macOS 27 Rumored to Mark the End of an Era for Apple’s Mac Operating System

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At WWDC 2025, Apple confirmed during its Platforms State of the Union presentation that macOS 26 Tahoe will be the last major macOS release to support Intel-based Macs.

This marks the end of a transition that began in 2020, when Apple started moving its Mac lineup from Intel processors to its own Apple silicon chips. Since then, Apple has steadily reduced Intel support across macOS updates, focusing new features and performance improvements on Apple silicon systems.

With macOS 26 Tahoe, Intel Macs will still receive the update, but future major versions beyond it will no longer support Intel hardware. This means that subsequent macOS releases will be exclusive to Macs powered by Apple silicon (such as M-series chips).

Apple is expected to continue providing security updates for Intel-based Macs for some time after macOS 26 Tahoe, but feature development and new system capabilities will be focused entirely on Apple silicon going forward.

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macOS 27 is expected to mark a major shift in Apple’s Mac platform, as it will reportedly drop support for Intel-based Macs entirely and run only on Apple silicon systems.

According to the information, installing macOS 27 will require either a Mac with an M-series chip or the newer MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip. The update is expected to enter beta testing in June, with a full public release likely in September.

This follows macOS 26 Tahoe, which is expected to be the final macOS version compatible with Intel Macs. After that point, Apple’s software ecosystem for Mac will be fully aligned with its own silicon architecture.

macOS Tahoe supports a final group of Intel and Apple silicon machines, including:

  • MacBook Air (Apple silicon, 2020 and later)

  • MacBook Pro (Apple silicon, 2020 and later)

  • MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)

  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)

  • iMac (2020 and later)

  • Mac mini (2020 and later)

  • Mac Studio (2022 and later)

  • Mac Pro (2019 and later)

  • MacBook Neo (2026)

However, Intel models that can still run macOS Tahoe will not be supported in macOS 27. These include systems like the 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019), the 27-inch iMac (2020), the 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports), and the Mac Pro (2019).

Overall, this transition signals Apple’s complete shift away from Intel hardware on the Mac platform, with future macOS releases focused entirely on Apple silicon and newer architectures.