What's the real reason Apple drops OS support for models that can still easily run newer versions of macOS?

[AVR2]

My 2012 Mac mini, for which Apple dropped OS support after Catalina, is running Ventura like a charm thanks to OpenCore Legacy Patcher. If anything, it feels a bit smoother than Catalina, but that's possibly because it's a fresh install.

So given that the hardware is perfectly capable of running an OS three versions on from the last officially-supported one, what's the actual reason(s) Apple chooses to drop support? I'm not going to accept "to force you to buy a new Mac" because that's too trite. There has to be more to it than that.

 

[Boyd01]

Just a guess... but I think "support" means that they have tested the new OS on a specific model to ensure compatibility and are willing to help users when they have issues. They probably just aren't willing to do that for 2012 Mini (I have one too). And it would conflict with their published policy for when a Mac becomes "obsolete".

"Products are considered obsolete when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than 7 years ago. "

Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty - Apple Support

Learn about your options for getting service and parts for Apple devices that are past their warranty period.

support.apple.com

 

[Pacific1972]

Is it possible to get a personal and well-founded answer for that ?

I have both Mac Mini M1 and iMac A1312 running. The same could be asked
about why people buy Batocera with 25 year old games using classic hardware.

In the last 15 years of hardware development, a wealth of details and functions
have been added that could not be covered by a pure OS update or an OS jump
from 32bit to 64bit, I think !

Sometimes the development of hardware simply has to “take a sharp turn” because,
for example, CPU & GPU power is limited based on the known and available hardware
platform - as we are looking now at the Apple hardware in the past nearly 5 years !

I think today we are in the middle of a change in the way we interact with
computers or cell phones - that is reality and not just a personal mind 😊 !

I also upgraded my iMac A1312 with a patched 3rd party video card and SSD as well as
an expansion of the RAM - nevertheless, I had to realize in 2025 that the development in
terms of processor performance and graphics, NVME SSD data speed and the speed of
the USB port continues - independent of the development of OCLP 🙂

I have two sons, 16 and 18 years old. Compared to my development in computing since C64
now I watch how nimbly they use an iPad Pro M1 for school, gaming, internet and information
retrieval - these devices have incredible performance and battery life
(much more than most PC or Apple Desktops from the past) !

My daily used 32-bit iMac, it's mainly for 32-bit OS High Sierra and applications such as Office,
Internet and Steam games - it's still an almost perfect device with sufficient performance -
(in my mind) - BUT...

Compare the power of a Mac Mini 2012 or a 10 y.o. iMac with maximum Upgrades (native or with
OCLP based Sequoia) with a modern (but only entry level) Mac Mini M1 with newest macOS.

These modern Apple hardware is not only faster in only one category, it's faster in nearly every category
(CPU / GPU / SSD / RAM / WiFi / BT) - and based on that there are coming new versions of macOS,
Apps & Games (but that is only using the machine power for that what you know from the past).
Other things will follow and the Apple M1/M2/M3/M4 package - think it's unbeatable for the price...

I know - as I was active for the past 4 years in the iMac GPU Upgrade thread - that the implementation
of actual macOS functions to old but existing intel platform + additional hardware should be more and
more difficult for the OCLP team.

So is that the answer for you, me or a consumer based world ?
Or for Apple ? Yes and No !

- is it worth spending the money ?
- is it worth for you to try, to buy ?
- or is the quality not sufficient ?
- what do you become for the money ?

However, it's the same as using electromobility (I don't use) - you've come to terms with your life
and got used to the conditions of the combustion engine, for example. However, this does not
mean that the development of technology or the way we deal with technology, things or social
and political environmental variables ends there, just because many people have become accustomed
to it.

Today it's worth questioning previous existence and own opinion - and then you're ready to try
something new (enthusiasm is not to be excluded) 😄 - sometimes you have to try something
new to recognize where you are !

That is not for using a Mac Mini 2012 in 2025 - but I see the prices for older Apple hardware, video
cards and spare parts on ebay which all getting older and older, need an OCLP basement for actual
use...

Apple is close to transfer macOS exclusively & completely to Apple CPU platform !

OCLP and further Development for Intel-based machines same as Intel-based Hackintosh ?
This chapter is a dead-end and will end ... soon !

So the Focus for older machines is not OCLP-based 64 Bit macOS - it's 🤗 32Bit !

 

[imgregorous]

I totally agree with everything said already, but I'd like to add one more point. That is, maintaining the codebases to maintain 100% compatibility with older hardware is something Apple just don't want to invest in.

I also run OCLP, I'm happily typing right now on a 2013 MBA running Ventura 13.7.2 - but I don't worry too much when occasional weird things occur requiring a restart. Nor do I plan on using it for mission-critical work that requires absolute reliability and stability. But Apple has a high bar for stability as well as performance, so ensuring that all the old versions of everything is fully supported across everything would be a tremendous amount of effort.

(offtopic: I also keep an old mba running high sierra just to keep some 32bit music hardware utilized)

Yes, do things work with OCLP? Of Course! But is it worth the effort for Apple? They don't think so.

But also, the other non-software answer is that when hardware reaches EOL they don't have to stock parts for those devices - which means that they can fully close out the books for those old models and keep the parts list they have to keep on hand as small as possible as such things can grow infinitely large. Even Apple doesn't have infinite storage space to keep parts for older machines. Never mind maintaining the support documentation plus the training in order to fully support them.

 

[Fishrrman]

Question:
"What's the real reason Apple drops OS support for models that can still easily run newer versions of macOS?"

Answer:
To goad you into buying something newer.

(nothing follows)

 

[AVR2]

Question:
"What's the real reason Apple drops OS support for models that can still easily run newer versions of macOS?"

Answer:
To goad you into buying something newer.

(nothing follows)

Yeah, I guess you didn't read the last two sentences of my original post?

 

[Fishrrman]

"I guess you didn't read the last two sentences of my original post?"

Not being "trite" with my reply 5 above.
It is... what it is.

Back in the 1950's, particularly with car styling in the USA, it was referred to as "planned obsolescence"...

 

[padams35]

This is my working theory:

Catalina - 2010/2012 Mac Pro dropped because of microcode/security support.
Big Sur - 2012s plausibly dropped over WiFi chipset microcode support, but mostly to minimize universal Intel/AppleSilicon code overlap.
Monterey - Finally able to justify cutting all Nvidea support. No clue why the Late 2014/Mid 2015 iMacs got cut as well.
Ventura - Somebody thought requiring H.265 10-bit HDR decode was a good idea.
Sonoma - Apple didn't want to support T1 chips anymore. Other Early/mid 2017s collateral damage to make an even age cutoff.
Sequioa - 2018/2019 MBA dropped for low performance.

 

[bousozoku]

If Apple cannot provide full support for a machine because of hardware limitations, do people complain?

Is it expensive to provide fixes for older equipment when Apple's developers have no day-to-day familiarity with that equipment? Do mistakes happen because of a lack of familiarity?

 

[Mrbobb]

Apple's history suggests a cigar IS a cigar.

 

[M.Brane]

As you have discovered not supported doesn't mean won't work just that if you have problems you are on your own. Apple doesn't care about your 10+ year old hardware.

 

[MacGizmo]

Not to defend Apple, but what makes you think that older Macs "can still easily run newer versions of macOS?"

It's easy for us to say that, but trying to make all the features of a new OS version run on old(er) hardware has got to be a daunting task considering many features are dependent on not only hardware integration, but other software features as well.

Apple tends to like to release an OS with an all-in mentality – not a "all features work on this Mac, most features work on that Mac, and a few features work on the other Mac."

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Part of the reason is that Intel drops their own support for chips.

End of Servicing Update for Skylake Products

Hi everyone, We would like to remind all customers that Intel will no longer be providing functional and security updates (Servicing) after September 2022 for the following products code named Skylake: 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i3, i5, i7, and m Processors (CPUID: 406E3) Intel® Celeron®...

community.intel.com

They stopped supporting skyLake in September 2022, so Apple pretty much had no choice but to drop support for SkyLake and earlier with the October 2022 release of Ventura. If Intel literally wouldn’t give any support for new drivers, security updates, etc. for those earlier chips, Apple reasonably couldn’t promise that same support either. It’s the same reason the Windows 11 system requirements were also so strict when it was released.
Obviously, people are going to conspiracy theory, wine, and complain that it’s Apple “ planned obsolescence, Tim Cook bad, Steve would never, etc etc etc” but I seriously don’t think that is the case. The fact that the iPad Air2 from 2014 and the iPhone 6S from 2015 just received another security update… Yesterday, 10 and 11 years after initial launch, kind of tells a completely different story.
Also, the fact that there have been plenty of models over the years to get tons and tons of extended support, the mid 2007 iMac received the latest operating system until 2016, and security updates until 2018, 11 years after the thing launched.
2012 MacBooks were receiving security updates until last year.
So in short it’s three reasons.
A: third-party drivers and security compatibility from Intel and apples older graphics partners.
B: day to day stability and decent enough feature parody between models.
C: the natural marching on of time.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Question:
"What's the real reason Apple drops OS support for models that can still easily run newer versions of macOS?"

Answer:
To goad you into buying something newer.

(nothing follows)

The 2014 iPad Air second generation still receiving security updates yesterday, and the 2012 MacBook still receiving security updates until last year kind of disprove your point.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Ventura - Somebody thought requiring H.265 10-bit HDR decode was a good idea.

nope, that one actually has a known explanation from the chipmakers themselves.

End of Servicing Update for Skylake Products

Hi everyone, We would like to remind all customers that Intel will no longer be providing functional and security updates (Servicing) after September 2022 for the following products code named Skylake: 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i3, i5, i7, and m Processors (CPUID: 406E3) Intel® Celeron®...

community.intel.com