macOS 27 Is Out — Is Your Mac Still Supported?

Short version: open the Apple menu, click About This Mac, and look for the line labeled "Chip" or "Processor." If it says "Chip," your Mac runs macOS 27. If it says "Processor," it doesn't — and it never will. macOS 27, which Apple calls Golden Gate, came out September 14, and it's the first version of the Mac operating system that leaves every Intel Mac behind. That doesn't mean an Intel Mac stops working tomorrow. It does mean you should know where yours stands, because for some of them the security updates have already stopped. Here's the whole picture.

Every fall, the same two questions come in within a day of each other. "My Mac wants to update, should I?" and "My Mac says it can't update — is it dead?" This year the second one matters more than usual, so let me take it first.

Which Macs can run macOS 27?

Any Mac with Apple silicon. In Apple's words on its macOS 27 upgrade page, it's "compatible with any Mac with Apple silicon, which includes any Mac with an M-series chip or A-series chip." Apple's full model list covers:

The good news buried in that list: Apple didn't cut a single Apple silicon Mac this year. If you bought an M1 MacBook Air back in 2020, it gets macOS 27 the same as a Mac bought last month.

How do I check my Mac in 30 seconds?

Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner and choose About This Mac. Apple's own support page spells out the tell: on an Apple silicon Mac you'll see a line labeled Chip (it'll say something like "Apple M2"). On an Intel Mac, that line is labeled Processor and names an Intel chip. That one word is the whole answer to "can I get macOS 27."

While you're on that window, note the macOS version number too. You'll need it for the next section if your Mac turns out to be an Intel.

I have an Intel Mac. Is it done?

Not today — but it's on a clock, and how much time is left depends on which Intel Mac you have. Apple said it plainly at its developer conference in June 2025: "macOS Tahoe will be the final release for Intel Macs." And only four Intel models ever got Tahoe in the first place: the 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019), the 13-inch MacBook Pro with four Thunderbolt ports (2020), the 27-inch iMac (2020), and the Mac Pro (2019).

Here's where each kind of Intel Mac stands as of this week:

How long will Tahoe and Sequoia keep getting fixes? Nobody outside Apple knows, because Apple doesn't say. You'll see "through 2029" and "through fall 2028" floating around online; I couldn't find either one in anything Apple has published. What Apple does say, in its guidance for businesses, is that "not all known security issues are addressed in previous versions." In plain English: the newest macOS gets every fix, and older ones get some of them, for a while. So I'd plan on replacing an Intel Mac within the next year or two rather than betting on a date somebody made up.

The thing that catches people with new Macs, too: Intel-only apps

This part affects Apple silicon Macs, not just old ones. Newer Macs run older Intel-only apps through a translation layer called Rosetta. Apple's developer news put it bluntly on September 1: "macOS 27: Final release to support Rosetta." Starting with macOS 28, Apple says Rosetta will be kept only for certain older, unmaintained games. Any other app that was never rebuilt for Apple silicon stops opening after next year's update.

macOS 27 shows you which apps that is. Go to System Settings › General › About, find Intel-based Apps, and click Details. If something on that list is what runs your business — an old accounting program, a label printer utility, a scanner driver — you've got a year to call that vendor and ask about an Apple silicon version. That's a far better time to find out than the morning after macOS 28 installs.

What about the patcher that puts new macOS on old Macs?

If you've read about OpenCore Legacy Patcher, a free community project that installs newer macOS on unsupported Macs: it isn't an option here. Its own documentation says it targets Big Sur through Sequoia, it has no Tahoe release yet, and the project has said there are no plans to work on macOS 27. It's also provided on an "AS-IS" basis, with no guarantee of support — not something I'd put on a computer that runs a business either way.

And if it's time to replace it?

Apple's Trade In page lists credit of $40 to $2,195 for a Mac, depending on model and condition, and Intel Macs are eligible. Anything that doesn't qualify for credit, Apple says it will recycle for free. Before an old Mac leaves your house, though, get everything off it and sign it out of your Apple Account — the data move is the part I'd rather do with you than describe, and it's the same job I cover on my Apple & Mac Repair page. If you're weighing a new Mac against a Windows PC, How to Buy a Computer in 2026 walks through it.

What's new in macOS 27 that you'll actually notice?

If you read my iOS 27 post, a lot of this will sound familiar — Apple released the iPhone, iPad and Mac versions the same day. On the Mac, in order of what I think most people will notice:

Should I update to macOS 27 now?

If your Mac says "Chip": yes, after a backup. I install Apple's major updates the day they come out, and I'd tell you the same. The usual advice to "wait for the .1" doesn't fit this year — Apple skipped macOS 27.1 and went straight to 27.2, which is still in beta and likely months away. The 27.0.1 bug-fix release has been out since September 28. For most people, that's too long to sit on an update.

Early reports on 27.0 have been mild. TidBITS's editor reported slow Siri AI performance and his own login items vanishing after the upgrade. Epson's Korean support site notes that some print-option sliders now snap to fixed steps, that its FastFoto scanning software needs permission to the Photos folder turned on, and that a driver update is required — so check your printer maker's site after you update. Nothing I'd hold an update over.

The one exception is a Mac that a business depends on for a specific program — accounting software, a point-of-sale or practice-management app, a label printer or a scanner. I couldn't find a published "certified for macOS 27" statement from the big ones yet, so on that Mac I'd make one phone call to the vendor first, then update.

How do I update safely?

The bottom line

"Chip" means update. "Processor" means plan. If you've got an Apple silicon Mac, back it up and install macOS 27 — then check the Intel-based Apps list so next year doesn't surprise you. If you've got an Intel Mac, install whatever security update it's still offered, find out whether it's already off the list (that 2018–2019 MacBook Air is), and start budgeting for its replacement on your schedule instead of its.

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