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When Apple launched macOS Mojave in 2018, it announced that it would be the last version of macOS that would support 32-bit applications. From Catalina onwards, you will no longer be able to run 2-bit apps and will have to upgrade to 64-bit versions or find alternatives.

What are 32-bit apps?

• To check which 32-bit apps you currently have installed click on the  in the top menu bar then About This Mac System Report. Under Software in the left hand side bar click on Applications, it will take a little while to populate the list. Once finished you should see a long list of applications installed on your Mac.
• May 25, 2018 To see a list of which of your Mac apps are 32-bit, and therefore not optimized for your Mac, without needing to launch every app, you can turn to the handy System Information window. To use it, start from your Mac desktop and then click once on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen. This will reveal a menu with system options.

To check which 32-bit apps you currently have installed click on the  in the top menu bar then About This Mac System Report. Under Software in the left hand side bar click on Applications, it will take a little while to populate the list. Once finished you should.

These applications date back to the days when computers ran on 32-bit processors and had 32-bit operating systems. While often described in terms of speed and power, the real difference between 32-bit and 64-bit whether it’s applications operating systems or CPUs, is the amount of memory they can address. 32-bit apps can only address 4GB of RAM, so that is the maximum amount of RAM they can use.

Why has Apple stopped supporting 32-bit apps

Apple has been using 64-bit processors in Macs for well over a decade and macOS has been 64-bit since Snow Leopard, so it was only a matter of time before the Mac became 64-bit only. That time is now. Apple believes that the apps most people use most of the time are 64-bit and those that haven’t made the leap have good 64-bit alternatives.

It has also provided plenty of warning. When you open a 32-bit app in Mojave or High Sierra for the first time, you are warned that it is 32-bit and that you should update it. That warning then appears again every month or so.

By dropping support for 32-bit apps, Apple can fully optimize macOS Catalina for 64-bit apps and focus its resources on supporting those.

Is my app 32-bit or 64-bit?

When you upgrade to Catalina, you’ll be shown a list of any 32-bit apps you have installed and that will no longer work. If you want to check before then, you have two options: one very easy and the other a little more complicated. We’ll start with the manual, more complicated method.

1. Click on the Apple logo at the top of the screen.
2. Choose About this Mac.
3. Select System Report at the bottom of the window.
4. Click on Applications and scroll to the right until you see the column headed ’64-bit’.
5. Apps that have a yes in the column are 64-bit and will work, those with a ‘No’ are 32-bit and won’t work.

There is an easier way to check, and it’s the one I recommend because it will allow you to upgrade 32-bit apps to their 64-bit versions at the press of a button. It uses the Updater utility in CleanMyMac X — a cool program by MacPaw — and it’s so simple to use. Here’s how:

1. Install, and launch CleanMyMac X — it’s free to download
2. In the app, click on the Uninstaller tab

Now, press the “32-bit” tag in the sidebar on the left

You will see the list of your apps that will not be supported on Catalina. Some of them may already have 64-bit versions available. So instead of updating each app separately and wasting time browsing, just put the cursor on the tab below called “Updater”

Check the box next to each of the apps and press Update. The most recent versions of all the apps displayed will be installed, including 64-bit versions where they’re available.

Steam

How can I keep running 32-bit apps on macOS Catalina?

If you have 32-bit apps that you depend on and absolutely can’t use another app, and there is no 64-bit version available, you have three options.

1. Don’t upgrade to Catalina. If you carry on using Mojave, or whatever version of macOS you’re using, you will be able to keep using 32-bit apps. However, it’s unlikely that the developer of those apps will continue to update them once Catalina is launched, as fewer and fewer people will use them. For example, shortly after Apple announced Catalina, games developer Aspyr announced that it would no longer sell 32-bit games. You will also be missing out on all of the benefits of Catalina.
2. Upgrade to Catalina on your main Mac but keep another Mac running an older version of macOS. This relies on you having more than one Mac, of course. But it does mean you can enjoy the new features in Catalina and still use your old 32-bit apps. However, the same thing applies as above: your 32-bit apps are unlikely to be supported and updated for long. That includes security and compatibility updates.
3. Run Mojave in a virtual machine, such as VMWare Fusion.

What else is affected by dropping support for 32-bit?

32-bit Games For Pc

Some media file formats won’t make the transition to 64-bit. Most of these were created using formats or codecs that rely on QuickTime 7, according to Apple. The QuickTime 7 framework is included in Mojave and its predecessors, but won’t be there in Catalina, so formats created with it won’t work. Apple has a full list of affected formats here.

That means some Final Cut Pro and Motion projects won’t be compatible. However, if you open a project with a 32-bit format, you will see a warning and will be able to convert the library to a 64-bit compatible format at the click of a button. You will also be able to convert Final Cut libraries at any time from the File menu by choosing Check Media for Compatibility. And you can convert files in Compressor.

Dropping support for 32-bit apps in macOS Catalina is part of a long transition from 32-bit to 64-bit that started with hardware and then with the OS in Snow Leopard. Apple has been supporting both for many years but has decided the time is now right to become a 64-bit only operating system. Fortunately, most apps have already migrated to 64-bit and you can update all your apps at once using CleanMyMac X’s Updater. For apps that don’t have a 64-bit version, you need to decide whether to find an alternative or not upgrade to Catalina.

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Rendering 32-bit apps obsolete, Apple shifts to 64-bit only support

With the updates of the redesigned App Store and iOS 11 announced at WWDC 2017, Apple will also be phasing out 32-bit app support this Fall when iOS 11 will be made available to the public. This means that many legacy apps will no longer function at all. The answer to why Apple is dropping 32-bit app support is quite simple: to improve the performance of the iPhone.

How Does 32-bit Support Impact iPhone Performance?

Apple is expected to get rid of all the 32-bit code from iOS itself. Currently, all recent apps in the iOS store have 32-bit code along with the 64-bit code, due to the App Store regulating its submission requirements. When 32-bit legacy apps run on a device that has a 64-bit support, a 32-bit subsystem has to be loaded before the app can actually run on the 64-bit device. This affects the device’s battery, performance, as well as the memory.

The following iOS devices are 64-bit:

• iPhone 5s/SE/6/6s/7
• iPad Air and iPad Air 2
• iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3 and iPad mini 4
• Sixth-generation iPod touch
• 12.9-inch iPad Pro and 9.7-inch iPad Pro
• 9.7-inch iPad (2017)

Any Apple device older than iPhone 5s will be rendered obsolete, once Apple does away with the 32-bit support.

Are Your Apps Safe?

iOS 10.3, the latest version commercially available, lets users see for themselves which apps might still be running on the 32-bit support. For the majority of iPhone users, these apps will tend to be older games, “particularly those without a free-to-play business model”. With developers having little to no financial incentive to continue improving the 32-bit support-based apps that provide no significant revenue, they will likely be made defunct.

Here’s how you can check which one of your apps need the 64-bit update:

Settings > General > About > Applications

How To Get 32 Bit Games To Work On Mac Os

After accessing the ‘Applications’ page, users will be provided with a list of apps that they will need to delete or update from their phones. In some cases, where the 32-bit can’t be updated to the 64-bit, users will have to bid adieu to those apps. In other cases, they might need to be updated and will be prompted by the iOS system to contact the developer of that app, and see if that app can be upgraded to the 64-bit support system.

The move towards solely 64-bit app support should not come as a surprise to mobile app developers- especially those who have been developing iOS apps. For the past two years, Apple has been warning developers to update their apps that run on 32-bit support.One such warning was the compulsory inclusion of 64-bit support for submitting an app to the App Store in mid-2015. At the rate with which Apple is cutting off support for older, 32-bit supported devices, soon the 32-bit code would be eliminated as well, rendering it incompatible with newer Apple devices.

It would be wise to note that a similar elimination of the 32-bit support system will be taking place in the macOS operating system as well next year. At WWDC 2017, Apple stated that the macOS High Sierra is poised to be“the last macOS release to support 32-bit apps without compromises.” Come 2018, it would be mandatory for all apps submitted to the Mac App Store to be 64-bit. Prior to that, Apple will continue warning its users about the imminent move from 32-bit to a 64-bit support system.

Apple has always aligned its products and services with the economic policy of planned obsolescence, whereby a product is designed and developed in a way that renders it obsolete after a certain period of time. The products are “planned” to last for that particular time and no longer. Apple essentially planned for the 32-bit supported iPhone 5c (and any similarly older Apple device) to only be useful for so long. We should not be surprised with the phasing out of 32-bit support system from either the iOS App Store on the iPhone or the Mac App Store.

A Cleaner App Store

By phasing out 32-bit apps, Apple believes that the end-user won’t be affected by it, but rather developers will work to ensure that all of their apps are updated before support no longer exists. This shift is a result of Apple’s plans to remove “problematic and abandoned apps” from the App Store, which is one of its first moves to focus on app quality over quantity. Apple outlined these goals in September of last year and not even a month later, Apple was said to have removed nearly 50,000 apps from the App Store. Is your app ready for this change?