macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 warns users about 32-bit software's impending demise

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Apple's new macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 beta has begun the purge process of 32-bit apps, with the new version the first to warn users that the apps won't be supported that much longer.




Apple is still allowing 32-bit apps to run on the new version, but is warning users about their use and execution. The release notes for the new beta say:
To prepare for a future release of macOS in which 32-bit software will no longer run without compromise, starting in macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 a user is notified on the launch of an app that depends on 32-bit software. The alert appears only once per app.
Additionally, there is a Terminal command to limit an app's execution to 64-bit only, to test it for compatibility with Apple's new guidance on the matter.

This is not Apple's first warning on the matter. Apple officially announced during the 2017 WWDC all new apps submitted to the Mac App Store are required to be 64-bit starting this month. The noose tightens a bit in the summer of 2018, with all app updates needing to comply with the mandate.

At the time, it would start to "aggressively" warn users about 32-bit apps after High Sierra, but it appears the initiative has started a bit early. High Sierra is the last version to support 32-bit apps "without compromises."

Apple shifted to 64-bit capable Intel processors in 2006 for most of the product line, with the sole holdout, the Mac mini that launched with a 32-bit processor, migrating in 2007. As a result, hardware won't be a hold-up to adoption.

With iOS 11, Apple has completed the migration of its mobile platform. Starting with the fall 2017 release of iOS 11, 32-bit apps don't launch at all.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 35
    dotcomctodotcomcto Posts: 130member
    Apple has a gigantic set cojones! 
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  • Reply 2 of 35
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,360member
    dotcomcto said:
    Apple has a gigantic set cojones! 

    And users are better for it!

    Solimagman1979canukstormtdknoxchia
     5Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 35
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,360member
    On my system, only GoogleTalkPlugin, which I never use, is still 32-bit, along with dbfseventsd, which I believe is used by Dropbox for detecting file system changes. Not sure why that one is still 32-bit!
    chia
     0Likes 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 4 of 35
    Solisoli Posts: 10,038member
    Huh! I would've assumed that 32-bit support had been removed years ago. I seem to remember one major macOS update where a file with incompatible applications were placed.
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  • Reply 5 of 35
    emoelleremoeller Posts: 594member
    The easiest way to determine what KIND of program is running is to use Activity Monitor.   From the top menu under View/Columns select KIND -  it will show whether the program running is 64 or 32 bit.   

    I have some older utilities and drivers for hardware that are 32 bit that most likely can not be updated.    I have just replaced my 2009 iMac with a new 2017 iMac (big shout out to AppleInsider and their sponsor Adorama - they had THE BEST price and their service was excellent) and I'll use my old machine to run those older programs and hardware going forward.  
    hodarnapoleon_phoneapartGG1chiaRayz2016
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  • Reply 6 of 35
    Solisoli Posts: 10,038member
    If you go to System Information » Software » Applications you can order your apps by their "64-Bit (Intel)" Boolean.

    It looks like I have about 20 apps, most of which are from Adobe and are various uninstallers—get it together Adobe!. Four are from Apple, but at least two of them I'd consider  deprecated.

    • QuickTime Player 7
    • DVD Player
    • InkServer
    • quicklookd32
    edited January 2018
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  • Reply 7 of 35
    Solisoli Posts: 10,038member
    emoeller said:
    The easiest way to determine what KIND of program is running is to use Activity Monitor.   From the top menu under View/Columns select KIND -  it will show whether the program running is 64 or 32 bit.   

    I have some older utilities and drivers for hardware that are 32 bit that most likely can not be updated.    I have just replaced my 2009 iMac with a new 2017 iMac (big shout out to AppleInsider and their sponsor Adorama - they had THE BEST price and their service was excellent) and I'll use my old machine to run those older programs and hardware going forward.  
    I'm showing 2 Ruby and 3 Dropbox processes still in 32-bit. I assume Dropbox can resolve there end. I'm not sure what's using the Ruby at this point.
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  • Reply 8 of 35
    sevenfeetsevenfeet Posts: 471member
    Soli said:
    If you go to System Information » Software » Applications you can order your apps by their "64-Bit (Intel)" Boolean.

    It looks like I have about 20 apps, most of which are from Adobe and are various uninstallers—get it together Adobe!. Four are from Apple, but at least two of them I'd consider  deprecated.

    • QuickTime Player 7
    • DVD Player
    • InkServer
    • quicklookd32
    DVD Player is still 32 bit?  Who knew....(yup, confirmed!).  Apple's is going to have to clean that up before the new beta goes live since that won't look good.

    Not surprised about Quicktime given that Quicktime as a code base has its roots back to in late '80s.

    I still see Akamai Netsession running as 32 bit on my machine ...not anymore, ditching it.

    Amazon's Music Helper is also 32 bit.

    The open source UPS driver apsupsd is still 32 bit.

    Otherwise, that's all from my machines.
    edited January 2018
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  • Reply 9 of 35
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,976member
    Sounds like planned obsolescence to me! Time for another class action lawsuit! /s
    cornchip
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 10 of 35
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,976member
    sevenfeet said:
    Soli said:
    If you go to System Information » Software » Applications you can order your apps by their "64-Bit (Intel)" Boolean.

    It looks like I have about 20 apps, most of which are from Adobe and are various uninstallers—get it together Adobe!. Four are from Apple, but at least two of them I'd consider  deprecated.

    • QuickTime Player 7
    • DVD Player
    • InkServer
    • quicklookd32
    DVD Player is still 32 bit?  Who knew....(yup, confirmed!).  Apple's is going to have to clean that up before the new beta goes live since that won't look good.

    Not surprised about Quicktime given that Quicktime as a code base has its roots back to in late '80s.

    I still see Akamai Netsession running as 32 bit on my machine ...not anymore, ditching it.

    Amazon's Music Helper is also 32 bit.

    The open source UPS driver apsupsd is still 32 bit.

    Otherwise, that's all from my machines.
    I bet Apple will just drop DVD player. 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 11 of 35
    Solisoli Posts: 10,038member
    sevenfeet said:
    Soli said:
    If you go to System Information » Software » Applications you can order your apps by their "64-Bit (Intel)" Boolean.

    It looks like I have about 20 apps, most of which are from Adobe and are various uninstallers—get it together Adobe!. Four are from Apple, but at least two of them I'd consider  deprecated.

    • QuickTime Player 7
    • DVD Player
    • InkServer
    • quicklookd32
    Not surprised about Quicktime given that Quicktime as a code base has its roots back to in late '80s.
    That is Quicktime 7, which hasn't been updated in forever. I think I had to DL it separately at one point so I could get the simple trimming, splitting, and clip appending, and audio recording before QuickTime X became full featured, which I think was always 64-bit.

    macxpress said:
    I bet Apple will just drop DVD player. 
    Frankly I'm not even sure why it's still on my machine since I haven't had a built-in ODD in forever. I agree, I just assume DVD player will be removed.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 12 of 35
    emoelleremoeller Posts: 594member
    I hope they don't ditch DVD player - how would I watch DVD/netflix rentals?  I live in a rural area with limited broadband coverage...
    bonobobbaconstang
     1Like 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 13 of 35
    Solisoli Posts: 10,038member
    emoeller said:
    I hope they don't ditch DVD player - how would I watch DVD/netflix rentals?  I live in a rural area with limited broadband coverage…
    There are countless options for playing region-locked DVDs on your Mac.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 14 of 35
    rotateleftbyterotateleftbyte Posts: 1,633member
    Oh well, I'm seeing Drobo and Adobe stuff still 32bit.
    Sigh.
    time to search for upgrades.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 15 of 35
    maciekskontaktmaciekskontakt Posts: 1,169member
    For the record you could run 64-bit applications while Mac OSX was still 32-bit. I managed that on Mac Mini many years ago by replacing CPU (yes Apple built them the way you could install Dell 64-bit core 2 duo's pullouts from laptops). Kernel went 32-bit while your 64-bit apps started as 64-bit. I ran that way for 2 years. I think it has been enough time to rebuild software to 64-bit so the move is legit - not much bravery.

    edited January 2018
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  • Reply 16 of 35
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,154member
    dotcomcto said:
    Apple has a gigantic set cojones! 
    More like PC users come to expect crappy software and low standards, which is why people express surprise that Apple actually cares about the advantage of staying current.
    macseekerchiaSoli
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 17 of 35
    sevenfeetsevenfeet Posts: 471member
    rotateleftbyte said:
    Oh well, I'm seeing Drobo and Adobe stuff still 32bit.
    Sigh.
    time to search for upgrades.
    Drobo drivers and Dashboard are now 64 bit.
    Soli
     0Likes 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 18 of 35
    kpomkpom Posts: 660member
    Soli said:
    sevenfeet said:
    Soli said:
    If you go to System Information » Software » Applications you can order your apps by their "64-Bit (Intel)" Boolean.

    It looks like I have about 20 apps, most of which are from Adobe and are various uninstallers—get it together Adobe!. Four are from Apple, but at least two of them I'd consider  deprecated.

    • QuickTime Player 7
    • DVD Player
    • InkServer
    • quicklookd32
    Not surprised about Quicktime given that Quicktime as a code base has its roots back to in late '80s.
    That is Quicktime 7, which hasn't been updated in forever. I think I had to DL it separately at one point so I could get the simple trimming, splitting, and clip appending, and audio recording before QuickTime X became full featured, which I think was always 64-bit.

    macxpress said:
    I bet Apple will just drop DVD player. 
    Frankly I'm not even sure why it's still on my machine since I haven't had a built-in ODD in forever. I agree, I just assume DVD player will be removed.
    Have you used Migration Assistant? iDVD is still on my 12” MacBook for no other reason than that I have migrated since my first MacBook Air (with the external SuperDrive). I haven’t gotten around to deleting it. 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 19 of 35
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    Soli said:
    That is Quicktime 7, which hasn't been updated in forever. I think I had to DL it separately at one point so I could get the simple trimming, splitting, and clip appending, and audio recording before QuickTime X became full featured, which I think was always 64-bit.
    I still use QT7 all the time for things that are a major production to do with other tools -- adding/removing audio tracks, adding chapter markers, trimming clips, captioning, etc. Are you saying these tasks can be performed with QTX now?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 20 of 35
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member

    Soli said:
    emoeller said:
    I hope they don't ditch DVD player - how would I watch DVD/netflix rentals?  I live in a rural area with limited broadband coverage…
    There are countless options for playing region-locked DVDs on your Mac.
    I hope there's a 64-bit DVD player app than can read the images RipIt creates. I'm still in the process of ripping hundreds of DVDs, many of them TV series, and being able to play them on the same screen as I'm using to view the rips is really handy when entering all the metadata, not least making sure that I'm entering it for the correct episode!
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
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