Check Your Mac for 32-bit Apps Before Apple Stops Supporting Them

The Cupertino-based company is dropping the hammer soon on 32-bit apps to push developers to move their software to 64-bit.

Apple published a support document last week about their plans on pulling the plug on 32-bit apps. “To ensure that the apps you purchase are as advanced as the Mac you run them on, all future Mac software will eventually be required to be 64-bit,” it said.

Mac owners are starting to get pop-up warnings as “an advance notice” when they launch 32-bit applications, including Word from Office for Mac 2011. The move for 64-bit apps is inline with the release of macOS High Sierra 10.13.4.

There’s no reason to panic though. You probably aren’t using anything essential that can’t be easily replaced with something more current. However, if you want to check your apps, here’s the step by step guide:

• Hold the Option Key and click the  logo in the top left corner. (Holding the Option Key will replace the System Preferences to System Information.)
• Go to Software then click Applications.
• The left-most column is named 64-Bit. The apps labeled No instead of Yes are the ones you should replace in the future.

Apple has yet to specify the exact schedule for the 64-bit transition to be complete saying it “is still underway”. When this is, we’ll have to wait and see.