The support list for macOS Tahoe has seen a significant reduction, now including only four Intel Mac models, all released in 2019 or 2020. This narrowing of compatibility signals a pivotal shift in Apple's strategy, leading to the conclusion that the end is near for Intel Macs. Confirming these speculations, it has been revealed that macOS Tahoe will be the last version of macOS to support any Intel-based Macs. Beginning with macOS 27, all future releases will exclusively require an Apple Silicon Mac.
Apple has committed to providing additional security updates for macOS Tahoe until fall 2028. This timeline extends two years past the launch of macOS 27, which follows a typical update schedule for older macOS versions. Each older version generally receives one year of major point updates that include essential security fixes and new features, followed by two years of security-only updates. This ensures that users remain protected, albeit without substantial new functionalities.
In conjunction with the transition away from Intel Macs, Apple is also planning significant changes to Rosetta 2, the technology designed to facilitate the translation of Intel applications to run on Apple Silicon. While Rosetta will continue to function as a general-purpose app translation tool in both macOS 26 and macOS 27, it will be scaled back thereafter. The tool will only be available for a limited subset of applications—specifically, older games that depend on Intel-exclusive libraries yet are no longer actively maintained by their developers.
Developers aiming to ensure their applications remain functional on future macOS versions will need to adapt by transitioning to either Apple Silicon-native apps or universal apps that support both architectures. This shift mirrors Apple's previous approach with the original Rosetta, which was implemented during the transition from PowerPC chips to Intel CPUs in the mid-2000s. The original Rosetta was available in Mac OS X versions 10.4, 10.5, and 10.6, but was eventually phased out in version 10.7 in 2011, approximately five years after the first Intel Macs were released.
Although it was anticipated that Apple would eventually cease support for Intel Macs, the pace at which some models were dropped has been more aggressive than others. Most Intel Macs were upgraded to Apple Silicon models by 2020 or 2021; however, Apple continued to sell the 2019 Intel Mac Pro and certain versions of the 2018 Intel Mac mini well into 2023. Users who purchased the high-end Mac Pro in 2023 have only received three new macOS updates along with a total of five years of security updates.
In comparison, the Mac mini has fared even worse; while the Mac Pro can run macOS Tahoe, the 2018 Mac mini reached the end of its line with last year's macOS 15 Sequoia. This situation highlights the challenges facing users of older Intel Macs as they navigate the evolving landscape of Apple's ecosystem.
