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Are there some apps that won't be supported by Catalina because they are not based on sufficient "bits"? What do I do about that?

I'm about to upgrade from Mojave to Catalina on a 2016 MacBookPro, but I think there are some apps I have that were built on a "bit system" (I don't know the right term) that is not supported by Catalina. I think I have to do something to upgrade or change them in order to continue to have access once I upgrade to Catalina, but I don't know (a) how to identify such apps/programs, or (b) what to do about it. Advice is appreciated.


MacBook Pro

Posted on May 23, 2020 8:10 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 23, 2020 8:30 AM

The issue is related to apps that were designed to work on 32-bit systems. Most apps have been upgraded to 64-bit equivalents, but not all of them. macOS Catalina does not support these older 32-bit ones.


If you require using particular 32-bit apps going forward, you have a few choices:

  • See if the app developer has provided a 64-bit version.
  • Hold off from upgrading to macOS Catalina
  • Upgrade to Catalina, but run a Virtual Machine manager, like Parallels or VMware, to run a VM of an earlier macOS version that still supports these 32-bit apps.
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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 23, 2020 8:30 AM in response to paulaingeneva

The issue is related to apps that were designed to work on 32-bit systems. Most apps have been upgraded to 64-bit equivalents, but not all of them. macOS Catalina does not support these older 32-bit ones.


If you require using particular 32-bit apps going forward, you have a few choices:

  • See if the app developer has provided a 64-bit version.
  • Hold off from upgrading to macOS Catalina
  • Upgrade to Catalina, but run a Virtual Machine manager, like Parallels or VMware, to run a VM of an earlier macOS version that still supports these 32-bit apps.

May 23, 2020 9:20 AM in response to paulaingeneva



paulaingeneva wrote:

I'm about to upgrade from Mojave to Catalina on a 2016 MacBookPro, but I think there are some apps I have that were built on a "bit system" (I don't know the right term) that is not supported by Catalina. I think I have to do something to upgrade or change them in order to continue to have access once I upgrade to Catalina, but I don't know (a) how to identify such apps/programs, or (b) what to do about it. Advice is appreciated.


> (Option key) System Information>Software>Applications


Locate all 32-bit apps in System Info

http://osxdaily.com/2018/03/06/find-32-bit-apps-mac/



Keeping your software up to date is how you go about getting 64 bit versions compatible with Catalina.

Are there some apps that won't be supported by Catalina because they are not based on sufficient "bits"? What do I do about that?

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