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The tech world was outraged -- outraged, I tell you! -- when Microsoft attached strict compatibility requirements to the launch of Windows 11. Those new rules meant some PCs that were only six or seven years old would be effectively abandoned, no longer eligible for security updates, and unable to upgrade to the newest OS version.
And yet, as it turns out, this is just another example of Microsoft copying one of its oldest competitors. Apple's update policy for its desktop and laptop computers running MacOS is at least as restrictive as Microsoft's.
Also: Can your old PC handle the Windows 11 upgrade? How to find out - before you try
One reason no one has launched any petition drives aimed at Apple (yet) is that the company's support policies are so hard to figure out. Apple has nothing like Microsoft's Support Lifecycle pages. Instead, you have to assemble bits of Apple knowledge into a list by watching as things suddenly stop being updated. A new MacOS version comes out, but you can't upgrade to it. Then, a few years later, your orphaned OS stops getting security updates.
Here's how it works in Cupertino:
Every year, Apple releases a new version of its MacOS. The next release, MacOS 26 Tahoe, is "coming this fall." The smart money is betting on September.
Apple provides free security updates to the three most recent MacOS releases. So, when Tahoe hits the streets, MacOS 13 Ventura will stop receiving security updates.
Apple's hardware compatibility requirements mean that some older Macs that are currently running Ventura will be unable to upgrade to a later version of MacOS. And because Apple will stop supplying security updates to those Macs, they will effectively be orphaned.
Sound familiar? Fortunately, the end-of-support dates are documented on an independent, open-source site, endoflife.date. Meanwhile, another independent site, Macworld, has an authoritative MacOS Compatibility list that identifies Macs that will be unable to update to MacOS 14 Sonoma; those Macs will be stuck on Ventura. Based on Apple's previous behavior, those Macs will stop receiving security updates after Tahoe is released this fall. The unsupported models include any MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or Mac Mini from 2017 or earlier, and iMac and Mac Pro models from 2018 or earlier.
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