Rosetta is being retired — here’s what it means if your Mac still runs Intel apps

Rosetta 2 has been one of the less visible reasons Apple’s move from Intel to Apple silicon went as smoothly as it did. It translates Intel-built Mac software so that older apps can continue to run on newer Macs.

Apple has now confirmed that Rosetta is entering its final years as a general-purpose compatibility layer. macOS 27 will keep Rosetta available, but Apple says that from macOS 28 it will retain only a limited subset of Rosetta for certain older, unmaintained games that depend on Intel-based frameworks.

That distinction matters. It is too broad to say every Intel-only app will suddenly stop working as soon as macOS 27 arrives. The immediate job for anyone who still relies on older software is to find out which apps are Intel-only and whether their developers offer Apple silicon or Universal versions.

You can check an app in Finder by selecting it and choosing File → Get Info. Under Kind, Apple silicon-native software will normally be listed as Apple silicon or Universal; an Intel application is the one to investigate.

There is no need to panic-upgrade or replace software that still works today. But if an abandoned Intel-only app is important to your workflow, now is a sensible time to find an alternative rather than discovering the problem after a future macOS update.

Discuss it: still relying on an Intel-only Mac app? Tell us which one in the UKMac community.