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Door staff@engadget.com (Deven McClure) - 26 Sep 2026
Golden Gate draws a line at the start of the Apple silicon era, so if your Mac uses an Intel chip, macOS 27 is incompatible across the board. Generally, this means if your MacBook is from 2021 or later, you're all set to upgrade your OS. There are a couple of 2020 release exceptions: the M1 chip versions of the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air can also run Golden Gate.
In case you're not sure what you have, click the Apple menu at the top-left of the screen and choose About This Mac. If you see Chip followed by an M-series processor like M3, you're on Apple silicon. Intel Macs will instead say Processor, followed by a CPU model like Intel Core i5.
This discontinued support comes as no surprise, considering the Mac transition away from Intel hardware has been in the works since 2020. Though the change may have been sparked by a desire for more in-house tech, according to a former Intel engineer, it may have also come down to increasingly bad quality assurance with Intel's Skylake line. As inconvenient as it may be for those with older MacBooks, Golden Gate being the first macOS release that's Apple silicon-only is simply the final step in this transition.
If Apple's recent support timelines continue, macOS Tahoe will receive two more years of security updates, so those with an Intel Mac will be covered through September 2028. At that point, it will be time to upgrade. Alongside six-year-old computers getting the latest software update, it's safe to say Apple's older hardware support has been strong.
In case you're not sure what you have, click the Apple menu at the top-left of the screen and choose About This Mac. If you see Chip followed by an M-series processor like M3, you're on Apple silicon. Intel Macs will instead say Processor, followed by a CPU model like Intel Core i5.
This discontinued support comes as no surprise, considering the Mac transition away from Intel hardware has been in the works since 2020. Though the change may have been sparked by a desire for more in-house tech, according to a former Intel engineer, it may have also come down to increasingly bad quality assurance with Intel's Skylake line. As inconvenient as it may be for those with older MacBooks, Golden Gate being the first macOS release that's Apple silicon-only is simply the final step in this transition.
If Apple's recent support timelines continue, macOS Tahoe will receive two more years of security updates, so those with an Intel Mac will be covered through September 2028. At that point, it will be time to upgrade. Alongside six-year-old computers getting the latest software update, it's safe to say Apple's older hardware support has been strong.