App to Install Latest macOS on Legacy Devices

by Rian

With the leak macOS 26 may be named Tahoe, I’m seeing reports on the list of the devices that will be left behind. No doubt this is more a concern for personal Macs than ones handled in an organization — they would already have made an upgrade plan. It is likely Apple will release few more major versions of macOS in x86, and if your machine is capable of meeting the needs, it is possible to install the latest macOS on your legacy-listed Mac.

OpenCore Legacy Patcher is an open source project focused on running latest version of macOS on older (read: not officially supported) machines. Due to its nature, I do wish to emphasize this isn’t a one polished software suite. It does come with the documentations to see if it suits your use case. Also be mindful that it is recommended to reinstall fully once every major update (e.g. macOS 15 to macOS 26).

Though I like the principle of keeping the old hardwares, I also do believe there’s a point where maintaining it would be too costly. Not just the cost of the new machine, the time and effort to install the latest OS, double checking whether your work-related apps and softwares are running stably, and re-do the process every year could easily amount to week’s worth of downtime.

But most importantly, these reports are hinting macOS will now only be available for Apple Silicon, and x86 support may be dropped entirely in coming years. That would effectively kill any attempts to keep old Macs up-to-date, though they would still be functional. Looking at the rumors and discussions on different forums, consensus seems to be that this year (2025) will be the last year to release x86 version of macOS. As much as I hope to keep using an older machine, I’m also inclined to see how the ARM side would unfold even further.

note: Featured image is from OpenCore Legacy Patcher