Like many people I have received a notification that some applications currently in use with High Sierra will not be compatible with Mojave. On further investigation to expand on this warning I find some ambiguity. One explanation states that an application that is working on High Sierra will work on Mojave and that the warning applies to some change which will occur in the future at an undetermined time. All very confusing. Can you give a clear explanation of what is going on?
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John Smith
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Applications Not Compatible With Mojave
Comments: 4 Responses to “Applications Not Compatible With Mojave”
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I think you are talking about the message that states that "X is not optimized for your Mac." You will get this if you have an app that is 32-bit. Most modern apps are 64-bit apps. Mojave is the last version of macOS that will support 32-bit apps. So the apps will work for now, but this time next year when you update to the next new version of macOS, they will no longer run.
All Macs produced in the last 10+ years have come with a 64-bit processor. If your Mac can run Mojave, it has a 64-bit processor. With Mojave, as with previous versions of macOS, apps can run either as 32-bit apps or 64-bit apps. The only difference is the warning.
App developers have had 10+ years to get their apps ready for this transition. In almost all cases, app developers have moved to 64-bit with some version over the last few years. So there are only three reasons you may be getting this message. First, if you are using an old version of an app. If so, it will be time to upgrade. I always recommend using the latest versions of all software, if only for security reasons, but also to get the latest features anyway. Second, if you are using a piece of software that has been abandoned by the developer. In that case, you should already be looking for a replacement. Third, if the developer is still producing updates using 32-bit. I can't imagine this is the case, if if so, hopefully the developer is already working to catch up.
As for myself, I'm going to miss Adobe Fireworks, a great graphics app that I love for producing quick optimized web graphics. But Adobe abandoned it a while back. I've determined that I'm going to use Acorn as a replacement and have started my own transition there.
Apple has a page about this, which has been around since High Sierra: 32-bit app compatibility.
Thank you for your prompt reply. That has alleviated any doubts I had about updating to Mojave. I only speak English, you see, and the Silicone Valley version of English, with such phrases as "X is not optimised for your Mac", is at times incomprehensible.
I've been hesitating upgrading to Mojave from Sierra due to questions regarding whether or not "Microsoft Excel for Mac 2011" and "Adobe CS5" will actually work in Mojave. I see many postings claiming that these products will no longer be supported, however, will they still work?
They are working fine under Sierra.
Jeff: Those are very old versions of Excel and Creative Suite. If they work with Sierra, they should work with Mojave, though I can't be sure of that and you will probably get the warning that they soon won't work (After Mojave there will be no more support for 32-bit apps). You should consider upgrading these apps. Eventually you'll get a new Mac and that Mac won't support very old software.