Hello everybody I’m Greg Hrutkay of LEM and also Hrutkay Mods. I’m generally a LEM Facebook admin and moderator when I’m not being a Tech YouTuber. Rarely do I ever get the itch to write, but I have noticed just recently with the announcement of the last macOS for Intel systems another topic is starting to get tossed around.
The topic on my mind is: How long are the M1 (and later chips) going to continue to be in support? This topic needs some background to help with my predictions of the future of these systems.
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History Time:
In 1984, the Macintosh computer was introduced with a Motorola 68K based chip. That architecture code base was supported up until OS 8.5 stripped the 68K code out, leaving the 68K systems with a max of OS 8.1.
When the 68K started being phased out third-party companies and even Apple themselves released PowerPC upgrade cards. This allowed your older system to run PowerPC code and even in some cases allow you to go to the later OSes.
PowerPC Systems could have generational upgrade cards in a lot of the systems, allowing systems to support later OSes, even if they were not supported with the original chip. Some Intel systems allowed for upgradeable CPUs allowing more processor instruction sets for later OSes.
The PowerPC architecture was officially killed when 10.6 Snow Leopard was released. When Apple finally announced that macOS 26 Tahoe would be the last Intel release earlier this month, that started the countdown for Intel to lose OS updates. This is the fourth complete architecture transition for Macintosh computers in their 41 year history.
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The Intel System Advantage:
Intel systems have an advantage over all the previous generations because they are x86 based systems. This means they can run any Intel code, making the Mac also a PC. This means even though the early systems were left off in Snow Leopard and Lion.. they to this day can actually boot Windows 10 or many different flavors of modern Linux.
Imagine turning on your 19 year-old Mac and loading up a modern copy of Windows, it’s quite possible! Even the early 2006 systems are still useful today 19 years later, with some hardware upgrades (or not). No matter how slow the OS is, it will still run it. So when the last security updates are released in a little over three years from now for our Intel systems, we still have an optional choice for a different modern day operating system.
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2007 iMac: The MacAnomaly
Bringing up one final point for my predictions. Almost every Mac released from early 2008 and later can currently run Sequoia and hopefully will also be able to run Tahoe thanks to the wonderful work of the Opencore Legacy Patcher team. That means that a 17-year-old Mac can run the latest macOS.
In fact, you can upgrade the CPU in a mid 2007 iMac. Meaning that a system with one little minor upgrade has unofficially been supported for 18 years and technically still counting! That kind of support is unbelievably unheard of in the entire history of Apple systems before or probably into the future.
I’m bringing this all up because even when Apple support drops on our Intel Macs, our systems will still be useful and functional for a long time coming with alternative operating systems. Apple Silicon on the other hand it’s going to be probably a lot more difficult when support drops for them.
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Apple Silicon Macs Are “Large iPhones”:
Although this is a bit inaccurate you have to think of an Apple Silicon Mac as an oversized iPhone. On the inside, the way they function is basically identical. The OS is just slightly different. Although the Mac is just that, a Mac. The MacOS on these systems aren’t restored with a USB installer. No these aren’t x86 based systems these are ARM systems. Meaning you restore your Mac like you would restore your iPhone… with another Mac?
Let’s talk about iOS support briefly. When iOS 8 came out the iPhone 4 was dropped. When iOS 7 came out the 3GS was dropped in support. There was no way to actually upgrade them past their last operating system because the hardware support just wasn’t written into the OS anymore. My prediction is it’s going to be the same problem with Apple Silicon Macs.
The restrictions on these chips and the encryptions on these chips and the way that these systems are kind of regulated like an iPhone. When the system is not written into the OS anymore, it’s not going to boot. Intel systems the only thing you really needed was the instruction support to boot the latest modified OS. It’s not going to happen with Apple Silicon. You will never see another 18+ year-old system running the latest OS ever again from Apple.
So when security updates stop for them we can only hope that Apple will allow even more flexibility than they allow right now so we can run any OS we want. Otherwise security wise it will be like trying to use an iPhone 5 in 2025.
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The Uncertain Future of a closed-off Mac:
So here’s the question – when will they start dropping the first Apple Silicon Macs? The only advantage that might save them from being dropped for a while is they are still very powerful chips even five years later..
..but you also have to think about Apple just wanting to not have to support so many systems. It’s going to happen sooner than you think. The M1 is already 5 years old, and Apple usually supports a system for around seven years. It can be assumed the first M1 systems will probably be dropped within the next 2 to 3 years. It could be the entire base M1 line so there’s less code built into the OS.
Think about it: Today, your iPhone 3GS is about as useful as a brick. You can play music on it and that’s about it now. No one is writing applications for them anymore. The App Store is down in general and the web browser is so out of date you can’t even surf the web anymore.
Plus, you can’t even use it to make a real cellular call with it anymore since 3G is no more. It’s the same sad potential future situation. Your 10 year old Mac will be as useful as a really old iPhone. There won’t an OCLP/dosdude1 style patcher in the future it just simply won’t be possible.
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In Conclusion
Although I wouldn’t recommend buying one of these older systems to use as your personal daily driver. An 18 or 19 year-old Mac can still be used with a modern OS. Even if it’s not macOS, even if it’s not quick relative to 2025 standards (although they can be relative to the user). It’s still useful and “modern”. I don’t think you’ll ever be able to say that ever again to a system that old.
In 14 years or so, the M1 will be the same age and on such an outdated OS it won’t be able to do anything and that’s scary to think about. We can still save and use these ancient 19 year old Intel systems securely. But a 19 year old M1 will only be useful off-line.
It would be nice for Apple to open up the ability to run any OS and/or someone keeps the applications alive and keeps the OS semi secure like PPC Sorbet Leopard is today or the landfills will be very full.
Greg is the Founder of the YouTube Channel Hrutkay Mods.
https://youtube.com/@hrutkaymods
