Starting with macOS 26.4, Mac users may receive a message warning them about LightBurn's compatibility with future versions of macOS — specifically macOS 28.
If you receive this warning, here's what you need to know:
- Don't panic! You don't need to do anything right now — you can ignore the message and keep using your current version of LightBurn as usual.
- We are working on updated builds of LightBurn that will ensure compatibility with future versions of macOS.
- Compatible LightBurn builds will be ready in time for macOS 28.
- At that time, you will need to upgrade LightBurn if you use the latest version of macOS. If your license has expired, you will need to renew to do that.
As a reminder to Mac users whose licenses may expire before the release of 2.2, if you renew your key early you will receive an extra two months added onto to your update period.
For a more detailed explanation of the upcoming changes, how we're addressing them, and how to determine if they'll affect you, keep reading.
Here's the timeline:
- Beginning in November 2020, Apple began selling some computers with ARM-based CPUs, sometimes referred to as "Apple silicon" or "M series" chips. Since June 2023, all Apple computers have been manufactured with "M series" chips.
- ARM is a CPU architecture — what exactly that means is not important. What is important is that ARM architecture is distinct from Intel architecture.
- All previous releases of LightBurn have been built for Intel architecture, and are incompatible with ARM.
- Since the release of ARM-based Macs, Apple has provided a special software called Rosetta 2, which serves as a "translator", so that programs built for Intel will work with their ARM-based chips.
- Apple has announced that with the release macOS 28 (anticipated fall 2027), they will no longer provide this translator. In order to function on an ARM-based Mac running macOS 28 (or later), a program must be specifically built for that architecture.
What does this mean for you?
Any user that has a Mac with an "M series" chip and updates to macOS 28 will be required to update to LightBurn 2.2.00 (or later). Previous versions of LightBurn will not run on macOS 28. This will also affect any user who purchases a new Mac after the release of macOS 28.
Users with Intel-based Macs are unaffected, and we will continue providing builds for Intel-based Macs for the foreseeable future.
A note for Windows users: although Microsoft has not announced any intention to end support for Intel-based apps on their ARM-based machines, we are also working on providing ARM-native builds for Windows, soon.
To check if your Mac has an "M series" chip, go to → About this Mac. If you see "M" in the name of the chip, your computer will be affected only if you choose to update to macOS 28. If you see "Intel" in the name, your Mac is unaffected.
If your license's update period expired prior to the release of LightBurn 2.2, and you upgrade to macOS 28 or purchase a new Mac, you will be required to renew your license and upgrade to 2.2 to run LightBurn on your computer.
This is a consequence of our non-subscription based licensing model. While LightBurn licenses are perpetual, it is not possible for us to guarantee that outdated versions of LightBurn will remain permanently compatible with all future hardware or operating systems.
Subscription-based licensing models price the work of maintaining compatibility into a recurring charge for all their users, while we limit the cost to only those users who choose to upgrade their OS or hardware.
Affected users will also get all the new features and improvements that have come along since the last time they updated.
As always, our goal is to provide the fairest possible licensing system we can, while still staying in business.
If you have any questions, please email us at Support@LightBurnSoftware.com or join our support forum (Forum.LightBurnSoftware.com).