Apple Confirms Mojave is the Last macOS Release to Support 32-Bit Apps

Tuesday June 5, 2018 3:46 AM PDT by Tim Hardwick
As expected, Apple confirmed yesterday during its WWDC keynote that macOS 10.14 Mojave will be the last version of macOS to support legacy 32-bit apps.

Apple commenced its plan to begin phasing out 32-bit apps on Macs in macOS High Sierra 10.13.4. When a 32-bit app is opened in High Sierra, users get a warning about its future incompatibility with the macOS operating system.


Likewise, when opening 32-bit apps in macOS 10.14 Mojave (beta 1), users are shown a dialog box with a similar message telling them that "This app will not work with future versions of macOS". Clicking "OK" on the prompt then allows the app to open.

Currently, the warning is only shown one time for each app. That could well change in subsequent betas of macOS Mojave, however, since Apple previously said it would include "aggressive" warnings about 32-bit apps in the next version of macOS after High Sierra before they are phased out entirely.

32-bit app warning in macOS 10.14 Mojave (beta 1)

Apple's effort to phase them out on Macs mirrors the path it took when ending 32-bit app support on iOS devices. In iOS 10, Apple provided increasingly more insistent warnings to let users know that their apps wouldn't work with future versions of iOS before phasing out 32-bit support entirely in iOS 11.

Once 32-bit apps are phased out on Macs, they won't be able to be used at all, so users will need to find replacements for older 32-bit apps that aren't likely to be updated to 64-bit. You can find out which apps on your Mac are still running in 32-bit by following our how-to guide.

Related Roundups: macOS High Sierra, macOS Mojave
49 comments


Top Rated Comments

(View all)
Avatar
Rudy69
11 weeks ago
It’s not like 64bit just came out. Makes sense, devs have had plenty of warnings
Rating: 11 Votes
Avatar
MasConejos
11 weeks ago
On one hand, I'm all for dropping 32-bit support. On the other, I have large Steam and GOG collections where pretty much every title is 32-bit. I know that probably 95% of titles wont be ported to 64-bit. This is going to hit Mac gaming really hard.
Rating: 9 Votes
Avatar
nwcs
11 weeks ago

What are the advantages of InDesign CS6 towards CC?

Licensing. CS6 was the last perpetual license Adobe offered. With CC you pay on subscription but if you ever stop subscribing you lose access to all your assets. Adobe could stop the madness if they implemented a simple “you get a perpetual license after you subscribed x period of time to the last version you subscribed to”. I would subscribe in a heartbeat if they did. The could even hike the price of re-subscribing if you subscribed and got a perpetual license. I would be fine with that. But they won’t do that. They want you over the barrel.
Rating: 8 Votes
Avatar
anzio
11 weeks ago

Apple's 'DVD Player' and iDVD are STILL 32-bit programs.


DVD Player is 64-bit in Mojave.
Rating: 6 Votes
Avatar
alzatron
11 weeks ago

It’s not like 64bit just came out. Makes sense, devs have had plenty of warnings


Apple's 'DVD Player' and iDVD are STILL 32-bit programs.

Optical media is now making a massive comeback with the advent of M-DISC, because of its 1000 year lifetime. Governments and industry alike are now utilizing optica media, (M-DISC) because it is considered the most stable and longest lasting data storage that exists today.

More of our clients are asking for things to be delivered on M-Disc DVDs (and Blu-rays)
Rating: 5 Votes
Avatar
2013.1
11 weeks ago
A virtual machine for InDesign CS6
Rating: 5 Votes
Avatar
loby
11 weeks ago

It’s not like 64bit just came out. Makes sense, devs have had plenty of warnings


Yes, this is old news and Apple has given plenty of warning. People on this forum will still moan and grown about the change regardless.

There are probably good reasons why now to stop 32-bit drivers and apps and not that it is just evolution of technology.

if I remember correctly back in my security days, it may have to do with security holes etc. with drivers and coding. (my guess) the resent Spectra and the many other vulnerabilities associated with intel’s cpu’s may accelerate the need for exit. Again, just my thoughts and past experiences.
Rating: 5 Votes
Avatar
Jerion
11 weeks ago
The overall 'attitude' around Mojave seems to be shaping up in the vein of Snow Leopard, at least in the sense that this will probably be the release that stubborn gits like myself stay on for ages.
Rating: 4 Votes
Avatar
soupcan
11 weeks ago
Right, and what about all those games (yes there are games on macOS) that won’t get any change to a 64 bit engine at all? Those stop working too then huh?
Rating: 3 Votes
Avatar
tyler_
11 weeks ago

Looks like the possibility of DVD player is updated in macOS Mojave, for it has a new icon. For developers who currently have the beta, is this correct?

Yes it is updated to 64-bit
Rating: 3 Votes
[ Read All Comments ]