New MacBook air 2020 M1 - I want to use Sierra - Is this possible?

[Tommac888]

Hi Team - first time poster.
I've just bought a 2020 M1 MacBook Air. Yess!!
I currently use a MBP late 2016 running Sierra 10.12.6
I have a vital piece of software that I use that will not run on the new OS.

My question is can I install Sierra on my new Macbook? I really don't want to partion or anything.
Pro's and con's of the above would be appreciated.
Thanks
Tom

 

[Apple_Robert]

The M1 cannot run older MacOS.

 

[Tommac888]

The M1 cannot run older MacOS.

Really? Damn - even if I partition the drive?

 

[joevt]

No other macOS has been compiled for Apple Silicon.
No other macOS has the drivers for Apple Silicon.

Maybe you want an emulator. An emulator won't have any graphics acceleration. Here's one person's attempt:
https://khronokernel.github.io/apple/silicon/2021/01/17/QEMU-AS.html
Notice the geekbench scores. Very low. Unusable. Takes 8 minutes to boot...

I wonder if it would be possible to connect an eGPU and have it virtualized for the emulator. Since M1 Macs don't have drivers for eGPUs, the emulator might as well take over the PCIe device completely. I know this is possible with x86 virtual machines in Linux running on x86 CPUs. But we're talking about an emulated x86 system in macOS running on Apple Silicon CPUs.

 

[Mac... nificent]

Whatever version of OS that originally came with your Mac, is its base version.

You cannot go before that version.

 

[Boyd01]

An Intel MacBook Air would have allowed you to run Sierra. While the current model cannot directly boot Sierra, you can run it in a virtual machine. I have a 2018 Mini running Catalina but I also use Mountain Lion and Sierra virtual machines in Parallels to run my (very expensive) old software. This works really well and is actually quite a bit faster than my old Macs that natively run those operating systems.

But if you want to natively boot into Sierra, you're going to need to buy a used Mac that supports it. You can find compatible models at https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook-air/index-macbook-air.html

 

[Fishrrman]

Perhaps you could disclose the name of the application that won't run?

Methinks your best option is to keep the 2016 MBP around to run the app you need (that requires Low Sierra).

Surely you investigated such things before you jumped for the m1 MBA ??
The old saying applies:
"Look before you leap..."

 

[calliex]

I use a legal version of filmmaker pro from to time to time. I do not use it enough to justify paying a subscription for it. When I finally get a new Mx MBP I will look into Libre Office for my minuscule data base needs. I am keeping my 2012 MBP running Sierra for this reason.