Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

These macOS Sonoma Features Are Not Available on Intel Macs

Apple said their move to the M-based chips was going to take 2 years. We're almost at 2.5 years now. So yeah, next MacOS (after Sonoma) will not be Intel based.

(correction, we're one year further than I thought)
 
Last edited:
MacRumors said:
On the macOS Sonoma features page, fine print indicates that the following features require a Mac with an Apple silicon chip:
  • Presenter Overlay, a feature that displays the user on top of the content they are sharing in any video conferencing app.
  • Game Mode, which prioritizes CPU and GPU performance while gaming by limiting the performance of background tasks.
  • A new high-performance mode in the Screen Sharing app.
  • The ability to pair Made for iPhone hearing devices directly with a Mac.
  • The ability to invoke Siri by saying "Siri" instead of "Hey Siri."
Apple does not indicate why the features are not available on Intel Macs, but it likely relates to performance considerations, and only Apple silicon Macs have a Neural Engine for machine learning tasks.
Click to expand...
Totally irrelevant for my uses. I am wondering however if macOS Sonoma will install on 2019 iMacs. I missed the details these days, so if anyone could enlighten me it would be great.
 
PBMB said:
Totally irrelevant for my uses. I am wondering however if macOS Sonoma will install on 2019 iMacs. I missed the details these days, so if anyone could enlighten me it would be great.
Click to expand...
Never mind, I found the answer here.
 
Realityck said:
Given that Apple was still selling 2018 intel Mac mini not that long ago this year and just last week 2019 Mac pros. They likely have to commit to few more years support for this intel Macs still.
Click to expand...
Apple did not provide such support for the iPod touch. Apple was still selling the iPod touch a few days prior to WWDC 2019 in which it announced that the iPod touch will no longer be supported by iOS 13.
 
ErikGrim said:
What's the status around Windows ARM and gaming these days? Surely still not comparable to BootCamp?
Click to expand...
Obviously there is a performance overhead of emulating X86 applications which BootCamp didn’t have but M-series processors are fast enough it’s not a huge deal. You’re not gonna be running intensive games smoothly on pretty much any of the sensibly priced M processors (they are great for integrated graphics but not great compared to a dedicated GPU) so unless you’re going for a M2 Max / Ultra you’re probably only running older / less demanding titles.

Rip to e-gpus.
 
SanderEvers said:
Apple said their move to the M-based chips was going to take 2 years. We're almost at 1.5 years now. So yeah, next MacOS (after Sonoma) will not be Intel based.
Click to expand...
Actually we're closer to three years than 1.5: the first M1 Macs appeared in 2020. And one of them is still on sale (M1 Macbook Air)
 
GAME MODE? LOL! Everyone knows Macs do not game. There are no AAA games available for Macs that are not old. I know, I have had a lot of Macs and none played games well. Metro Exodus was the only one that was acceptable, the others I had were Apple Arcade games that were very basic in the graphics and processing department.

Apple makes a good phone and watch. Games on a Mac, even video editing suffers compared to a PC, note I did not say an Instel Mac, but a PC. I have two high end PCs and they run circles around the Mac in video editing and gaming.

Sorry Apple, Macs are good for browsing and mail, but anything else?!? I remember the Motorola days, I had all the Macs in that era also and they were bad for programs and speed. They excelled in generating heat. The Intel move was the best move Apple ever made in their Macs. Using their own processors is a failure in my opinion.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Disagree
  • Love
Reactions: Tim Apple’s Glasses, ErikGrim, Jordan Klein and 1 other person
sdf said:
Is that all it's doing? Do you have a link for that?

My guess would be that it restricts use of the performance cores.
Click to expand...
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Apple itself specifically marketed it as a prioritization of CPU and GPU for games and a reduction in latency for Bluetooth audio and controllers.

That means, at a minimum, certain threads are prioritized over others and Bluetooth is polling more often… those two things aren’t Apple Silicon exclusives… if Game Mode goes a step further and gives the perf cores to the game, great, but that shouldn’t stop Intel Macs from benefiting from the first two things.
 
The government needs to start considering laws that any hardware over a certain price point needs to be fully supported for at least 5 years, from an environmental perspective if nothing else.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bro...What???
HobeSoundDarryl said:
Again, IMO, there's only one real choice here: old fashioned bootcamp (get a PC (too)).

Windows ARM has potential to cover some bases. Virtual Windows "as a service" options exist for lite users willing to pay per use and/or subscribe. But the practical option that really doesn't cost much money is a dedicated Windows PC. I bought my first one in about 15-16 years and am pleasantly surprised. Those of us long accustomed to Apple pricing (for "another record quarter of revenue & profit") may have forgotten that the ability to shop around for RAM and SSD means competitor driven (LOW) prices... and the PC industry is also insanely competitive such that there's probably nobody there with Apple's big fat margin.

So take a budget for about HALF of a "loaded Mac" and go shopping. That budget will buy a LOT of PC.

The big question now for the practical computer buyer who wants both is what combo: Mac desktop + Windows laptop or vice versa, 2 laptops, 2 desktops. And if so, big tip from me is to choose a monitor with multiple inputs so that both can easily share the same screen, keyboard and mouse... which is quite doable.

For those where money is tighter, remember that the old Intel Mac that you might leave behind for Silicon can easily become a pretty up-to-date PC running at least Windows 10. So one could embrace Silicon as a next computer and convert the old Mac to being the Windows PC to cover that base too. When it conks, buy a new PC then.
Click to expand...
Yup, I have an older Intel NUC running Win 7 with ABBYY (the old version that is amazing) and Blue Iris. It hangs on the wall out of the way. And my mini.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HobeSoundDarryl
Hooked-1 said:
GAME MODE? LOL! Everyone knows Macs do not game. There are no AAA games available for Macs that are not old. I know, I have had a lot of Macs and none played games well. Metro Exodus was the only one that was acceptable, the others I had were Apple Arcade games that were very basic in the graphics and processing department.

Apple makes a good phone and watch. Games on a Mac, even video editing suffers compared to a PC, note I did not say an Instel Mac, but a PC. I have two high end PCs and they run circles around the Mac in video editing and gaming.

Sorry Apple, Macs are good for browsing and mail, but anything else?!? I remember the Motorola days, I had all the Macs in that era also and they were bad for programs and speed. They excelled in generating heat. The Intel move was the best move Apple ever made in their Macs. Using their own processors is a failure in my opinion.
Click to expand...
oh yes, I was so disappointed that ther's no Apple Silicon native version of Cities Skylines and there's no plans to port it over either. When Rosetta 2 goes a way, there won't be a lot of games left for Mac.


ARM Macs are still great for converting videos! (according to the youtube reviewers)
 
adib said:
Apple did not provide such support for the iPod touch. Apple was still selling the iPod touch a few days prior to WWDC 2019 in which it announced that the iPod touch will no longer be supported by iOS 13.
Click to expand...
Supporting the many models of Intel based Macs via MacOS is related to how business/education/consumers continue to rely on older intel platform Macs that likely are tied to utilized software deployments that they have licensed. You can hardly see a iPod touch used by anyone in the same light, that was made obsolete because of iPhone usage, not because of a lack of a OS. :D
 
Of course, I really doubt I'll be using those features even on my M1 MacBook Air. But I can say that with my planning to get an M2 Pro Mac Mini later this year (hopefully late summer or early autumn), I probably won't be installing Sonoma on my 2015 Retina 15" MacBook Pro via OCLP. I can still get by using Ventura on that.
 
Longplays said:
Unsurprising...

For those on the 2020 Intel Macs these are the likely last macOS Updates

- Security Updates will end 2030

- Software Updates will end 2028

If you are wondering when to replace... I'd suggest doing so after the final Security Update to a Mac that was released soon after.

So if you have a 2020 iMac then replace it with 2030 Mac.
Click to expand...
I am not sure why you think this but that is unlikely to be the case.

Apple will generally support hardware for five years or so in terms of macOS updates. Sometimes even longer.

I will simply not be able to afford a new Macbook so I will be using mine as long as it works, and using Ubuntu etc if Apple no longer releases updates. MBP 16" 2019 all the way! Why are some are trying to pressure people to upgrade. Cultish I must say. There is nothing wrong with the machine and Apple even still provide apple care. Not to mention the waste.

I did find it funny that saying "Siri" is not supported but "Hey Siri" is.
 
onthebuses said:
I am not sure why you think this but that is unlikely to be the case.

Apple will generally support hardware for five years or so in terms of macOS updates. Sometimes even longer.

I will simply not be able to afford a new Macbook so I will be using mine as long as it works, and using Ubuntu etc if Apple no longer releases updates. MBP 16" 2019 all the way!
Click to expand...
I have multiple Intel Macs that have those timelines of 8 years Software Updates + 2 years additional Security Updates.

Apple observed their users to replace every 4 years while Intel every 5-6 years.

When your use case remains unchanged then I'd keep the computer for a decade.

Beyond that then I'd consider making it a hand me down or selling it for a basis for down payment for a new computer that will service you for another decade. I consider this a form of preventive maintenance.

Given your situation you are best to make that determination.
 
Ian Howlett said:
So I bought a 27 inch iMac three years ago and its already obsolete? Not very environmentally friendly. They don't even make a 27 inch iMac any more. Very disappointing.
Click to expand...
Your 2020 iMac will receive Software Updates as late as 2028 & Security Updates as late as 2030.

It will not receive some features that I'd consider fluff because it does not have Apple Silicon-specific hardware.
 
Longplays said:
I have multiple Intel Macs that have those timelines of 8 years Software Updates + 2 years additional Security Updates.

Apple observed their users to replace every 4 years while Intel every 5-6 years.

When your use case remains unchanged then I'd keep the computer for a decade.

Beyond that then I'd consider making it a hand me down or selling it for a basis for down payment for a new computer that will service you for another decade. I consider this a form of preventive maintenance.

Given your situation you are best to make that determination.
Click to expand...
I was referring to your comment "For those on the 2020 Intel Macs these are the likely last macOS Updates"

This suggests Intel macs will not get any further editions of Mac OS beyond this year. Is this correct?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back