Credit: Apple
Even though Apple has promised to support Intel-based Macs for years to come, that doesn’t guarantee that every feature that it brings to new macOS versions will be supported on these older Macs. In fact, this is no different from previous macOS releases in the era of Intel-only Macs, when older systems simply couldn’t handle more advanced features like Sidecar, Apple Watch unlocking, and Apple Pay due to various hardware limitations.
After all, the M1 chip is already light years ahead of Intel in raw performance, so there are definitely many new things it’s going to be capable of bringing to the table — and there’s no reason Apple or M1 Mac users should be held back just because Intel can’t play.
So, while Apple isn’t doing this out of spite for Intel, it’s also not about to hold back on showing us all the cool new experiences that its M1 chip can now power — all of which are things that iPhone and iPad users pretty much take for granted.
To be fair, many of these features also require an A12 Bionic chip on the iPhone and iPad, but that means they’ll still work fine on almost every iOS/iPadOS device released since late 2018. This means the iPhone XS, iPhone XR, 2018 iPad Pro, third-generation iPad Air, and even the iPad mini 5 and last year’s 8th-generation iPad can all play along. Continue reading to browse six macOS features you won’t get without an M1 Mac.
