Apple held its annual ‘State of the Union’ presentation on Monday at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), where it unveiled visual and feature changes to the software for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Vision Pro. The headline change is all the next versions of these devices’ software will be numbered ‘26’ to correspond to the year they’ll mostly be used in – so hello iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and, with its new place name, macOS Tahoe 26.
But not all iMac, MacBook, Mac Pro and Mac Studio models will be getting the new version when it launches for free at some point in the autumn. As is the case every year when Apple introduces a new macOS, some older machines are being left behind. Older hardware can’t run new, advanced software forever.
It turns out macOS Tahoe 26 will be the last macOS version that will be supported on Intel-based Macs. Apple switched to using its own M chips in its Macs with the MacBook Air in November 2020 and hasn’t looked back, but many people will still be using Macs that run Intel chips, as Intel supplied all Macs with their processors for many years before 2020.
Some of the Intel Macs that will receive Tahoe include the Intel-based Macs include MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019), MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports), iMac (27-inch, 2020) and Mac Pro (2019). You’ll also get security updates for three years till 2028, so you can still use your Mac with peace of mind even if you don’t get macOS 27.
If you have an older Mac than this, it’s the end of the line. You can update to macOS 15 Sequoia, if your machine is new enough, but you won’t get macOS 26.
Macs are famously secure devices and less susceptible to viruses than Windows PCs. But any computer that no longer receives software updates is inherently more open to bugs and hacking, so if your Mac is older than 2019 or so, you might want to research how to keep it safe, or consider upgrading your Mac to a newer model.
Express.co.uk tech editor Dave Snelling was at Apple Park in Cupertino, California to watch Tim Cook and co. introduce the new macOS, as well as everything else. He wrote about the top five things to look out for in macOS 26, headed up by the new ‘Liquid Glass’ look of all Apple’s new software versions.
If you have a Mac that can run macOS Tahoe, you’ll also enjoy better integration with your iPhone and a new app for the Mac called Apple Games that handles all your gaming needs.
There will also be a big update to Spotlight. This is the system-wide search that you can bring up by pressing Command and the space bar to then search for apps, files and the web. With the new software upgrade, Apple says all results will be listed and ranked intelligently to give you more relevant options. You’ll also be able to filter down searches to find what you want quicker.