- MacOS 16 (or MacOS 26) could drop support for some Intel Macs
- Rumors suggest these will include my 2018 MacBook Pro
- But it’s probably not the end of the road for all Intel-driven Macs yet
My reliable 2018 MacBook Pro has served me well over the years treating thousands of photos and more without complaint-but the latest MacOS 16 rumors suggest that its days are, like most Intel-powered Macs, very numbered.
WWDC 2025 is now just days away, and according to a report from Apple Insider, MacOS 16 – or MacOS 26 Tahoe, as it seems to be named – will drop support for many Intel Mac models including (sniff) mine.
Apple Insider says “People who are familiar with the case” have said that only the MACs listed below will be able to run MacOS 16. Remarkably by their absence is MacBook Pro 2018, 2020 Intel-based MacBook Air, 2017 iMac Pro and 2018 Mac Mini, all of which are currently supporting the current MacOS Sequoia.
- Rumors MacOS 26 Compatibility List
- MacBook Pro 2019 or later
- MacBook Air M1 or later
- iMac 2020 or later
- Mac Pro 2019 or later
- Mac Mini M1 or later
- Mac Studio
There are two other things to note about this list. One is that if it really is exactly when Apple announces MacOS 26 on June 9, it would not yet mark a significant end for all Intel-powered Macs.
MacBook Pro 2019, 2020 5K iMac and 2019 Mac Pro would all soldier for until 2026. Next year, MacOS 27 can probably then be the first desktop us to support the Apple Silicon-powered Macs exclusively, which would be a big moment if that is the case.
Secondly, the four Intel-powered Macs, apparently on the chopping block for MacOS 26, would not necessarily be outdated. Apple typically continues to provide another two -year updates of security updates to machines in this position, so I wouldn’t necessarily have to say goodbye to my MacBook Pro 2018.
And yet, MacOS 26 is likely to be the apology I’ve been looking for just that …
My next MacBook
Moving to an Apple Silicon MacBook has been on my wish list for a few years now, but buying one is not exactly a challenge of $ 20. Still if Apple announces on June 9 that my MacBook Pro 2018 is not invited to the Tahoe party, it will probably be pushing, I need to make the jump – the other is that my MacBook now shows its age.
There are all the usual seven-year-old laptop characters, such as having to constantly be connected to a charger and the tab that goes exaggerated by the most hint of something more taxing than three chrome tabs. And yes, it also has the very malignant touch beam that I have grown to like despite being largely useless.
But it’s really photo and video editing where my MacBook Pro shows its progress years. For example, Adobe Lightroom’s AI-driven noise reduction is very impressive, but applying it to a photo can take several minutes and make the base on my laptop feel warm enough to make a steak dinner.
The question for me is likely to be whether to get a MacBook Air 13-inch M4 or wait for the M5 MacBook Pro, which is expected to land later in the year with M5 chips (possibly in “The Fall” from 2025, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman).
With the former sitting at the top of our best laptops guide (and best MacBook and MACS list) and probably offers everything I need (Liquid Retina Display with P3 Color Gamut, 10-Core Apple M4 chip and all day battery life), I pour against it — Ice as it starts at a fairly reasonable $ 999 / £ 999 / AU Which will somehow double when I add more ram and storage.
There are also rumors that this year’s MacBook Pro M5 may be a slightly disappointing upgrade. The real fireworks probably come with a redesigned MacBook Pro M6, which has been tipped to land in 2026 with an OLED screen, at least rumors.
So while my tired 2018 MacBook Pro is not completely outdated yet, the switch to an M4-driven MacBook would probably feel like a night-and-day difference-and it’s now pretty rare.
