Apple rolled out the first developer beta of macOS Tahoe 26.4 yesterday, introducing a new compatibility warning feature to alert users about upcoming changes. With macOS 26.4, Mac users will now receive a cautionary message when opening their favorite Intel-based apps, informing them that these apps will no longer be supported once Rosetta 2 is phased out in macOS 28 next year.
Rosetta 2 was introduced during Apple’s transition to its M-series chips in November 2020, allowing Mac users to run apps designed for Intel chips on Apple silicon Macs. This mirrors the original Rosetta translation layer that Apple implemented in Mac OS X Tiger to facilitate the move from PowerPC to Intel chips in 2006.
In macOS 26.4, users will encounter a warning when launching an app that relies on Rosetta 2, along with periodic reminders about the impending end of support. This version of macOS is also the last to support Intel-based Macs, as they will not receive the macOS 27 update later this year, which will be exclusive to Macs with Apple silicon. However, macOS 27 will offer Rosetta 2 translation for Intel-only apps for another year, leading up to the complete removal of Intel app support in macOS 28.
Developers are reminded that they have approximately a year and a half to update their applications for Apple silicon compatibility, following a five-year grace period. A limited version of Rosetta 2 will be available in macOS 28 for Intel binaries in Linux Virtual Machines and select older games dependent on Intel frameworks.
While some may argue that Apple’s timeline for removing Intel support is premature, developers have had ample time to make the necessary adjustments. Previous platform transitions by Apple have followed similar timelines, such as the shifts from 68K to PowerPC processors and from PowerPC to Intel chips.
For users concerned about app compatibility in macOS 28, they can check the processor architecture of their installed apps by navigating to the “System Report” section in the Mac’s “About this Mac” menu.
Check Your Apps
If you’re worried about app compatibility in macOS 28, follow these steps to determine which apps may be affected:
- Click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of your Mac’s Desktop.
- Select About this Mac.
- Click the More Info… button.
- Scroll to the bottom of the About window and click System Report.
- Choose Applications from the left sidebar to view the processor architecture of each app.
Identify apps marked as “Intel” as those that require updates for compatibility with future macOS versions, while apps marked as “Universal” or “Apple silicon” are already optimized for the transition.
