When Apple unveiled its M1 powered Macs in November 2020 the companionship stated thatmacOS Big Surhad been rebuilt from the ground up to make use of the newfangled processing technology .
While this is great word for those who desire to employ the latest and greatest , for those who involve to be able to run old version of macOS – perhaps because they swear on software that does n’t work on Big Sur , or because they need to examine website and apps on older operating system of rules – this will be a disadvantage .
So , this begs the question , is there a way to pass older versions of macOS on the new M1 Macs ?
Can M1 Macs run macOS Catalina or older?
unhappily , the solvent to this enquiry is no . While Big Sur is capable to run on both Intel and M1 chip , none of the previous translation of macOS are compatible with Apple ’s new central processing unit .
The rationality for this are quite straight frontwards : all the macOS versions that preceded Big Sur were x86 - only , meaning they were built specifically to work out with Intel ’s processor , which use the x86 command set . macOS Big Sur is particular because it supports the x86 format as well as being the ARM - based M1 chips , which practice a RISC ( Reduced Instruction Set Computing ) architecture .
The practical upshot of this is Apple ’s new M1 - powered devices start on macOS Big Sur and ca n’t go back to other iterations of the operating system of rules .
Take a facial expression at ourwhich translation of macOS can my Mac run?guide for more details on compatibility for Apple ’s background operating system .
Can I run an older version of macOS on an external drive?
Some Mac users use an international drive to campaign older interpretation of macOS – they can boot from this drive rather than the one inside their Mac and bleed the old verison of the operating system .
While this is still possible on Intel - power Macs , it ’s not possible on the M1 Macs . More specifically , you could still be given macOS from an extraneous drive , but it can only be crowing Sur .
Seehow to instal macOS on an external drivefor more detail .
Can I use Parallels or VMware to run old macOS on M1 Macs?
Another unwashed room to run alternative versions of operating systems is to use a virtual automobile . These software solution allow people torun Windows 10 alongside macOS on a Macwithout having to reboot to launch the other OS .
This is a in particular favoured route for developers make versions of software that will run on several dissimilar platforms . you could check out our roundup of the current crop inbest virtual machine package for Mac .
Two of the leading VM packages areParallelsandVMware Fusion , both of which have stated that their current iteration do n’t support M1 machine .
The Parallels site reports , “ It is important to note that currently uncommitted version ofParallels ® Desktop for Maccannot run practical auto on Mac with the M1 chip . The adept intelligence : a fresh reading of Parallels Desktop for Mac that can run on Mac with the M1 chip is already in dynamic growing . ”
TheVMware blogsays that , “ While we ’re not quite ready to declare our timeline , we ’re happy to say that we are attached to delivering VMware virtual automobile on Apple Silicon ! ” .
So , it does look like you ’ll be able to use virtual machines on M1 Macs at some point in the futurity , but there ’s nothing uncommitted at the moment . It may also be the case that the only alternative to macOS Big Sur on VMs will be the ARM - rendering of Window rather than onetime adaptation of macOS .
If you ’re looking for more selective information of using Macs for computer software development , read our guide to thebest Mac for scheduling .
How do I run older versions of macOS?
So what can you do if you need to work an old version of macOS on your M1 Mac ?
The simple-minded true statement at this time is that if you want to run older version of macOS then you ’ll call for an old Mac . One alternative is to habituate your premature Mac as a dedicated political program for sometime versions of the operating system , then move to an M1 Mac for all other duties . This , of course , presume that you have an sure-enough Mac lying around that you may use in this way .
If you ’re only going to have one Mac and you need it to run former versions of macOS , not to bring up Windows , then you should avoid move to the M1 - powered devices at the moment . At least until the practical political machine software updates get the feature to Apple ’s new Si machines .
In the interim , check out ourbest Mac buying template , best Mac for photo redaction , good MacBook Pro deal , plusshould I wait for the M1X Mac ?
