Apple has moved its Rosetta transition from a long-range warning to an immediate developer deadline. Users on macOS 26.4 or later may now see notifications when launching apps that still depend on Intel translation, and Apple says macOS 27 will be the final major release to support those apps.
What changes
Developers with Intel-only binaries need to ship Apple-silicon support—ideally a universal binary—before the next platform boundary. Apple says older, unmaintained games that rely on Intel frameworks will retain limited Rosetta functionality, but that exception is not a general compatibility promise.
Why it matters
This is the end of the migration window, not the beginning. Teams should inventory command-line helpers, plug-ins, drivers, enterprise agents, and rarely launched utilities—not only their main app bundle. A single Intel-only dependency can keep a workflow tied to translation.