Apple Sets macOS 27 as the Last Stop for Intel-Only Apps

Apple told developers on Sept. 1 that macOS 27 will be the last version of the operating system to run Intel-only Mac apps through Rosetta, the translation layer Apple built for the shift to Apple silicon, according to Apple's own developer news post.

Starting with macOS 26.4, Mac users will see a system notification whenever they launch an app that still depends on Rosetta rather than running natively on Apple silicon, Apple said. After macOS 27 ships, Intel-only apps will no longer run on Apple silicon Macs at all, with one exception: Rosetta will keep working for older, unmaintained games that rely on Intel-based frameworks.

The date behind the exception

MacRumors reported that Apple confirmed this timeline more than a year earlier, at its Platforms State of the Union session during WWDC 2025, where the company said it would keep Rosetta available "through macOS 27" as a general-purpose translation tool. macOS 27, internally code-named Golden Gate by Apple and already in beta as of MacRumors' report, is expected to ship in the fall of 2026. General Rosetta support ends the version after that, macOS 28, due in the fall of 2027.

What Apple is telling developers to do

Apple's post gives two instructions, depending on where a developer already stands. A team that has not shipped an Apple silicon build yet should distribute a universal binary, one that runs natively on both architectures, immediately. A team that already offers a native build should contact its existing users directly to get them onto that version, so they stop seeing the macOS 26.4 warning and are not caught out when macOS 27's successor drops Rosetta for good.

How long developers have actually had

Apple introduced Rosetta 2 alongside the first M1 Macs in November 2020. MacRumors said most widely used apps have already shipped native Apple silicon versions in the years since, which is why Apple's remaining warning is aimed specifically at "developers and organizations still dependent on Intel-only software." Counting from the M1 launch to macOS 28's expected fall 2027 release, MacRumors put the full transition window at seven years.

Milestone	Version	Timing
Rosetta 2 introduced	macOS 11 / M1 launch	November 2020
In-app Rosetta warnings begin	macOS 26.4	Already shipping
Last version with general Rosetta support	macOS 27 ("Golden Gate")	Fall 2026
Rosetta narrows to legacy games only	macOS 28	Fall 2027

Apple's Sept. 1 post did not say how many apps in the Mac App Store still ship Intel-only, or how it will identify which "unmaintained gaming titles" keep Rosetta access once macOS 28 arrives. The same platform-transition calculus is playing out elsewhere in Apple's lineup, from the pricing on this month's Apple Watch Series 12 to the kind of multi-year migration commitment Microsoft made when it named Rust a tier-1 language rather than a bolt-on option.