Apple has already informed developers of which Mac hardware will be supported under macOS Mojave. The general rule of thumb is that if your hardware is from 2012 and newer (other than regular MacBook that must be from 2015 and newer), you'll likely be able to enjoy all of the macOS Mojave features including the long awaited Dark Mode. One exception is that Apple has thrown us older Mac Pro 2010-2012 owners a bone and if you happen to have a GPU that supports Metal, you'll be able to get all of the neat features available under macOS Mojave despite having older hardware. Yay!
Metal 2 needed for Dark Mode
As with any graphical updates, newer features may require newer hardware. Cool new transitions, transparencies and general improvements to the moving and opening of windows will introduce new computing requirements. So older Macs not making the cut that cannot support these newer features is understandable. But since Apple has said that no new Mac Pro hardware will be coming this year (and maybe only arriving at the end of next year), Mac Pros that are older than the general rule of thumb 2012 date will still be allowed to install macOS Mojave and those with Metal capable GPUs will be able to run the new fancy-dancy Dark Mode. Here's how to check if your Mac GPU is Metal capable for Dark Mode.
Checking for Metal capabilities
- Click on the on your desktop.
- Select About This Mac.
- Under the Overview Tab, click System Report….
- Under the Hardware side section, select Graphics/Displays.
- Under your GPU section, see if the Metal information string is present.
- If you see Metal: Supported, feature set macOS GPUFamily1 v3, you're good to go!
If you do not see any reference to Metal in your Graphics/Display heading, then your GPU is not supported. You can remedy this by upgrading your GPU to one that supports Metal.
Here's an example of an unsupported GPU:
Final comments
Apple's macOS Mojave will be due out later this fall, but is available as a public beta now if you're brave enough to update your OS and aren't in need of a stable production environment. Otherwise, use this time to get your Mac Pro GPUs ready for macOS Mojave this fall! Will you be using macOS Mojave on your Mac Pro? Tell us about it in the comments!
