MacBook Air Faces Intel Support Drop in macOS 15, While Other Models Remain Stable

Tech & AI | June 18, 2024, 7:54 a.m.

Over the past few years, as Apple has transitioned to Apple Silicon hardware, the support for Intel Mac models has been closely scrutinized. A comprehensive analysis of over 20 years' worth of data reveals that while owners of Intel Macs from the mid-to-late 2010s are receiving fewer major macOS updates and security patches compared to earlier models, they are still getting more support than old PowerPC Macs did after Apple's switch to Intel processors. The recent macOS 15 Sequoia release brings mixed news for Intel Mac owners - while there is a welcome decrease in the number of models being dropped from support, the popular MacBook Air from 2018 is being excluded, marking the shortest support window for a MacBook Air model. The uncertainty looms for Intel Mac owners as Apple's plans to fully remove Intel support from macOS remain unclear, leaving the fate of certain models in limbo. The data collected points to the importance of monitoring support timelines for active maintenance and compatibility with modern software.