Will your devices run iOS 12 or macOS Mojave?

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IBook macOS compatible
This iBook definitely won’t run macOS Mojave.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

These are the devices that can run iOS 12 and macOS Mojave

There’s good news and bad news for fans of keeping old hardware running. While iOS 12 will run fine on any device that currently runs iOS 11 — and may even make older hardware run faster — macOS 10.14 Mojave is dropping support for older Macs.

Let’s take a look at which machines will work with iOS 12 and macOS 10.14.

macOS 10.14 Mojave beta support

Is your Mac too old to run dark mode? Maybe!
Is your Mac too old to run dark mode? Maybe!
Photo: Apple

According to Apple’s documentation, the following Macs will run macOS Mojave:

• MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)

• MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)

• MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)

• Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)

• iMac (Late 2012 or newer)

• iMac Pro (2017)

• Mac Pro (Late 2013, plus mid 2010 and mid 2012 models with recommended Metal-capable GPU)

Most recent Macs will run the beta just fine, including six-year-old Mac Minis and iMacs, and eight-year-old Mac Pros, are able to run it just fine.

For context, the current slimline iMacs launched in 2012, which is the cutoff date. Owners of big aluminum Unibody Macs are out of luck.

iOS 12 compatibility

iOS 12's fancy AR won't require new hardware.
iOS 12’s fancy AR won’t require new hardware.
Photo: Apple

As mentioned in the WWDC 2018 keynote, iOS 12 will work on any device that currently runs iOS 11. Some of those devices struggle to run iOS 11, so iOS 12 may actually be an improvement. On the iPhone 6s, for example, will launch apps up to 2x faster even when under stress, and launch the camera 70% faster when swiped in from the lock screen.

In the early days of Mac OS X, each update would actually speed up the machines it was installed on. This hasn’t been the case with iOS, until now.

The whole list of compatible iOS devices can be found on the iOS 12 page so I’ll just list the oldest machines that can run it: iPhone 5s, iPad mini 2, iPad Air, iPad 5th generation, and the 6th-gen iPod touch.

Maybe its time to ditch the Mac?

One final note. I use an old 2010 iMac, and so I’m a little disappointed that it won’t run Mojave. But I’m also amazed that this thing is still running at all, and not only running, but running just fine. I swapped an SSD into the DVD drive bay years ago, which gave it a new lease of life, and it shows movies and runs Ulysses just fine.

I won’t be buying a new Mac just to run Mojave. In fact, writing this post has made me consider my future as a Mac owner. A Mac is still essential for some things (adding your own music to iTunes, for example), and for backing up your Photos library the external drives, but the iPad pro is now easily capable of pretty much everything you need from a day to day machine.

Maybe this year will be the one I finally ditch the Mac.

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