Apple's macOS Golden Gate update quietly severs the last ties to the Intel era, and macOS 28 is set to finish the job.
macOS Golden Gate is the first version of macOS that runs only on Apple silicon Macs; Intel Macs are stuck on Tahoe, though Apple says it will keep issuing security updates through fall 2028. The update also drops Boot Camp Assistant, since there's no Intel support left to dual-boot Windows on, and removes the Apple Filing Protocol client entirely, which breaks Time Capsule backups and leaves AirPort Utility unsupported, though it still works if you already had it installed. Rosetta 2, the translation layer that let Apple silicon Macs run Intel-only apps, is now removed by default too - you can still manually reinstall it if an app needs it, but Golden Gate is the last release with full Rosetta support. Next up, fall 2027's macOS 28 will largely drop Rosetta 2 for good, meaning most apps that depend on it simply won't open, with Apple only carving out an exception for some unmaintained legacy games.
This is Apple finishing a cleanup job it started with the 2020 Apple silicon transition, now with hard dates attached instead of vague warnings. If you're running an old AFP-based NAS, an AirPort base station, or a Rosetta-dependent app, the deadline is concrete: fall 2027, not someday.
Apple ran the same slow fade with 32-bit apps and PowerPC before that - the process is unhurried, but it always ends the same way.