Apple’s 2025 WWDC keynote teased many exciting changes to all of its operating systems, primarily focused on visual upgrades and long-requested features. However, it also seems to have marked the end of an era for Macs.
The new macOS Tahoe 26 also marks the last release to support Intel-based Macs, from the affordable MacBook Air to the Intel Xeon-powered Mac Pro. Apple is in the final stretch of transitioning entirely to its own Arm-based M-series processors, quickly ending support for aging models based on Intel’s x86-based Core processors. Apple’s Platforms State of the Union confirmed what many feared: This is the last stop for the Intel-based Mac.
That means the days of running macOS on x86-based PCs, often called Hackintosh, are also coming to a close—at least as we know them. Here’s what’s changing with macOS 26, why the Hackintosh doesn’t look like it will survive much longer, and the fight to keep it alive.
The End of Intel Macs
This just-announced update is the last one that will come to any Intel-based Macs, already leaving more behind, like all Intel-based MacBook Airs and most MacBook Pros with Intel inside. Apple has confirmed that macOS Tahoe will be the final release for Intel Macs, and only four Intel Macs are even supported by the new OS: the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro, the 2020 Intel 13-inch MacBook Pro, the 2020 iMac, and the 2019 Mac Pro.
The list of supported Intel Macs is smaller than ever—just four models. (Credit: Apple)
Apple will stick to its usual pattern of supporting old Macs with three years of security updates after new OS support ends, giving the aforementioned Macs until 2028 before support completely ends. The Mac maker has also started encouraging developers to get fully onboard with Apple Silicon, because the Rosetta 2 emulation that allows older Intel-era apps to run on M-series chips will also begin phasing out with the next macOS releases.
Apple’s developer advisory warning of the end of Rosetta 2 emulation (Credit: Apple)
Developers now essentially have a deadline to make all apps native to Apple Silicon’s Arm platform before Rosetta 2 emulation ends in 2027. According to Apple’s developer documentation, Rosetta 2 will work in macOS 27, but in macOS 28 and beyond only to support older games. That means the end of running x86 apps on Apple’s M-series chips.
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Hasta La Vista Hackintosh? Not So Fast
Running Mac software on non-Apple hardware has been common since the 1980s, when Macintosh clones ran on machines from Atari, Amiga, or any of the many IBM PC (x86) clones that ruled the early market.
Even before Apple announced its intention to switch to Intel hardware in 2005, the firm had internally developed Intel-compatible Mac OS X versions. At one point, Steve Jobs personally showed then-Sony president Kunitake Ando a VAIO laptop running Mac OS, pitching a partnership with the Japanese company. It never came to fruition but resulted from an Apple engineer’s personal project, running OS X on whatever the latest and greatest Intel laptop was at the time.
Before Apple officially switched to Intel hardware in 2006, the company sent out custom developer systems that ran OS X 10.4.1 on an Intel chip. Apple tightly locked the system down, but by August of 2005, the earliest versions of OS X Tiger for x86 were in the wild, months before Apple’s official release on the 2006 Mac.
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It wasn’t long before boutique system builders tried to package and sell Hackintosh systems, like Psystar and OpenCore (pictured above), which both no longer exist. (The whole history of Hackintosh is fascinating, and OS/2 Museum has a super-cool two-part exploration of its origin story.)
In any case, the end of Intel support might mean the end of the Hackintosh, or it might simply mean a return to enterprising hackers finding new clever workarounds to do the same thing.
Popular Hackintosh communities, like r/Hackintosh on Reddit and Insanely Mac, are mourning the end of an era. Meanwhile, one day after Apple’s announcement, they’ve already got macOS Tahoe 26 working on non-Mac systems. The writing may be on the wall, but these happy hackers aren’t done yet. Even as Apple drops Intel and x86 entirely, maybe the Hackintosh won’t disappear as quickly as we think.
About Brian Westover
Lead Analyst, Hardware
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