There is a new rumor about which MACs are compatible with macOS 26 In theory, the lower end-models are excluded by MacBook Pro 13-inch from 2020 Logically, it also means that MacBook Pro models from 2019 are also not compatible – although there could be an exception in that respect
The latest from the Rumor Mill about compatibility with the next version of MacOS for the time being excludes a surprising new Mac with an Intel Chip, a MacBook Pro from 2020 to be precise.
A fresh list of compatible Macs for what is allegedly MacOS Tahoe (or MacOS 26) comes from a private source of X that 9to5Mac marked up. The technical site notes that it keeps the account anonymous, which is fair enough, but that it is a reliable source that “regularly shares accurate information” about Apple’s software plans.
The list of MACs that is ‘good to go’ with MacOS Tahoe repeats the previously leaked one that gives more weight to it, but it adds another laptop: Apple’s MacBook Pro 13-inch from 2020, the Entry-Level model with only two Thunderbolt ports rather than four. (And there are potentially more MacBook Pro models left out in the cold here by logical expansion, and I’ll be back to that point soon).
However, the source does not sound fully convinced of what they have heard, adding that they “don’t quite believe it” as 9 to 5 Mac notes.
So if we assume this is true we have a slightly revised list of Macs that will be compatible with macOS 26 (apply some spices now):
MacBook Air M1 or later
MacBook Pro (2020, 4 Port Model) or later
iMac 2020 or later
Mac Mini M1 or later
Mac Pro 2019 or later
Mac Studio all models
If this pans out, it is not hard to imagine that the following incarnation of macos landing in 2026 can only support Apple Silicon.
Analysis: Some difficult compatibility wrinkles?
(Image Credit: Future)
In the past, the thinking was that only those with a MacBook Pro 2018 would not be treated in hand to MacOS Tahoe, but it seems that much newer models could be out of luck with support here.
Okay, so it feels pretty unlikely why the source indicates their own skepticism about what they’ve been told. But still, there is some sound logic on the game here, as 9 to 5 Mac points out. This lower end two-port model of the MacBook Pro 2020 was equipped with an older CPU than the FOUR port version, an Intel 8th-Gen (Coffee Lake)-CHIP, compared to a 10th gen (Ice Lake) processor.
So that power Potentially be an important difference in compatibility efforts. With the MacBook Pro 2019 using 8th-Gen CPUs as well, theoretical will also be excluded, although there is an exception in 16-inch spin of the 2019 laptop that packed a 9-re-chip.
But if Apple wants to cut off access to a MacBook Pro 2020 model (with 8th-Gen CPU), it might seem a little weird to accommodate one of the 2019 tastes before it. Granted, we could end up in a situation where Apple is warned that the MacBook Pro 2019 16-inch model is okay. However, it just seems cleaner in the scenario where Apple excludes the potentially problematic MacBook Pro 2020 model that it would also simply cut out everything before that.
This rumored rumor beams maybe the wrong compatibility tree completely, remember you, and the previous speculation could be correct. We will find out soon enough, later today, in fact, when Apple takes the wrapping of what should be MacOS Tahoe on WWDC 25.
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