macOS 27 the last update for Intel-based Mac mini M4

arminw1 wrote:

Evidently the presently running macOS 27 will be the last time I will be able to update the operating system on my Mac Mini M4. I have many Intel programs including ALL Windows programs running under Parallels with Rosetta that will no longer work.

You need to separate

1. Running macOS/Intel programs, under Rosetta 2 translation, on an Apple Silicon Mac, from
2. Running macOS/Intel programs, under Microsoft's emulation or translation environment, inside an instance of Windows for ARM that itself is running inside a Parallels virtual machine on an Apple Silicon Mac.

Assuming that Parallels updates Parallels Desktop to work with macOS 27 and later, it seems likely that you'll still have the ability to do #2. Although I don't have any "inside information" from Microsoft or Apple, I think that the Intel emulation/translation environment in Windows 11 for ARM uses Microsoft's own code (or code they licensed from someone for Windows 11 use) – rather than relying on Rosetta 2. So Windows/Intel programs would still run, as well or as poorly as they do now, assuming that Microsoft didn't pull support for their Intel emulation code.

Nobody on these boards can say for certain, but it's probably because maintaining it requires legacy code in the OS, and the developers have had plenty of time to transition their software.

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