avatarSaeed Zarinfam

Summary

A developer shares their experience updating their Intel-based Mac to macOS 14 Sonoma, detailing the models compatible with the update, 32-bit app compatibility, missing features, and performance observations.

Abstract

In this article, a developer discusses their experience updating their Intel-based MacBook Pro 2019 to macOS 14 Sonoma. The developer highlights that Apple is phasing out support for Intel-based Macs, with newer macOS versions becoming incompatible or running with lag. The developer's essential tools, including git, IDEs, Docker Desktop, Minikube, Colima, and Parallels VMs, work without issue after the update. However, certain features like Presenter Overlay, high-performance Screen Sharing mode, Game Mode, and Siri voice activation are missing for Intel-based Macs. The developer notes minor performance issues like hanging when opening multiple video tabs in the Edge browser and increased battery consumption. Despite these minor drawbacks, the developer remains satisfied with the update's performance on their powerful Intel-based Mac.

Opinions

  • Apple is gradually phasing out support for Intel-based Macs.
  • macOS 14 Sonoma works flawlessly on newer Intel-based Macs, but some features are missing for these models.
  • The developer's essential tools function well after updating to macOS 14 Sonoma.
  • The developer encountered minor performance issues, such as hanging when opening multiple video tabs in the Edge browser and increased battery consumption.
  • The developer is generally satisfied with the update's performance on their Intel-based Mac.
  • The developer suggests that users with older Intel-based Macs may have different experiences.
  • The developer recommends following them for upcoming stories and reading their short technical posts on Twitter.

Should We update our Intel-based Mac to macOS 14 Sonoma?

A developer’s point of view on updating to macOS Sonoma

Believe it or not, apple won’t manufacture Intel-based Mac computers anymore, And sooner or later, macOS won’t support Intel-based Macs, this is a fact, but because of some business and customer considerations, companies usually don’t remove software support for old products directly, and a famous approach is to release a newer version of the software (or OS), which either is incompatible with old hardware or runs hard with lag on it.

I updated my intel-based MacBook (MacBook Pro 2019 16") to macOS 14 (Sonoma), and I want to share my experience as a Developer with you in this story.

· First glance after the Update ∘ Which models of Intel-based Macs can update to Sonoma ∘ 32-bit apps compatibility ∘ What macOS Sonoma Features are missed for Intel-based Macs? · How is my Intel-based Macbook after the update? ∘ Hanging when I open several videos in the Edge browser · Lag in the animation effects · Battery drain is faster in comparison to the past · Final thought

First glance after the Update

First, that animated background in the revamped lock screen came into our eyes!

Revamped lock screen in macOS 14 (Sonoma)

Besides that! everything works fine, as a developer, my essential tools like git, IDEs, Docker Desktop, Minikube, Colima, Parallels VMs, and some other tools work without any problem, It seems macOS 14 (Sonoma) is well tested and works flawlessly even on Intel-based Macs (so far!)

Which models of Intel-based Macs can update to Sonoma

These models of Intel-based Mac computers should work with macOS 14 (Sonoma):

  • MacBook Pro 2018 and later
  • MacBook Air 2018 and later
  • iMac 2019 and later
  • iMac Pro 2017
  • Mac Pro 2019 and later

You can read about “How to install macOS on old and discontinued Macs” in this story if you have an old Mac:

32-bit apps compatibility

It is not new, but it is worth mentioning that, don't forget that macOS dropped support for 32-bit apps from version macOS 10.15 (Catalina) If your works depend on 32-bit apps or drivers or … that do not have a 64-bit equivalent, you need to stay on macOS 10.14 (Mojave).

What macOS Sonoma Features are missed for Intel-based Macs?

The newer version of the Intel-based Macs should not have performance problems to run macOS 14 (Sonoma), except missing some new features that Apple removed from the Intel-based version, and we need to have a Mac with an Apple silicon CPU to have them:

  • Put yourself front and center (The new Presenter Overlay in Video Conferencing)
  • Screen Sharing (The new high-performance mode for highly responsive remote access)
  • Game Mode
  • Pair iPhone hearing devices directly with Mac
  • Siri now works when you just say “Siri” as well as “Hey Siri.”

How is my Intel-based Macbook after the update?

As I said, I have an old powerful Intel-based Macbook (MacBook Pro 2019 16") with 64GB of RAM and a core i9 CPU, and in general, I do not have any problems after updating to macOS 14 (Sonoma), but there are some very minor things that I will mention. :

Hanging when I open several videos in the Edge browser

I use the Edge browser, and after updating to macOS 14 (Sonoma), I had a wired problem when I watched a video in the browser and opened many others on other tabs (this is a bad habit, I know!), I don’t think this is a macOS Sonoma problem, but I did not have this problem before the update anymore, and I guess after some updates from the Edge Browser team, it should be fixed.

Lag in the animation effects

There is a minor lag in the macOS animations compared to the past. But to be fair, it is not very noticeable.

Battery drain is faster in comparison to the past

In my Macbook, obviously, battery consumption has increased after updating to macOS Sonoma, but I should mention that before updating my Mac, The battery lasts for three hours at most, but now it has decreased even more!

Final thought

As we could have guessed, release by release, the Intel-based Macs will be deprived of some new features and also will feel some slowness and lag in the OS, as a developer, these missing features that I mentioned above are not very important, and the performance is good enough for my work, and at the end of the day, I am happy for updating to macOS 14 (Sonoma).

For older versions of Intel-based Macs with weaker CPUs and Less amount of RAM, the story might be different, Please share your experience by leaving a comment.

You can follow me for upcoming stories:

Read my short technical posts on Twitter.

Sonoma
Macos
MacBook
Intel Based Mac
Developer
Recommended from ReadMedium
avatarDylan Smith
Interview: How to Check Whether a Username Exists Among One Billion Users?

My articles are open to everyone; non-member readers can read the full article by clicking this link.

9 min read
avatarGuillem Riera
The most performant Docker setup on macOS (Apple Silicon M1, M2, M3) for x64 / amd64 compatibility.

In the past years I have been using mostly Podman as a Docker replacement for most of my workflows. I wrote about it in several posts:

3 min read
avatarNGU
SpringBoot 3.3: New enhanced feature. Must-Know

Enhancing the performance of concurrent and I/O-bound tasks

7 min read
avatarpachoyan
Most-Known Tiling Window Managers (Linux, macOS and MS Windows

A tiling window manager helps you organize the windows on your screen by arranging them in non-overlapping frames. It takes care of sizing…

3 min read
avatarOlenin Slava
Why Zig programmers are making so much money

Are you wondering why Zig programmers make so much money? Guess what? It is not what you are thinking.

4 min read
avatarAndrii
I Tried Raycast and I Can’t Go Back.

A productivity powerhouse, spotlight killer for MacOS.

6 min read