Anyone else worried about how long Apple will support the M1 chip for?

[mcnallym]

Well I remember picking up my Mac Studio not long after launch and getting the “set for 10 years spiel“ at the Apple Store.
didn’t seem too happy when said will get 10 years of OS support as I run FCP X and certainly back then had to be on latest OS to get some updates.

noted with the M2 launches didn’t quite have the same hype.

 

[Malus120]

As others have said, based on Apple's track record I would expect M1 Macs to be fully supported by new MacOS releases until AT LEAST 2027, with M1 Pro/Max likely receiving support for an additional year.

That said, given just how performant the M1 series of Macs are in relation to both what came before and what has come after, the reuse of the M1 chip across the iPad lineup in 2021/2022, and how well M1 Macs have continued to sell, I wouldn't be surprised if they see support for 8+ years, in line with the golden age of Intel Macs.

(This spreadsheet by Ars Technica is a pretty great resource: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...NOUjJiGi3rCQ/edit?gid=712463390#gid=712463390)

 

[Elusi]

Yeah doesn't work like that. The 13" 2012 non-retina MBP (A1278) was only discontinued in 2016 having been on sale for 4 years because it was massively popular being the last MBP with a large hard drive, a ton of ports and even an optical drive. Literally one year later it could no longer download the latest OS.

Well. The 2012 MBP supported Catalina (2019). Source.

Wouldn't want to group all A1278 since lots of Macbooks share the same model number. But the 2012 one that was the one that was discontinued in 2016.

 

[chars1ub0w]

We always will have new functionality that require more RAM and faster processors. These may be features that people working with video may want, e.g. auto transcription in FCP. Or transcription features for FaceTime calls or something. Or AI identification of items in videos in FCP. Mirrorless cameras today have AI-based continuous focusing, selectable between subject types like birds, certain animals and humans, even some inanimate objects like trains and planes. Some binoculars can even identify bird species. All of these features are compute intensive, and to me, nice to have. At some point, my M1 Max won't cut it, so I fully expect Apple to say, hey, if you are still on the M1 series, we disable these functions. But if you are on M4, they work fine.

 

[benwiggy]

For example, Apple was selling 21.5-inch iMacs through 2021. That model only supported one major macOS update, then was no longer supported by Sonoma.

The 2019 21.5-inch iMac was sold until April 2021, but it is still supported on Sequoia.
The previous 21.5 inch mode was the 2017 iMac, sold until March 2019, which was supported up to Ventura.

 

[JPack]

The 2019 21.5-inch iMac was sold until April 2021, but it is still supported on Sequoia.
The previous 21.5 inch mode was the 2017 iMac, sold until March 2019, which was supported up to Ventura.

Apple was selling the 21.5-inch iMac (2017) throughout 2021. You can see the archived page. Apple dropped major macOS support for it the next year.

Buy iMac

Trade in your eligible computer for credit toward a new iMac. Personal setup available. Select a model or customize your own. Free delivery.

web.archive.org

 

[PhoenixDown]

Apple is finicky like how is the mid-2015 vintage but the late 2015 obsolete? Doesn't make sense.

• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) = Obsolete
• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015) = Vintage

 

[ricom2ger]

Apple is finicky like how is the mid-2015 vintage but the late 2015 obsolete? Doesn't make sense.

• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) = Obsolete
• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015) = Vintage

It's the GPU and of course the buggy Skylake CPU.

 

[tenthousandthings]

Apple was selling the 21.5-inch iMac (2017) throughout 2021. You can see the archived page. Apple dropped major macOS support for it the next year.

Buy iMac

Trade in your eligible computer for credit toward a new iMac. Personal setup available. Select a model or customize your own. Free delivery.

web.archive.org

An interesting anomaly. You’re talking about iMac18,1 (with Intel graphics) which was not discontinued/replaced until October 29, 2021. @benwiggy is talking about iMac18,2 (with AMD graphics) which was discontinued March 19, 2019, replaced by iMac19,2.

Your point stands, discontinuation dates aren’t a factor in the OS support timetable, but there are other factors. It isn’t necessarily automatic.

What’s more, it’s possible that the Apple M-series cadence, which appears to be settling into an annual rhythm, will affect the OS support timetable. That remains to be seen.