A Bunch of Old MacBooks Won’t Get macOS Tahoe This Fall. Replace Them With One That Will.

Apple just spilled the news that most MacBooks with Intel chips won’t be able to upgrade to macOS 26 Tahoe when it releases to Mac owners this fall, as Apple customarily pulls the wraps off a new version of the Mac operating system every year when the pumpkin spice begins to spread across the calendar like a powdery, dull brown virus.

Operating system updates are always worth it, and they’re always free. If you’ve got one of these marooned MacBooks that won’t receive Tahoe, you’ll be majorly missing out in a few months.

Even the few, select Intel MacBooks that can download macOS 26 Tahoe will only receive this last update. After this year, they too will be cut loose from future macOS versions.

Panic-upgrading like this is never easy. There are a few cheap ways to go about it, though. I’ve collected a few of the cheapest ways to get a replacement MacBook that’ll be eligible for macOS updates for at least the next couple of years.

And don’t forget that you can trade in your Mac for store credit at Apple and Best Buy for help in offsetting some of the replacement Mac’s cost.

new or refurbished, you’ve got options

If your goal is to find the most affordable way to replace your old, non-upgrade-eligible MacBook with one that is eligible, you’ll find it in the form of the MacBook Air M1. Even though it’s no longer the latest MacBook, or not even close, it’s a significant upgrade from your older device.

I have a 2020 MacBook Air with the mid-range Intel i5 chip (which won’t get Tahoe), and the MacBook Air M1 out-performs the shit out of it. Apple’s M1 chip is significantly faster, and in a way that you’ll notice even when you’re just browsing and checking emails, much less streaming video or doing some light gaming.

Of course, you’ll find yourself staring down the same problem someday in the future if you kick this can down the road. If not next year, when macOS 27—whatever it’ll be named—comes out, then at some point.

The most surefire way to get a guaranteed few years of macOS version compatibility with your next MacBook is to buy the latest, the MacBook Air M4. It’s been on a fairly constant sale for $849, down from $999, since April. And it only came out in March.