Apple Silicon, macOS, and your desktop software

The short version

Some customers are seeing an alert from Apple about Intel-based apps. It is a real notice about a real change, but it is a change with a long runway and a clear answer — and for most of our customers the answer is "nothing to do."

Apple does not force an existing Mac onto a future version of macOS. If Graphite v13 SE works on your machine now, that does not change because a new macOS exists.

The genuine planning question is narrower than the alert makes it sound: it concerns a new Mac purchased in late 2027 or later. And Graphite v14 — which is close — resolves it well before then.

Check your exact setup

Rather than read a compatibility table and work out which row is yours, tell us your machine and we will tell you exactly where you stand.

The Apple alert, in plain terms

The message is titled “Support Ending for Intel-based Apps” and reads much like this:

What it is actually telling you: the app uses Rosetta, Apple's translation layer that lets software built for Intel Macs run on Apple Silicon Macs. Apple is winding Rosetta down. The alert is about Rosetta — it is not a fault in Graphite v13 SE, and it does not mean the software has stopped working.

Why you may be seeing this on a Mac it may never affect

The alert is triggered by the app, not by your Mac. macOS shows it for apps that need Rosetta — on every Apple Silicon Mac, regardless of that Mac's own future.

So it appears on machines the change may never actually reach. Apple has not published which Macs will be able to install the macOS release where Rosetta finally goes away. If your Mac is not offered that release, the change simply never arrives for you — but you will still have seen the alert.

It also cannot appear on an Intel Mac at all. Rosetta exists only on Apple Silicon. On an Intel Mac, Graphite v13 SE runs natively and none of this applies.

What actually changes, and when

Three dates, and they mean very different things. Only the last one involves anything stopping.

One thing worth knowing before macOS 27

Upgrading to macOS 27 Golden Gate removes Rosetta from the Mac. It can be reinstalled on demand, but it does not come back on its own. If Graphite v13 SE does not open right after that upgrade, that is why — and reinstalling Rosetta is the entire fix. We would rather you hear it here than conclude the software has died.

Apple's own summary of Rosetta and Intel-based apps: support.apple.com ↗

While you are here: which macOS still gets security updates

This is separate from anything about our software, and for some customers it matters more. Apple issues security updates for the current macOS and the two before it. As of 2026-08-06 that means:

• macOS 26 Tahoe — still receiving security updates
• macOS 15 Sequoia — still receiving security updates
• macOS 14 Sonoma — still receiving security updates

macOS 13 Ventura and everything older no longer receive security updates. If your Mac can run one of the three above, that update is free and worth making on its own merits. If it cannot, that is worth knowing when you decide how long to keep the machine in service — the checker above tells you which case you are in.

Apple publishes its security releases here ↗. Expect this list to shift when macOS 27 ships.

Graphite v14 is the answer — and it is close

Graphite v14does not use Rosetta at all. When it lands, the entire question above goes away for everyone it reaches.

Two separate things decide whether it reaches a given Mac, and it is worth keeping them apart, because they have very different answers:

1. The Mac itself

Every Apple Silicon Mac ever made — every M-series machine from 2020 onward — can run it. If you are on Apple Silicon, your hardware is not in question. Most Intel Macs from around 2015 onward are fine too, along with some 2013–2014 desktops. Older Intel Macs are the exception, and they are covered in the next section. The checker above answers this exactly, by model.

2. The macOS it is running

Graphite v14 requires macOS 12 Monterey or later. Today's release goes back further than that, so if you are on macOS 10.15 Catalina or macOS 11 Big Sur you will need a macOS update before moving up. On any Apple Silicon Mac, and on any Intel Mac that can reach Monterey, that update is free from Apple whenever you want it.

And if you need to go the other way — active v13 and v14 subscribers who need Graphite v12 can have it on request. Just ask; we would rather you be on the release that fits your machine than on the newest one.

If you are on macOS 10.13 High Sierra or macOS 10.14 Mojave

Graphite v13 will run there, but Graphite v12 is the better fit for those versions of macOS. If that is your situation, contact us and we will get v12 to you.

Older Intel Macs — the one real gotcha, and it is a mild one

Older Intel Macs — broadly 2012 to 2014 — cannot install macOS 12 Monterey. Apple set that limit, and no update changes it, so Graphite v14 will not reach those machines.

It is worth being precise about why this group is in the calmest position on this page, not the worst: Rosetta only ever existed on Apple Silicon. On an Intel Mac, Graphite v13 SE runs natively. None of Apple's Rosetta milestones — not macOS 27, not macOS 28 — apply to that machine at all. The only thing an older Intel Mac misses out on is the upgrade, and if you move to a newer Mac later, it is there waiting.

Not sure which category your Mac falls into? The checker at the top of this page answers it exactly, by model.

If you would like to move to a newer Mac anyway

Worth knowing, because customers are often surprised: a used Mac that clears the bar comfortably can be had for a very reasonable price. Any Apple Silicon Mac — the M1 models start in 2020 — is far above Graphite v14's requirement, and the used market for them is healthy.

Moving your work across is genuinely easy. Apple's Migration Assistant copies your files, applications, accounts and settings from the old Mac to the new one. It works over Wi-Fi with both Macs switched on and near each other, or faster over a direct Thunderbolt or Ethernet cable between the two. Apple's own walkthrough is here ↗.

One thing to expect if you do this: your current installation comes across as it is, so on an Apple Silicon Mac it will run under Rosetta until you move to Graphite v14 — which is the point at which all of this stops being something you have to think about.

Cobalt, Xenon, Argon, Cobalt Share and Lithium — check which build you are on

Current v12 builds are native Apple Silicon applications. They do not use Rosetta, and nothing on this page applies to them. Apple Silicon support arrived in build 1204.200, and 1204.219 is the build to be on.

But v12 did not start that way. Earlier v12 builds are Intel-only, so if you are still running one on an Apple Silicon Mac, you are using Rosetta and everything above does apply to you.

Open the application and look at its build number. If it is below 1204.200 you are on an Intel-only build. There are three reasons that might be, and they are not the same situation.

1. You simply have not installed the updates

By far the most common case, and the easiest. Updates to v12 are included in your subscription, and plenty of people never get around to installing them — there is no reason you would have, because nothing was wrong. If an Apple alert is what sent you to this page, this is almost certainly the whole story.

2. Your Mac cannot run macOS 12 Monterey

The 200 series needs macOS 12 Monterey. If your Mac cannot reach it, that is not a problem to solve by updating — the machine is the limit. Build 1204.98 is the answer: it runs from macOS 10.14 Mojave onwards, it is a normal supported download, and it exists for exactly this case. It is offered for Cobalt, Xenon, Argon and Lithium, and available for Cobalt Share on request.

What you give up is real and worth knowing before you install it: for Cobalt, Xenon and Argon, 1204.98 has no PhotoRender, no Animation and no Parasolid import. For Lithium and Cobalt Share nothing is given up at all — those products never had those features, so for them 1204.98 differs from the current build only in which macOS it runs on.

Being on 1204.98 because your Mac needs it is a legitimate, supported setup, not a state of being behind.

3. You are running Heritage Edition on purpose

Some customers keep Heritage Edition (HE) of Cobalt, Xenon or Argon installed alongside the standard edition — Heritage when they need rendering, the standard edition when they do not. That is a deliberate setup, we know who you are, and this page is not asking you to abandon it.

Two things worth knowing about Heritage Edition specifically. It runs on macOS 10.14 Mojave and later, where current builds need macOS 12 Monterey — so it reaches machines the current builds do not. And it is no longer distributed: if you already have it you keep it and it stays supported, but we cannot issue it to anyone who does not already hold it, so please do not plan around obtaining a copy.

• On an Intel Mac: nothing changes for you at all. Rosetta was never part of your setup, so none of the dates above touch it.
• On an Apple Silicon Mac: Heritage Edition does use Rosetta, so the timeline above applies to that one installation. Your standard-edition install, if it is build 1204.200 or later, is already native and unaffected.

Rendering and animation are coming back, on Cycles rather than Lightworks, along with Parasolid export — which between them remove the reason to keep an early build around. No date; they are in build, not in a release. If this is your situation, talk to us directly rather than working it out from this page — we would rather walk you through it.

We have been through Apple transitions before

This is not the first major Apple platform shift this software has navigated. Graphite, originally known as Vellum in the 1990s, has come through:

• 1990s: Motorola 68000-series to PowerPC.
• 2000s: PowerPC to Intel.
• 2010s: the end of 32-bit Mac application support.
• Today: Intel to Apple Silicon.

Each one needed care, planning and engineering judgement. Customers depend on these tools for real work and long-lived design data, which is why we treat a transition like this as a planning matter with a clear answer — not an emergency.

What to do, depending on where you are

Using Graphite v13 SE today, and it works

Carry on. Nothing to do.

Thinking about a macOS upgrade

Check your combination in the checker above first — it will tell you whether your macOS is above or below what you need.

Buying a new Mac in late 2027 or later

Talk to us before you install. By then Graphite v14 is the release you will want, and we will make sure you have it.

On an Intel Mac from 2016 or earlier

Nothing to do, and nothing to worry about. Your setup is unaffected by every date on this page.

We will keep this page updated

Apple's transition is still unfolding and some details will get clearer. As they do, this page gets a new revision — and the older revision stays readable at its own permanent link, so you can always see what we said and when.