Comment Re:Aren't they the same thing? (Score 1) 85
While it is true that Apple support of modern MacOS on pre-2012 Macs does not exist, de facto support does.
The OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP) project natively supports roughly over 50 distinct Apple computer models released between 2006 and 2011. By injecting necessary data into memory at boot time, OCLP allows these vintage units to bypass Apple's blocks and natively run modern versions of macOS—specifically macOS 11 Big Sur, 12 Monterey, 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, and 15 Sequoia. Apple dropped Intel support completely with macOS 26 Tahoe, so Sequoia is the final modern version legacy Intel hardware can reliably run.
However, since these machines have standard Intel x86 architecture, 100% of pre-2012 Intel Mac models can run today's standard Linux distributions. Popular choices like Linux Mint, Ubuntu, and Debian fully support vintage Mac hardware released from 2006 to 2011, granting them security updates long after official Apple lifecycles end.To review specific compatibility guides or breathe life into old hardware, check out the official Dortania OCLP Supported Models Matrix.