MacOS Ventura

[LDS]

Yep, it is getting close to that time of year again. MacOS Ventura is due next month, and one of the things that surprises me about it is how much of a knife Apple has taken to supported models.

Mac Pro 2013.
Any iMac or MacBook Pro prior to 2017 models.
Any MacBook Air or Mac Mini prior to 2018 models.

They have all been cut from the list. The bar has moved considerably from OSX Monterey, in most cases covering 2 to 4 years worth of released models. Apple originally flagged that they will be reducing software support for Intel models at a faster rate from 2023 but it looks like ending MacOS support will be the thing that drives it on an application level.

I would anticipate that Ventura is going to be the last officially supported MacOS for much of the remaining Intel Mac lineup, with only the most recent intel models extending into next year's release.

Times are a changing, and rather fast...

[JFreak]

Not as fast as I predicted, based on previous transition that only took Tiger (introducing Intel), Leopard (truly universal binary) and Snow Leopard (axing PPC code from OSX).

Big reason for the "slowness" this time is likely latest Mac Pro, which needs support for another year. But I would not be surprised if the next place was Apple Silicon only.

[LDS]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Not as fast as I predicted, based on previous transition that only took Tiger (introducing Intel), Leopard (truly universal binary) and Snow Leopard (axing PPC code from OSX).

Big reason for the "slowness" this time is likely latest Mac Pro, which needs support for another year. But I would not be surprised if the next place was Apple Silicon only.

Tiger and Leopard still equated to three years of OS updates for almost every G4 and G5, from the time the last PowerPC model was sold. So not remotely quick at all, really. Particularly when you consider how quickly the actual hardware changed.

It is hard to blame the Mac Pro for anything given Apple is transitioning to their own chips. It could have been so much cleaner and neater, but for whatever reason they put their customers in a position where many of them are wanting faster AS software support, while others are wanting AS hardware but are still stuck with Intel only offerings.

[JFreak]

TRue. But Intels were released half way into Tiger lifecycle so deduct one year. Still, I think Mac Pro 2019 is the key here. Dropping Intel code before 2024 unlikely, though possible.

[Eric Lambert]

Some of those computers are only 5 years old. Indeed that's cutting pretty close to the source. Considering all the shake-ups, Apple needs to start embracing their new technology and unfortunately that always means leaving some of the past behind. No way around it.

I hope that this lack of official support won't mean that these computers will actually have difficulty with modern OSs. Often an unsupported machine can live on for years.

[Darryl Ramm]

I suspect with Apple facing more than the usual transition challenges with semiconductor fab capacity. The sheer amount of fab production they eat for all products gives them huge leverage, but that can only get them so far and they have to trade off shipping more iPhones vs new Mac Pros. From a software viewpoint the transition to ARM and Apple GPUs has gone very well, no doubt helped by much stuff having been shaken out on iOS. So while there are hiccups/delays now with the Mac Pro, I expect Apple to be fairly aggressive about ditching Intel support. My money is on 1-2 years, last version with Intel support: Ventura or Ventura+1 at most. Otherwise just more baggage to carry around that slows down innovation/development.

[Sugarnutz]

My mid-2015 rMBP is dead last in the compatibility list for Monterey so I was expecting this being the last OS for my machine. I’m kind of relieved that I’ll no longer be subject to the nag notifications to upgrade the OS, maintaining Mojave for PT 2019.12 (my last version until a recent renewal) was a sheer test of wills betwixt me & Apple. This might be a blessing in disguise as far as I’m concerned. My next purchase might end up being a loaded Mac Studio when the M2/M3 silicon gets here.

[nednednerb]

My interest in a MacPro 2019 was highest in 2020, with a MacPro 2013 starting to crash. In the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022, with Silicon on horizon but serious work and budget constrained, I opted for a much more stable out of the box, and TOTALLY processor/memory/storage sufficient for ALL my regular paid work, in an iMac 2020.

The way Avid supports PT updates and OSes (previously) very routinely to a late date in a device or OS life cycle, I feel my past experience here says my iMac 2020 will be WELL supported for my typical workflows BY AVID, even if Apple stops giving me Intel support.

While ultimately all computers seem to be outdated hardware within a year or few, the ability to work productively is much longer lasting according Avid's typical support stream.

I totally expect to see the end date coming clearly by the time it really approaches, and while some uncertainty exists, much more banter and speculation is looking forward. I really don't think there is going to be a super super SUDDEN "we said you'd get this update, abut actually changed our mind super widely"...... Right now we only know for sure phase out is on horizon.

SURELY since so many people do use computers much longer than they buy newer and newer machines, I guess that it will feel pretty smooth for most users.

By far most users are not power users and don't care about specs, and if you actually listen to the majority of power users on DUC, for instance, many of the words to new users include "that old machine should run that workload no problem, so try the troubleshooting steps"

In summary, I'm not concerned about a lack of Intel support anytime >>super soon.