The Apple Vision Pro has finally launched, and if you’re thinking you might need to upgrade your Mac or MacBook to use the new headset (making yet another expensive purchase on an already very expensive device), there’s good news , it seems. the Vision Pro headset is compatible with Intel-based Macs, potentially opening the door for users with older models.
A support page on the official Apple website explaining how to use the headset with a Mac as a display shows that support for this feature is not limited to Apple Silicon Macs (such as recent MacBooks with the M1, M2 or M3 chips). The message explains that if you’re using a Mac with an Intel processor, you can still use the Vision Pro as a workspace, but you’ll be working at resolutions limited to 3K instead of 4K as you normally would with an Apple Silicon-powered Mac.
You can still resize the virtual display window and use the computer’s keyboard and trackpad. That said, if you want to take advantage of the Virtual Display feature, your Mac will need to be running macOS 14 Sonoma or newer, so if you plan to give it a try, you’ll probably need to upgrade your Mac operating system. Very old Macs and MacBooks may not be compatible with macOS Sonoma, so you won’t be able to use the Vision Pro as an additional screen with those products.
Nice, but not very useful.
While I’m happy to see support for older Macs, I’m not sure I see the point. Of course, Intel-based Macs are still good computers despite their age, but with the cost of the Apple Vision Pro you could buy an M3 iMac and have plenty of money left over.
Of course, I’m sure many people have an older iMac collecting dust at home and would love to give it a try, but then again, the Apple Vision Pro isn’t exactly a product you buy on a whim. I wouldn’t really encourage anyone to buy the headset if it only works on an Intel Mac, as you won’t get the full 4K experience. You’re better off just upgrading your device to a new MacBook, Mac mini, or iMac and buying a Vision Pro later… or not at all.
There’s also no guarantee that this support on Intel Macs will last forever – now that the M3 iMac has launched, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw limited support for newer accessories or features. So if you’re in a position to try out the Vision Pro with your older Mac, I recommend you get started with it quickly and decide if you like the pairing enough to upgrade to an Apple Silicon Mac justifiable – because it may be necessary in the future. future.
Through 9to5Mac