MacOS 26 Tahoe Apple will be the last vital version of Mac based on Intel. The message was delivered in the virtual condition of the Union platform on WWDC25.
“Apple Silicon allows us to achieve things that were previously unimaginable, and it’s time to concentrate there and innovations,” said Matthew Firlik, senior director of programmers’ relations.
However, the Mac with Intel will still receive three years of security update after starting Tahoe. Currently supported MAC computers using Intel systems include a 16-inch MacBook Pro from 2019, a 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2020 with four Thunderbolt 3 ports, 27-inch IMAC from 2020 and 2019 Mac Pro.
The latter Mac Intel Mac will still receive most Tahoe improvements, including a fresh liquid glass design and improvement to search in the attention center.
Rosetta 2, a tool that allows Apple Silicon to launch the Intel application, will be available via MacOS 27, but in the film Firlik called programmers to facilitate users in the transition to the native versions of Apple Silicon in their applications. Some parts of Rosetta may require the behavior of older games that are no longer updated and rely on the framework of Intel designed for Intel equipment.
No wonder Apple withdraws these parts of Intel. For some, the shock is that they lasted so long. These Intel systems are aging, and the last launched in 2020 (although the Xeons server class in Mac Pro 2019 may still have some life). Apple introduced M1 in autumn 2020, significantly increasing the life and efficiency of the battery.
Intel era chips have also kept the Hackintosh projects alive. It is possible that after the MacOS 26 release, it will introduce a type of maintenance and safety mode, without future editions focused on x86 processors.
Apple clearly wants to focus on its vertically integrated stack, from operating systems to systems. This movement was inevitable, and although people from Maco on Hackintoshes or other unauthorized equipment can be nervous, it will improve Apple engineering operations and allocate more programming resources to native Apple Silicon Apple applications for Mac.
