What Intel Macs aren't getting in macOS Sonoma

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited June 2023

As Apple prioritizes features for Apple Silicon, Intel machines are going to be left behind. For macOS Sonoma, there are five key features missing for Intel Macs.

macOS Sonoma
macOS Sonoma
WWDC

is underway, and we're diving through all the announcements and developer data to find every detail. macOS Sonoma is one of Apple's smaller releases, but there are still some features reserved for Apple Silicon and the Neural Engine.

Five features not coming to Intel Macs



Most of the features in macOS Sonoma are ecosystem-wide, but the ones specific to Mac were built with Apple Silicon in mind.

  • Presenter Overlay utilizes a Neural Engine-powered feature called Lift Subject from Background. It places your cutout from the webcam feed over content in a presentation.

  • Screen Sharing gets easier -- for Apple Silicon Macs -- thanks to the advanced media engine. This makes sharing more responsive over high-bandwidth connections.

  • The newly abbreviated wake word "Siri" is only available for Apple Silicon-equipped Macs and AirPods Pro 2.

  • Game Mode takes advantage of Apple Silicon's SoC design by prioritizing gaming for the CPU and GPU while also reducing latency with wireless accessories.

  • Made-for-iPhone hearing devices can pair directly with Apple Silicon Macs (excluding those with a base M1).



As Apple continues to update macOS with new features, more will be exclusive to Apple Silicon processors until the entire operating system doesn't support Intel chipsets. That isn't macOS Sonoma, but it could happen within a few years.

Here's a list of Macs that can run macOS Sonoma:


  • iMac 2019 or later

  • iMac Pro

  • MacBook Air 2018 or later

  • MacBook Pro 2018 or later

  • Mac Pro 2019 or later

  • Mac Studio

  • Mac mini 2018 or later



macOS Sonoma will release to the public in the fall of 2023, likely sometime in October.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    roundaboutnowroundaboutnow Posts: 735member
    Not too bad.
    I was afraid the list would be much more extensive. I can live without those five (13" MBP i5). 
    watto_cobrabyronl
  • Reply 2 of 12
    EdgecrusherrEdgecrusherr Posts: 11member
    Not to be that guy, but it’s “Which”, not “What”.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 12
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,127member
    Edgecrusherr said:
    Not to be that guy, but it’s “Which”, not “What”.
    Well, that depends on which part of the article you are focused on.

    The first part lists what features from Sonoma won't work on Intel Macs. That's a "what". The list of supported Macs (including Apple Silicon) is at the end.
    roundaboutnowbaconstangwatto_cobrabyronl
  • Reply 4 of 12
    rezwitsrezwits Posts: 879member
    Not to be that guy, but it’s “Which”, not “What”.
    But you ARE that guy, you just couldn't help it...  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    I am this guy LOL UR funny!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 12
    humbug1873humbug1873 Posts: 125member
    So essentially features I don't care about the least but at least I can still use my 27'' iMac which Apple failed to replace with a silicon based model ... and no I don't care for a cluttered desktop with an additional box (MacBook, Mini, Studio) sitting on my desk.
    watto_cobrabyronlAlex1Nmacike
  • Reply 6 of 12
    chutzpahchutzpah Posts: 392member
    Not to be that guy, but it’s “Which”, not “What”.
    It could be:

    What? Intel Macs aren't getting in macOS Sonoma?!


    radarthekatwatto_cobrarezwitsjony0byronl
  • Reply 7 of 12
    chadbagchadbag Posts: 2,000member
    Edgecrusherr said:
    Not to be that guy, but it’s “Which”, not “What”.
    No, it’s actually “what”.  The point of the article is to explain the features that Intel Macs (that support Sonoma) won’t be getting.

    The list of Macs at the end is a recycled list added at the end for some reason. Much like the ends of most articles today have random slightly relevant facts attached to them — a feature of writing that I missed learning about when I was in school, which is a pity, as it would have made it easier to hit word count or page count requirements.  
    williamhmuthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobrajony0Alex1N
  • Reply 8 of 12
    FellowScotFellowScot Posts: 1member
    mknelson said:
    Edgecrusherr said:
    Not to be that guy, but it’s “Which”, not “What”.
    Well, that depends on which part of the article you are focused on.

    The first part lists what features from Sonoma won't work on Intel Macs. That's a "what". The list of supported Macs (including Apple Silicon) is at the end.
    Aaaacually, for ‘which’ to be correct you would have to remove the ‘in’.
    williamhmuthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobrajony0byronl
  • Reply 9 of 12
    eriamjheriamjh Posts: 1,647member
    The more obvious conclusion is likely that there is only one or two OS releases that are going to support Intel Macs.   

    PowerPC mac support had 3-4 years from the first Intel MacOs release (Tiger 10.4) to the last (Leopard 10.5).   They weren’t one year apart during that time.  

    Is this the wrong place to call for the PPC code to be opened to the public? 
    watto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 10 of 12
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    humbug1873 said:
    So essentially features I don't care about the least but at least I can still use my 27'' iMac which Apple failed to replace with a silicon based model ... and no I don't care for a cluttered desktop with an additional box (MacBook, Mini, Studio) sitting on my desk.
    You can get mount kits to attach a Mac mini to the back of a monitor.
    dewmewatto_cobrajony0Alex1N
  • Reply 11 of 12
    chadbagchadbag Posts: 2,000member
    eriamjh said:
      

    Is this the wrong place to call for the PPC code to be opened to the public? 
    The Darwin kernel is already and I assume the rest of it is still entangled with the current versions of macOS and contains Apple trade secrets etc.  so good luck with that request.  
    watto_cobrabyronlAlex1N
  • Reply 12 of 12
    psych_guypsych_guy Posts: 486member
    Is this an article or an ad using marketing by FOMO lol
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
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