macOS 27 Requires Apple Silicon, Officially Ending Intel Mac Support
Tags Consumer · Enterprise
Apple's upcoming macOS 27, codenamed Golden Gate, will require an M1 chip or later, formally ending support for Intel-based Macs. The transition, which began in 2020 with the original M1, will be complete with this release. Intel Macs running macOS 26 Tahoe can expect security and Safari patches for a limited time, but no further major OS updates.
Technical significance
The end of Intel Mac support marks the completion of one of the most successful CPU architecture transitions in computing history, taking approximately 6 years from announcement to final cutoff. For the industry, this demonstrates that large-scale architecture migrations are feasible with sufficient software compatibility layers (Rosetta 2). Enterprise users still on Intel Macs face a hardware refresh decision, and the secondary market for Intel Macs will be affected.