The end of the line for MacIntel and what it implies

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1

Apple has formally said MacOS Tahoe is the last version of Mac OS that will run on MacIntel machines, and even then only select few. So what does this mean for the future of WoW support on MacIntel?

I’m guessing we might get the next expansion and that will be it. Even that I wouldn’t count on. Thoughts? Time to get Windows 10 up and running via BootCamp while you still can?

2

it’s hard to say what the future is for Intel Macs & WOW. Right now WOW requires Mac OS 11 or better, and 11 is almost 5 years old. So even if your Intel Mac gets stuck on Tahoe I would expect that OS to be supported for several more years. On the other hand, how much longer will XCode build Universal apps? When Rosetta support goes away in 2 years it might become difficult for Blizz to continue building apps for Intel CPUs which would force their hand. Or maybe at some point Blizz will want to switch to Metal 4 which is Apple Silicon only?

I wonder what percentage of Mac WOW players are still on Intel?

3

Another shoe dropped yesterday with Apple announcing Rosetta2 going away after Mac OS '27. Means Blizz will need to update Battle.net launcher to Apple Silicon native or it will cease to work. (obvious snide comments aside)

4

I know money can be an issue for many users but the reality is Apple is dropping Intel. People need to start preparing for that.

I think the silver lining here is that Blizzard can focus their Mac efforts (such that are) entirely on ARM and Apple silicon.

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5

I agree, I just think that part of what will drive Blizzards decision here is how many of their Mac players are still on Intel. If a majority have already switched to Arm then it gets easier for them to pull the plug on Intel, if a majority have not then they’re more likely to wait.

6

I’m surprised how many apps on my Mac are still Intel only. In addition to some Blizzard Launcher & Agent executables I see stuff from Garmin, Logitech, QNAP, Adobe, Intuit, and Brother that still have not made the jump. I guess I need to see if updates are available, although many of these are fairly recent.