane]

One of the big benefits of an Intel Mac at this point is Windows.. I have a 2014 MacBook Pro that will not be Monterey compatible and a 2012 iMac that wouldn’t run Big Sur. Both of those machines run the most current versions of Windows 10 just fine.

The main reason I still run a Hackintosh (and will do so as long as I can)

I don't want multiple machines and I use Windows for lots of different games.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Apple can literally rob customers in broad daylight and there will be people defending them on here.

Yeah - it's a pretty strong cult these days.
For some reason, some folks see fit to defend basically anything Apple does.

It's kind of sad honestly.

 

[blackcrayon]

Apple can literally rob customers in broad daylight and there will be people defending them on here.

Apple can literally leave out a feature like background blurring in video chat, and there will be people comparing that to robbery.

 

[Bandaman]

Planned obsolescence You folks really use this term for anything that causes you even the slightest inconvenience, aren't you?

"Guys, we have created this amazing new power-efficient machine learning hardware but we can't use it in any software product because carrrrrlos will get upset"

They're using it because it's true. Please explain to me why something like more detailed maps isn't capable on Intel chips. I'll wait.

 

[dpadr]

I don't want to add to the vitriol but it seems a little wacky that an intel iMac I bought in 2021 won't be able to recognize text in photos while my iPhone SE from 2016 will.

 

[blazerunner]

Apple can literally rob customers in broad daylight and there will be people defending them on here.

@cmaier and @Icaras I'd like to hear from both of you on this.

 

[Jeaz]

I wouldn’t have minded this IF Apple had actually transitioned the Mac I actually want, the 27” replacement.