macOS support

25 Sep 2022 15:35:02

Richard I

I have read In a PC Magazine with some consternation that the next version of macOS will not support MacBook Pros of 2015/2016. Assuming this is correct, can anybody reassure me that my current operating system (Monterey) will still have security updates after Ventura comes out?

Please don’t suggest this is a good opportunity to upgrade to an M2 MacBook Pro… my current one is working fine, and I have a policy of keeping things until they fall to bits!
Thanks Richard

Re: macOS support

25 Sep 2022 16:11:25

Lionel Ogden

I am in the same situation with my iMac and MBP. Somewhere I read that Apple supports previous operating systems for two upgrades i.e Ventura plus one more. Am I correct or is this just wishful thinking?

Re: macOS support

25 Sep 2022 17:14:11

Stuart Affleck

Apple support usually covers Macs for seven years after they go off sale- so the trashcan Mac Pro will get support until 2026, even though it went on sale in 2013. Officially, Ventura does not work on your MBP, but there may be unofficial patches etc if you still fancy trying it.
On OSs, Lionel pretty much has it, though there is no official line on how long Apple issues updates. Mojave had its last security update last year, the final full update (10.14.6) having been released at the beginning of 2020. This year will probably see the last Catalina security update, 10.15.7 being the last major update last year. So Monterey will get at least another year of version point updates, and probably security updates for a year or so after that.

Re: macOS support

25 Sep 2022 17:36:28

Richard I

Thanks stuart, for that comprehensive response. So my beloved MacBook Pro has another couple of years yet!

Re: macOS support

25 Sep 2022 19:24:07

Stuart Affleck

It's got as long as you want it to… typing this on a 2009 MacBook 5,2 (on its third battery- that one's conking out & any replacement would be third party), waiting on M2 MBP before I finally replace it (it's not worth trying to speed it up a bit!!). Current desktop is a 2010 Mac Pro 5,1- 3.46 6-core Xeon (the fastest it'll take), RX580 graphics, running Mojave, had Big Sur on it for test purposes & Ventura will work too. Old, yes, power hungry, yes…but it still shifts!

Re: macOS support

26 Sep 2022 11:53:21

Douglas Cheney

My son is using a MacBook Pro running High Sierra and is still receiving security updates for it

Re: macOS support

4 Oct 2022 16:48:29

Eleanor Spenceley

When Apple migrates major architecture changes such as from 68000 to PowerPC , then from PowerPC to Intel and again from 32-bit to 64-bit Intel, the support for the older architectures do appear to get dropped prematurely compared to non-transitional years. This is because all the new features Apple wants to introduce simply cannot be supported on the older architecture. With the introduction of Apples new chip architecture, there are much more new hardware features this time around so it appears Apple is dropping Intel support pretty quickly once again.

Also lower end Macs often lose their support much earlier than with higher end systems. Often this is because of required new graphics needs or multiprocessor support. This cannot be helped since these machines are already on the 'trailing edge' of technology cycle.

It's a shame you lose new Mac OS support for old machines when compared to Windows or Linux, but Apple wants the best experience for their new products and are not concerned dropping 'perfectly good machines for many users'.

Still, older machines run fine without updates and I have a bunch of older (2007-2011) machines here I should pass on. Even though they run perfectly well, shame many people don't want them... :-)

Re: macOS support

11 Oct 2022 22:54:11

Tony Still

I don't think that Intel support is going to go away any time soon. Apple is still selling Intel Macs (Mac Minis as well as the Mac Pro) so the transition hasn't yet finished. While Eleanor may be correct that post-transition support will be shorter than usual, that clock has yet to start.

When the support does evaporate (which has always been gradually, as Stuart explained), the biggest concern is usually security which can be ameliorated with third-party utilities. Finally, of course, apps go out of date and new features become irresistible but that could well be at the 10+ year mark.