What happens to C2D Macs post-Lion?

[sebseb81]

Hello everyone,

This might seem like an absurd question, but I was wondering what will happen to Core 2 Duo Macs in the next major upgrade to Mac OS. I know that C2D is the last CPU to make the cut for Lion, so will that mean that they won't make the cut for anything post-Lion? Again, this might seem absurd as a question, but it really isn't if your expected timeline for a computer is more than three years.

This question is mainly in regards to the current-gen MBA, but could just as well apply to the current-gen MB or older MBP.

Thanks for any info/speculation.

 

[robbieduncan]

The obvious answer is no-one knows.

A more full answer is that the cut-off is for good reasons (baselining at 64-bit). It is entirely possible that the next major revision will still support C2D CPUs as there is no obvious baseline that would prevent their support. It is possible that there will be a minimum of 4Gb of RAM I suppose.

 

[tbobmccoy]

Hello everyone,

This might seem like an absurd question, but I was wondering what will happen to Core 2 Duo Macs in the next major upgrade to Mac OS. I know that C2D is the last CPU to make the cut for Lion, so will that mean that they won't make the cut for anything post-Lion? Again, this might seem absurd as a question, but it really isn't if your expected timeline for a computer is more than three years.

This question is mainly in regards to the current-gen MBA, but could just as well apply to the current-gen MB or older MBP.

Thanks for any info/speculation.

My speculation is nothing until at least 2014, 3 years after the last C2D macs were sold. This is generally Apple's MO: discontinue OS support after the AppleCare time runs out.

 

[57004]

The obvious answer is no-one knows.

A more full answer is that the cut-off is for good reasons (baselining at 64-bit). It is entirely possible that the next major revision will still support C2D CPUs as there is no obvious baseline that would prevent their support. It is possible that there will be a minimum of 4Gb of RAM I suppose.

It's not for technical reasons - People have already hacked the betas and got them to work on Core Duo. And it doesn't involve a custom kernel or anything, it just circumvents the CPU check. All they're doing is deleting one file. So it's a vanilla kernel running on 32 bit.

Apple always tries to draw the line at an 'easy' to understand point so there isn't too much misunderstanding about which model is supported and which is not. It's usually been a whole CPU class, or in the past it has been systems with Firewire where there was no clear reason for it. Only once they did have a Mhz limit (867Mhz, for Leopard). I guess they just want to make it understandable.

And C2D is definitely an easy line to draw that I can totally see them going for in a future version, even more so than the Core Duo was with this OS refresh.

So I really wouldn't be suprised if they do draw the line beyond Core 2 Duo, maybe not for 10.8 but definitely 10.9. But as you're saying, the real timing only Apple can tell.

 

[theturtle]

The obvious answer is no-one knows.

A more full answer is that the cut-off is for good reasons (baselining at 64-bit). It is entirely possible that the next major revision will still support C2D CPUs as there is no obvious baseline that would prevent their support. It is possible that there will be a minimum of 4Gb of RAM I suppose.

if the minimum is true, i feel terrible for all the people who bought the 2gb ram model sucks more cause those are recent models (2010)

 

[Tootles]

if the minimum is true, i feel terrible for all the people who bought the 2gb ram model sucks more cause those are recent models (2010)

Never buy a MBA without maxing out the RAM first. There's too much at stake to be worrying about saving a measily $100.

 

[alust2013]

I think the C2Ds will still be included for at least the release past Lion, possibly even one or two more. There really isn't anything that at least basic operation requires that the C2Ds can't handle.

 

[defected07]

I have an old C2D -- 2.33 GHz MacBook Pro from Dec. 2006, but I wouldn't think to put Lion on this. I believe I went to Snow Leopard since I believe all PPC support was removed, correct? -- so making Snow Leopard entirely meant for Intel machines. It seems to run okay, but I definitely need to do a clean install after 4+ years of only upgrades/restore from TM backups.

 

[alflavor]

Don't feel bad for me cos I 'only' have 2GB, I'll just get a new mac in 2012, with 4gb, no worries!

 

[FrankHahn]

IMHO, Lion will definitely run on recent C2Ds!

 

[gpat]

I think that the main requirements for OS X 10.8 will be no more than 2gb of RAM and a 64bit CPU. It could be sluggy with an old iMac though.

 

[robbieduncan]

Don't feel bad for me cos I 'only' have 2GB, I'll just get a new mac in 2012, with 4gb, no worries!

I thought Apple had moved to a 18-24 month OSX release cycle. If so you should be good into early 2013

 

[sebseb81]

Thanks all, for all the feedback. I did not know that they chose the C2D as the cutoff because of the 64bit processing, so that's good to know. In any case, I hope they update the MBA (and the MB) soon, so it won't be an issue.

 

[42streetsdown]

IMHO, Lion will definitely run on recent C2Ds!

it runs great on my 2007 iMac, so there isn't any problem with older Core 2 Duos either.

I don't think Apple will keep up with doubling the RAM requirement for the OS though.

 

[FX4568]

The moment there is a wide use of 128 bit OS.
C2D can only support up to 64, as long as apple keeps giving us 64bit OS's after the lion, we will be fine.

 

[Scottsdale]

Core 2 Duo Macs will last a while, as there is no real difference between how C2D and Core i7 work, as they're both 64-bit. Apple is still selling C2D Macs, so my guess is 2016 before Apple abandons C2D. It last sold Core Duo/Solo in 2006, and Lion will abandon those, but that's because they're 32-bit.

The only thing that will change support will be graphics in my estimation. I actually believe users will have a better overall experience with Nvidia-based C2D MBAs than they will with Intel's IGP in the next MBA. I am very curious to see both the real world results and real world numbers, as the Intel IGP will be a big step backwards unless Apple pulls a miracle out its arse. The low and ultra low voltage Sandy Bridge variants are running at a lower clock speed and will not perform like the 13" MBP at all.

Of course, the real world results of people using apps will tell us the truth in the matter... and there is no way to tell in advance how long Apple will support C2D, but it will be a lot longer than it supports iPhones/iOS products. It would be a PR nightmare to rule out C2D just because it's older when it basically will do all of the same things, and Nvidia's graphics are much better too. No reason Nvidia-based MBAs will not be going strong with latest OS in five years.

What I really wonder is what Apple will do after OS X Lion??? At what point does it take on ARM Macs? At what point does it consolidate OS X and iOS? I predict within five years it all happens, and I wonder if Lion will be the last 10.x release or not?

 

[hcho3]

I expect C2D to last for the next two major Mac OS release including Mac OS 10.7 and Mac OS 10.8. I expect Apple to just dump Core 2 Duo starting with either Mac OS 10.9 or Mac OS 11.

You are good with your Mac for another 4-5 years. If you have 2GB ram with Core 2DUO, I would worry. 4GB RAM is absolutely minimum for laptops these days.

 

[philxor]

I used an old CD MBP for almost 5 years and upgraded to every new release including SL. I expect my C2D MBA I bought in 2010 to last at least until 2014 which would cover the next two or maybe three major OSX releases.

 

[KillerTree]

Core 2 Duo is still a good processor. It will be around for a long time.

 

[Young Spade]

C2D will be around well after Lion. With the performance it gives and the larger install base it is getting, they can't just start dropping support for current generation processors.

People get caught up in processor this and processor that, Sandy Bridge JUST came out and people are talking about (omg C2D out of date and getting dropped!); No.

New machines will all start being produced with SNB processors but C2D machines will be around for a long time, at least 2 more years.