15 inch, 2019 won't update to tahoe

Why 15 inch, 2019 won't update to ios tahoe?

I can't update to Tahoe



MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 15.7

Posted on Oct 24, 2025 3:54 PM

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Posted on Oct 24, 2025 4:15 PM

That is correct. There are only four Intel-based Macs that can run macOS Tahoe, and the 15" 2019 MacBook Pro is not one of them.


Apple discontinued that Mac in November 2019 when the 16" 2019 MacBook Pro came out. The Intel-based Macs that can run Tahoe are:

  • MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) – discontinued in October 2021
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) – discontinued in October 2021
  • iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) – discontinued in March 2022
  • Mac Pro (2019) – discontinued in June 2023


The common denominator seems to be that all of them were discontinued after the first wave of Apple Silicon Macs appeared in November 2020. Apple got the M1 chip by scaling up the performance of designs from the iPhone & iPad worlds. So the first Apple Silicon Macs were entry-level ones, and there was a period during which Apple sold low-end Apple Silicon Macs and high-end Intel Macs side by side.


E.g., the MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) was replaced in November 2020) by the 13" plain M1 MacBook Pro, which also had only two Thunderbolt ports. It wasn't until October 2021 that Apple was selling higher-end 14" and 16" MacBook Pros which used M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. That meant that the two Intel-based MacBook Pros listed above stuck around a while – and that is probably why they got Tahoe and your Mac, discontinued almost two years earlier, didn't.


For what it's worth, Apple has announced that macOS 26 (Tahoe) is the last major version of macOS which will run on any Intel-based Mac. To run macOS 27, when it comes out next year, you will need an Apple-Silicon-based Mac.


6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 24, 2025 4:15 PM in response to windsj

That is correct. There are only four Intel-based Macs that can run macOS Tahoe, and the 15" 2019 MacBook Pro is not one of them.


Apple discontinued that Mac in November 2019 when the 16" 2019 MacBook Pro came out. The Intel-based Macs that can run Tahoe are:

  • MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) – discontinued in October 2021
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) – discontinued in October 2021
  • iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) – discontinued in March 2022
  • Mac Pro (2019) – discontinued in June 2023


The common denominator seems to be that all of them were discontinued after the first wave of Apple Silicon Macs appeared in November 2020. Apple got the M1 chip by scaling up the performance of designs from the iPhone & iPad worlds. So the first Apple Silicon Macs were entry-level ones, and there was a period during which Apple sold low-end Apple Silicon Macs and high-end Intel Macs side by side.


E.g., the MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) was replaced in November 2020) by the 13" plain M1 MacBook Pro, which also had only two Thunderbolt ports. It wasn't until October 2021 that Apple was selling higher-end 14" and 16" MacBook Pros which used M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. That meant that the two Intel-based MacBook Pros listed above stuck around a while – and that is probably why they got Tahoe and your Mac, discontinued almost two years earlier, didn't.


For what it's worth, Apple has announced that macOS 26 (Tahoe) is the last major version of macOS which will run on any Intel-based Mac. To run macOS 27, when it comes out next year, you will need an Apple-Silicon-based Mac.


Oct 24, 2025 4:10 PM in response to windsj

It does not have the hardware capable of running the new version without serious usability complaints.

macOS Tahoe is compatible with these computers - Apple Support


The base Graphics card in the 16" 2019 MBP is the AMD Radeon Pro 5300M and the 15" model of that year had the AMD Radeon Pro 555X. With the UI in Tahoe being heavily dependent on Graphics processing with Liquid Glass, it may not operate in an acceptable manner. I would suspect as dialabrain mentioned, not having Metal 3 would be a problem.

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15 inch, 2019 won't update to tahoe

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