2012 Apple Macs and older to lose macOS Mojave support this Fall

Macs are known for their longevity, but that very same fact may turn to be a curse, at least once per generation, especially at a tipping point for technology, when things begin to change very fast.

Apple has focused considerably on graphic performance in its latest iteration of macOS codenamed “Mojave”, by dropping support for OpenGL and OpenCL, to put an emphasis on enhanced graphical features like the time-based Dynamic Desktop, massive and previously unheard of 32-person FaceTime calls, and being able to edit photos and videos directly in QuickLook. Many of these features are extremely demanding, which means that they require more hardware resources available only in Macs manufactured after 2012, with some going as far as 2015.

As far as MacBooks are concerned, owners of devices like the 12 inch ultraportable MacBook released early 2015 should be able to upgrade just fine. Owners of 2012 MacBook air and MacBook Pro made prior to 2012 won’t be so lucky. The same goes for 2011 Mac Mini, iMac, and late 2013 Mac Pro, with an exception for 2010 Mac Pros with Metal-compatible GPUs.

Some theorize that this shift towards high-performance graphics comes from a push to leverage Macs to the same appeal as iOS devices like the iPad and the iPhone, by modifying the experience to be more flawless and lag-free, exactly as it happens in iOS. Of course the challenge is to recreate a user interface that must deal with a far bigger workload than an iPad, also in light of the fact that some iOS apps are also going to be available on macOS Mojave, while the Mac App Store is about to be redesigned to resemble the iOS Apps Store.

Much like macOS Mojave, iOS 12 will also drop support for iOS devices made prior to 2013.