MacOS 27 Drops Intel Support, Locking Out Macs Under Five Years Old

Tim Cook will deliver his final WWDC keynote today, a detail the source article buries under software version numbers and mascot speculation. After 13 consecutive years opening the conference, Cook hands the role to John Ternus on September 1, making this a genuine transition moment for the company’s most public annual stage appearance.

The software story is less about what Apple will announce and more about what it will admit. The revamped Siri is still labeled “beta” internally, and Apple is reportedly planning a waitlist rollout when iOS 27 ships in September, mirroring the cautious Apple Intelligence debut two years ago. For a feature that has been delayed long enough to become a running joke, shipping it behind a waitlist is a quiet acknowledgment that the timeline slipped badly.

The Mac Cut That Actually Matters

macOS 27 will drop Intel support entirely, a decision Apple telegraphed at last year’s WWDC. Any Mac without an M-series chip or the A18 Pro in the MacBook Neo will be locked out of future major software updates starting this cycle. That affects a meaningful installed base of machines that are less than five years old.

Hardware announcements remain unlikely today, with two factors working against them: Apple is reportedly holding new devices until the Siri overhaul is ready to ship alongside them, and a global memory shortage is complicating Mac upgrade timelines. Devices that are reportedly “ready to go” sitting in a drawer is an unusual position for Apple, but tying hardware launches to software readiness has become a pattern since Apple Intelligence launched.

Craig Federighi is expected to carry most of the keynote’s runtime, which makes practical sense given the AI-heavy agenda. The macOS 27 name remains unconfirmed, with Emerald and Big Bear circulating as guesses. The Little Finder Guy mascot reappearing in swag bags suggests Apple’s marketing team is leaning into it, for whatever that is worth.