If you’re a MacBook user, you use Boot Camp to run Windows alongside Mac OS X, and you’re planning to get a new MacBook, you should be aware that Apple is quickly dropping support of Windows 7 on its new MacBook – you know, the one that only features one USB type C port –, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air.
Moving forward, if you purchase a new Mac and you want to dual-boot Mac OS X with Windows, you’ll need to choose Windows 8 or later.
More specifically, according to the Apple’s support site, Boot Camp on early-2015 13-inch MacBook Pro (retina), 13- and 11-inch MacBook Air, are only compatible with Windows 8 and newer versions.
This new change does not affect the requirements to install Windows 7 on older Mac computers. Apple has updated its Boot Camp system requirement support page with a comprehensive list of devices that still support Windows 7.
For those planning to get a new MacBook, luckily there are other solutions to run Windows 7 on the 2015 models of Mac that includes using virtualization software, such as VMware Fusion and Parallels – They are both paid software, but well worth it if you need to run Windows applications to get the work done. Basically, these solutions let users run Windows 7 fully and applications alongside Mac OS X and apps, the experience may not be one-hundred percent optimal, but it’s more than good enough.
Apple’s decision to drop support is not surprising, Windows 7 was first available in 2009, now it’s been close to six years, Windows 8 is out, and Windows 10 is scheduled to arrive during the summer. Although, Windows 7 is more than half a decade old, it’s still the most popular operating system in the world, but Apple feels it is time to let go, even though people have yet adapted to Windows 8.
