What, if any, Apps are people using still only have an Intel binary available?

Question

What, if any, Apps are people using still only have an Intel binary available?

The only apps that I am aware of are IRS filing apps. Namely, TurboTax and H&R Block. I am not aware of any alternatives to these apps, aside from getting parallels and running the Windows app or finding an online filing website.

Neither TurboTax or H&R Block has confirmed they will have a version that will run once Rosetta 2 is deprecated. Currently Apple has stated that the last macOS version will be 27 that supports Rosetta 2. So when macOS 28 comes out in just under two years, there may be no desktop tax software available on the Mac. I think these are the only apps that I don’t have alternatives for. The vast majority of the apps I use have Apple Silicon binaries now. Quicken for Mac came out with their universal binary the same week the M1 was released five years ago. Quicken separated from Intuit many years ago. Quicken for Mac is the champion in this respect. Apple has given software developers seven years to update their applications for Apple Silicon. I will not blame Apple if my TurboTax doesn’t work anymore.

So, the central question is, is it only tax filing apps that aren’t native Apple Silicon? There are different ways of determining whether your apps are Intel or universal binaries and I won’t go into those instructions here.

Mac mini, macOS 26.0

Posted on Oct 29, 2025 4:16 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Servant of Cats

Level 7

34,073 points

Oct 29, 2025 9:54 PM in response to markfromlandolakes

The 15C Scientific Calculator app is Intel-only. As is my copy of Quicken Willmaker. As are several games which I bought for my old Mac. Of those, some were 64-bit and run under Rosetta 2 translation. Many were 32-bit – and didn't survive the transition from (Intel, High Sierra) to (Apple Silicon, Ventura) at all.

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Answer 2

steve626

Level 6

13,695 points

Oct 29, 2025 9:27 PM in response to markfromlandolakes

There are quite a few apps still on Intel executables. Just one example, a number of Garmin's applications that interface with their mapping and positioning devices are still on Intel executables.

I'm not worried about those tax software packages. Two years is a very long time for today's development environment. I use TurboTax, but if the version needed for Macs is discontinued, I would simply obtain an inexpensive Windows laptop and look upon it as a learning opportunity! In fact, currently the highest level of Mac Intuit tax software is the Home and Business edition, but on the PC/Windows platform, there is a higher level of tax preparation software available from Intuit and that level is not offered for Macs at all.

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Answer 3

Oct 29, 2025 5:31 PM in response to markfromlandolakes

Some apps get dragged forward only when their apps fail. In the particular case of tax apps though, the entire tax app business is reportedly very much dependent on the success of the lobbying by the vendors involved, including TurboTax.

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