macOS Golden Gate Lists the Intel Apps That Will Die in macOS 28

macOS Golden Gate, Apple’s macOS 27 release from WWDC 2026, ships a built-in list that names every Intel-based app on an Apple silicon Mac and flags the ones that will not run in macOS 28. The list lives in Settings, the warnings also surface on every restart and every Intel app launch, and the broader Rosetta 2 phase-out Apple first telegraphed in macOS Tahoe 26.4 has now reached the point where the operating system itself tells Mac users which apps they need to replace.

The New “Intel-Based Apps” List in Settings

macOS Golden Gate adds a new section called Intel-Based apps inside Settings > General > About. Selecting it and clicking the “Details” option opens a screen that lists every Intel-only program on the Mac that will not work in macOS 28. The interface exists to give Mac users lead time to contact developers or find replacements, and the Settings entry is the first time Apple has bundled a “to be killed” roster of apps directly inside the operating system. To open the list, follow these steps:

1. Open the System Settings app.
2. Click General in the sidebar.
3. Click About.
4. Scroll to the new Intel-Based apps entry and select it.
5. Click Details to expand the full list of incompatible apps.

Three Places the Rosetta Warnings Show Up

The Settings list is one of three places Apple has chosen to surface the coming Rosetta 2 phase-out. Apple silicon Mac users running the Golden Gate beta also see a system warning every time they restart their Mac, and another warning the first time they open any individual Intel app.

Apple began this warning campaign in macOS Tahoe 26.4, whose first developer beta shipped on February 16, 2026. Golden Gate inherits that ramp, and the Settings list is built around the macOS 28 cut, which points to Apple intending the same warnings to keep surfacing on every macOS 27 release until users upgrade.

Confirm an App’s Architecture with Get Info

The Settings list only shows apps Apple can identify as Intel. To confirm the architecture of any program yourself, the method is the same one Apple has recommended since the M1 launched in 2020: select the app in the Finder, press Command-I, and read the “Kind” line in the Info window.

Apple’s support page for Intel-based apps on Apple silicon spells out the three possible values: Application (Intel), which needs Rosetta and will stop working in macOS 28, Application (Universal), which runs natively on either architecture, and Application (Apple silicon), which is native to M-series chips and never needed Rosetta. Universal apps can also be forced into Rosetta mode from the same Info window, by checking Open using Rosetta, which is the only way to load Intel-only plug-ins and extensions.

For a sweep of every installed app at once, the System Information app is the alternative. Open About This Mac from the Apple menu, click More Info, then System Report, then scroll to Software and click Applications. The Kind column shows the architecture for every app, sortable with a click on the column header.

Why macOS Golden Gate Breaks the Old Workaround

macOS Golden Gate is the first macOS release that does not install Rosetta 2 automatically. Users who still depend on an Intel-only app will see a short installation prompt the first time they open one after upgrading.

The change breaks two workflows that relied on Rosetta being there from the start. Authentication plugins, kernel extensions, and pre-login utilities that need Rosetta fail to load in macOS Golden Gate, because the translation layer is not yet on the system when those components are asked to run.

Users who need those tools can plan to keep an older Mac on Tahoe in service, or move the workflow off Intel entirely. A third option, walked through by independent Mac developer Howard Oakley in his Golden Gate notes, is to virtualize a copy of Sonoma, Sequoia, or Tahoe that does have Rosetta, and run the Intel app inside the VM.

That VM-based approach is the one that survives into macOS 28. The host loses Rosetta 2 in the fall of 2027, but a Tahoe guest keeps it, and a Tahoe VM will keep receiving security updates through the fall of 2028.

A Three-Year Schedule From Here

Apple’s published roadmap is split across three macOS releases, and the Settings list is built around the second of them. The dates come from Apple’s own support page and from independent developers tracking the transition.

• Fall 2026: macOS 27 (Golden Gate) ships, Apple silicon only, with full Rosetta 2 still enabled for all Intel apps.
• Fall 2027: macOS 28 removes most Rosetta 2 features, leaving “a subset of Rosetta functionality aimed at supporting older unmaintained gaming titles, that rely on Intel-based frameworks.”
• Fall 2028: Security updates for the last Intel-compatible macOS, Tahoe, end.

The Rosetta removal in macOS 28 mirrors the previous PowerPC to Intel transition, when the original Rosetta translation layer was available from 2006 until it was pulled in OS X 10.7 Lion in July 2011, roughly five and a half years after the first Intel Mac shipped in January 2006. The Apple silicon transition is now five years and eight months old, and the macOS 28 cut will close it out at more than seven years.

The original Rosetta spanned a shorter overlap with PowerPC hardware. Apple stopped selling PowerPC Macs in 2006, the same year the first Intel Mac shipped, and the original translation layer was available until OS X 10.7 Lion in July 2011, roughly five and a half years. The Apple silicon case stretched further: the first M1 Mac shipped in November 2020, and Apple kept selling the Intel Mac Pro until June 2023, a hardware transition of two years and seven months, while the Rosetta 2 sunset is taking the full seven-plus years the schedule allows.

Mac users have a year to act. Every Universal or Apple silicon app already installed is unaffected. Every Intel app on the Settings list needs either a developer update, an alternative, or a virtual machine workaround before macOS 28 lands.

Apple has also signalled the small Rosetta carve-out for unmaintained games will stay in macOS 28, with the exact scope still to be defined. Apple has described the carve-out as covering “older, unmaintained games that rely on Intel-based frameworks.”

The Warning Dialogs in Practice

The first time a user opens an Intel-only app on a Mac running the Golden Gate beta, macOS shows a system dialog warning that the app will not work in a future version of macOS. The dialog does not name a specific date, but it identifies the app by name and points users at the new Settings list for the full picture.

On the next restart, the same warning shows up again, with the same wording, and continues to appear on every subsequent reboot until the app is removed or replaced. Independent Mac developer Howard Oakley, writing in March about the earlier Tahoe 26.4 tests, said the warnings “at first will be infrequent, but as time passes their cadence will increase.”

The new Intel-Based apps list in Settings is the only place where the warnings are gathered into a single roster. It shows every Intel-only app Apple can find on the Mac, and stays in place from the first Golden Gate launch until the user upgrades to macOS 28.

Replacing Each App Before macOS 28 Lands

Apple’s support document walks through the same path it has recommended since the M1: check the developer, check the App Store, and replace the binary. For apps that cannot be replaced, the choices narrow to a virtual machine or a dedicated older Mac. The list below is the order to work through, in the order Apple itself suggests.

• Open the Intel-Based apps list in Settings and copy the app names.
• For each one, check the developer’s website for a Universal or Apple silicon version.
• For App Store purchases, open the Mac App Store and run an updates check.
• If no native build exists, contact the developer and ask when one is planned.
• If no native build is coming, run the app inside a virtualized copy of Tahoe, Sequoia, or Sonoma, which still have Rosetta 2 inside the guest.

For critical workflows with no Universal or Apple silicon version in sight, the cleanest path is a dedicated Mac running the last macOS that supports the app. On Intel hardware, that is macOS Tahoe, with security updates through fall 2028. On Apple silicon, it is whichever release the developer still targets, with a virtualized copy of Tahoe as a longer-tail fallback.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Macs can run macOS Golden Gate?

macOS Golden Gate is the first macOS release to require an Apple silicon chip. Apple’s compatibility list, published after the WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8, includes the MacBook Neo (2026), MacBook Air with Apple silicon (2020 and later), MacBook Pro with Apple silicon (2020 and later), iMac with Apple silicon (2021 and later), Mac mini with Apple silicon (2020 and later), Mac Studio with Apple silicon (2022 and later), and Mac Pro with Apple silicon (2023 and later).

Will my Intel Mac still get security updates?

Yes. Apple announced at WWDC 2025 that macOS Tahoe would be the last macOS to support Intel hardware, and the company confirmed during the Golden Gate keynote that Intel Macs will receive software security updates for three years, a year longer than the two that had been rumored.

When will Intel-based apps actually stop working on my Mac?

Only when you upgrade to macOS 28, expected in the fall of 2027. macOS 27 Golden Gate still includes full Rosetta 2 translation for every Intel app, and the Settings list exists to give users a year to find replacements first. Independent tracking of the transition matches the same timeline.

Why is Apple keeping a sliver of Rosetta for older games?

Apple’s own support document says Rosetta 2 in macOS 28 “will be available only for certain older, unmaintained games that rely on Intel-based frameworks.” The same page gives no further detail on which titles qualify, and Apple has not said whether the carve-out will extend to non-game software that relies on the same Intel frameworks.

Can I run an Intel-only app inside a virtual machine after macOS 28?

Yes. Virtualizing a copy of Sonoma, Sequoia, or Tahoe inside an Apple silicon Mac, and running the Intel-only app inside that guest, is the workaround that survives the macOS 28 cut. The host loses Rosetta 2, but the guest keeps it, and a Tahoe VM will receive security updates through fall 2028.