Apple this week previewed macOS Sonoma, the latest version of its Mac operating system. Launching later this year, the software update includes several new features, but not all of them are available on Intel-based Macs, according to Apple. On the macOS Sonoma features page, fine print indicates that the following features require a Mac with an Apple silicon chip:

• Presenter Overlay, a feature that displays the user on top of the content they are sharing in any video conferencing app.
• Game Mode, which prioritizes CPU and GPU performance while gaming by limiting the performance of background tasks.
• A new high-performance mode in the Screen Sharing app.
• The ability to pair Made for iPhone hearing devices directly with a Mac.
• The ability to invoke Siri by saying "Siri" instead of "Hey Siri."

Apple does not indicate why the features are not available on Intel Macs, but it likely relates to performance considerations, and only Apple silicon Macs have a Neural Engine for machine learning tasks. The last Intel Macs were released in 2020, and Apple has since moved to its own custom-designed processors. The transition to Apple silicon is now complete following this week's introduction of a new Mac Pro with the M2 Ultra chip.

macOS Sonoma will likely be released to the public in October and is compatible with Macs released in December 2017 and later.

Article Link: These macOS Sonoma Features Are Not Available on Intel Macs

That's fine. Apple cemented the notion yesterday that it's time to move on...I wouldn't even be surprised if next year's MacOS was not even Intel compatible.

Unsurprising...

For those on the 2020 Intel Macs these are the likely last macOS Updates

- Security Updates will end 2030

- Software Updates will end 2028

If you are wondering when to replace... I'd suggest doing so after the final Security Update to a Mac that was released soon after.

So if you have a 2020 iMac then replace it with 2030 Mac.

It begins...

Now that all Macs are Silicon, those of us with any Intel Macs face numbered days even if there was still an Intel Mac for sale only 1 day ago.

Rosetta 2 is almost certainly on the same clock. See Rosetta 1 deprecation as a guide.

The many apps still needing to "throw that one switch and recompile for silicon" had better get with it. I presume it is a very heavy switch... as it seemed to be the last time we went through this (and a number of apps- including prominent ones did not seem to be able to lift that switch before Rosetta 1 ended).

Suggestion: anything mission critical means keeping an "old Mac" running an old macOS around. I still have a Snow Leopard Mac for a few key things that never "threw the switch."

I'm curious why they didn't show any Game Mode benchmarks using some of the latest games that have come out (Resident Evil Village, No Man's Sky). My guess is that it doesn't make much of a difference in most cases.

Game Mode is also something that is unlikely to use the Neural Engine... for it to not be available on Intel Macs is weird. All the OS is doing is prioritizing CPU and GPU threads and upping the Bluetooth sample rate.

I thought it will be worse; still with an intel 16" MBP than excluding the heat I feel sometimes coming from it, it's perfectly fine for what I do. Do I want an m2 max? Absolutely but haven't been able to justify it yet.

Think|Different said:

I wouldn't even be surprised if next year's MacOS was not even Intel compatible.

I hope it's not that quick. That would make me think twice about buying any more Apple devices.

Really not worth the upgrade for Intel users is it? The OS has precious few features as it is.

ToxicBlue said:

I thought it will be worse; still with an intel 16" MBP than excluding the heat I feel sometimes coming from it, it's perfectly fine for what I do. Do I want an m2 max? Absolutely but haven't been able to justify it yet.

Makes me with I never bought my 2019 MBP 16" 14nm either and kept to a 2011 MBP 13" 32nm instead.

Would have been delightful if I jumped from a 10yo Mac to a 2021 MBP 16" 5nm.

I was shocked and pleasantly surprised when I saw my iPhone widgets show up on my Intel MacBook.

Oh come on Apple, why in the world won’t I be able to say just Siri, what in my Intel CPU is restricting me from doing that?

Being a 2017 iMac user my only thought is that I don't see what Sonoma OS offers that my iMac can't do?
But yes, I do want a Mac Studio, but kinda wish a 27" M2 Max with 64 gigs of ram and 2 TB HD was offered.

Time to move out from the shadows and get Apple Silicon, Intel hanger ons! #AAPL

Rosetta 2 is awesome Apple. Please keep it for at least 5 years🙏

SpringKid said:

Oh come on Apple, why in the world won’t I be able to say just Siri, what in my Intel CPU is restricting me from doing that?

The restriction is fresh 💰💰💰 for Apple.

The hackers will find a way to make some deprecated Macs upgrade mostly in full (which obviously illustrates Apple could do it too). The hackers motivation is to keep their Macs up to date. Apple has a very different motivation. 💴💶💷💵

Having been there for PowerPC to Intel, the clock is ticking fast now. It won't be long until Intel support is jettisoned from macOS which means the hackers won't have foundational stuff to "fix"/evolve. Rosetta 2 is now also on the clock too... just as Rosetta 1 back in the day.

Longplays said:

Makes me with I never bought my 2019 MBP 16" 14nm either and kept to a 2011 MBP 13" 32nm instead.

Would have been delightful if I jumped from a 10yo Mac to a 2021 MBP 16" 5nm.

We just replaced a 2013 Intel MBP with a 2023 M2 Pro MBP. Yes it is.

its just like the fingerprint reader in the external keyboard doesnt work on Intel Mac... , I mean my work PC is up for refresh next year but still things like this sting.

seclusion said:

but kinda wish a 27" M2 Max with 64 gigs of ram and 2 TB HD was offered.

Feel the same way too.

From 2012 iMac 27" 22nm to 2023 large iMac M2 Pro 16GB memory 512GB storage.

HobeSoundDarryl said:

The restriction is fresh 💰💰💰 for Apple.

The hackers will find a way to make some deprecated Macs upgrade mostly in full (which obviously illustrates Apple could do it too). The hackers motivation is to keep their Macs up to date. Apple has a very different motivation. 💴💶💷💵

Having been there for PowerPC to Intel, the clock is ticking fast now. It won't be long until Intel support is jettisoned from macOS which means the hackers won't have foundational stuff to "fix"/evolve. Rosetta 2 is now also on the clock too... just as Rosetta 1 back in the day.

Click to expand...

Haha, I hardly think anyone considers this restriction something vital that would make them think “Ok, that’s it, I’m getting a new computer now!”. 😂 It’s just really silly.

• The ability to invoke Siri by saying "Siri" instead of "Hey Siri."

That's a pretty funny one. I'm guessing the Hey Siri is embedded in a chip somewhere and it would be more work than its worth changing it.

Daalseth said:

We just replaced a 2013 Intel MBP with a 2023 M2 Pro MBP. Yes it is.

How'd it feel jumping into a decade's worth of tech advancements?

SpringKid said:

Haha, I hardly think anyone considers this restriction something vital that would make them think “Ok, that’s it, I’m getting a new computer now!”. 😂 It’s just really silly.

Not now. But those who plan their purchases MIGHT be looking at as little as one more year from this Fall... obviously with certain new features not available.

Sonoma could be the LAST version with Intel Mac support... or maybe there would be one more with additional new features not included to continue the wean.

The cheerleaders will come back with "About time" and such, glorifying Silicon and ridiculing Intel. However, in the first round of this, there was a significant PLUS or gain: Macs going from PowerPC to Intel could double as Windows PCs in ONE box. Now this proposition is a MINUS or loss: Macs going from Intel to Silicon are losing that valuable (to some) benefit (ARM Windows is not full Windows). I know some of us think all can be done better on Silicon but the reality is that "all" cannot be done on Silicon.

Remedy: if ARM Windows can work for some, the Parallels-type option may suffice. If some need more/certainty, my solution was to re-adopt "old fashioned bootcamp" by buying a dedicated PC too. About HALF the budget of a loaded Mac can buy a LOT of PC.

Silicon is great and all and I use my Ultra as much as I can. However, it is a loss to no longer have both major platforms inside of a single case, single keyboard, single mouse/trackpad, single screen, etc. To some, that's no loss at all. To others, it may send them back to PC because the latter is "need" and Mac is "want."

HobeSoundDarryl said:

The restriction is fresh 💰💰💰 for Apple.

The hackers will find a way to make some deprecated Macs upgrade mostly in full (which obviously illustrates Apple could do it too). The hackers motivation is to keep their Macs up to date. Apple has a very different motivation. 💴💶💷💵

Having been there for PowerPC to Intel, the clock is ticking fast now. It won't be long until Intel support is jettisoned from macOS which means the hackers won't have foundational stuff to "fix"/evolve. Rosetta 2 is now also on the clock too... just as Rosetta 1 back in the day.

Click to expand...

That's exactly it. It's a money grab from Cook (what else is new) pure and simple designed solely to upsell the customer. Apple's greed reaches new lows

TSE said:

Time to move out from the shadows and get Apple Silicon, Intel hanger ons! #AAPL

Not all of us can afford new Macs though.

HobeSoundDarryl said:

Not now. But those who plan their purchases MIGHT be looking at as little as one more year from this Fall... obviously with certain new features not available.

Sonoma could be the LAST version with Intel Mac support... or maybe there would be one more with additional new features not included to continue the wean.

With Apple now selling 0 Intel computers, I don’t think that is much of a consideration people are doing today.