At WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that macOS 26 Tahoe would be the last major release of macOS for Intel-based Macs.
macOS 27 will only be compatible with Apple Silicon Macs, meaning you’ll need a Mac with an M-series chip or a MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip to install the software update. Apple will unveil macOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote this Monday, June 8, and the update is expected to be widely released in September.
Intel-based Macs that can run macOS Tahoe but will not be compatible with macOS 27:
- 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020, four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro 16-inch (2019)
- iMac 27-inch (2020)
- Mac Pro (2019)
Apple said Intel-based Macs would continue to receive security updates for three years.
Exactly how compatible macOS 27 will be with Apple Silicon Macs remains to be seen, but the update will likely support all Macs with an M1 chip or newer.
macOS 27 will still be able to run Intel apps, as it will be the last major version of macOS to include Apple’s Rosetta full translation layer.
“Rosetta was designed to ease the transition to Apple silicon, and we plan to make it available for the next two major releases of macOS – through macOS 27 – as a general-purpose tool for Intel applications to help developers complete the migration of their applications,” Apple said. “Beyond this timeframe, we will retain a subset of Rosetta features aimed at supporting older, unmaintained game titles, which rely on Intel-based frameworks.”
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