Apple is said to remove several Intel-based Mac models which are currently compatible with macOS Sequoia from the macOS 26 device compatibility list.
AppleInsider learned from people familiar with Apple’s software engineering that several Intel-based Mac laptops and desktops that work on macOS Sequoia will not be able to run macOS 26, the next major update to macOS coming this fall.
The site learned that the first macOS 26 developer beta weighs in at about 17GB in size, which is about 2GB larger than the initial developer beta of macOS Sequoia.
Rumor: No Intel-based Macs on the macOS 26 device compatibility list
The following Intel-based Macs may not be supported by macOS 26.
- MacBook Pro (2018)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac mini (2018)
- MacBook Air (2020)
“The 2019 MacBook Pro models and 2020 5K iMac models will be supported, though, based on what we were told.” notes the site. The information is based on code strings found in development builds. If true, this will make the second year in a row that macOS dropped some devices from the official compatibility list; the iPhone maker also trimmed support for Intel-based Macs in last year’s macOS Sequoia, suggesting future macOS releases will only work on computers powered by Apple silicon.
The macOS 26 compatibility list may look as follows:
- MacBook Pro (2019 and later)
- iMac (2020 and later)
- Mac Pro (2019 and later)
- Mac mini (M1 and later)
- Mac Studio (all models)
- MacBook Air (M1 and later)
Apple will preview macOS 26 at its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference next month alongside iOS 26 and other operating system updates.
When will Apple launch the first macOS 26 beta?
The first developer previews of iOS 26 and other operating systems will be released after the keynote wraps up. Public betas will follow in July and the software updates will launch to the public in the fall.
The company is expected to overhaul the user interfaces across its devices to make using them more consistent, borrowing heavily from the visionOS software with its 3D translucent materials and rounded user interface elements. Apple could also announce a rebrand of its OS naming scheme, eschewing mismatching version numbers in favor of year-based numbers with vehicle-style numbering.