MacOS Catalina marks Apple’s move away from the desert to the beautiful waters off the Californian coast, an ideal place for sailing, diving, and so much more. Catalina includes a slew of cool new features, some new apps, and some powerful technology for developers worldwide.
However, the release of Catalina also puts an end to some of your favorite apps. In reality, a number of older apps will not work or crash if you attempt to open them in macOS Catalina. Indeed, there have been reports of apps not working in macOS Catalina recently. In the section below, we will show you the steps on how to fix apps not working in macOS Catalina.
We also made a list of all apps that won’t work in macOS Catalina. Note that macOS Catalina is still in the early stages, meaning that it needs some polishing. The current form of the beta includes bugs and glitches, so we recommend you install it on a secondary device.
Make Sure Your Apps are not 32-bit
Apple says that macOS Catalina will end support for 32-bit apps. The firm believes these old apps won’t offer a good user experience on a modern macOS version. In reality, this is not the first time Apple discontinues 32-bit apps. In 2017, the release of iOS 11 put an end to all 32-bit apps.
Apple also encourages third-party developers to update their apps to make them compatible with modern macOS versions. If your apps fail to work in Catalina, then make sure your apps are not 32-bit.
How To Check if you Have a 32-bit app
Apple allows Mac owners to check if their apps will work in Catalina. To do this, click on the Apple logo in the top left corner, then choose About this Mac and click on System Report. From here, click on Software, then select Applications and check if your apps are listed as a 64-bit application or not.
In short, if you still rely on 32-bit apps, then make sure you contact the developer to make sure they know the app needs an update. Alternatively, stick with an older version of macOS, which is not something we recommend to you.
Which Apps Won’t Work in macOS Catalina
Apple did not specify which apps won’t run in Catalina, but we are here to help. In reality, we tested some of the most used Mac apps to see if they are compatible with Catalina or not.
Some apps like Adobe Illustrator CS5, Apple Aperture, Microsoft PowerPoint 2011, and Microsoft Word 2011 won’t run in macOS Catalina. If you still like one of those apps, then make sure you update them.
Download: Office 2019 for Mac
In reality, Microsoft officially ended support for Office 2011 back in 2017, instead, focusing on modern Office versions. So, it’s a good idea to update your Office. Microsoft announced Office 2019 for Mac that offers cool features to help users create amazing content.
Adobe Apps That Won’t Work in Catalina
Adobe is one of the leading providers of creativity and multimedia products. MacOS Catalina is the best place for creating and editing your videos and photos. In reality, Adobe has begun switching to 64-bit apps recently, but some Mac owners still stick with old versions that won’t run in Catalina.
Some apps like Photoshop, Lightroom, and Premiere Pro are now running the latest versions, so make sure you are up-to-date.
Un-install Apps
If your apps still fail to work in macOS Catalina, then the best shot is to uninstall them. However, the method used to uninstall a Mac app is a little different from Windows PCs. To do this, you simply drag the app to the Trash. There is no need to do anything else.
If your apps are still in 32-bit mode, then it’s time to remove it completely. To do this, head over to the Library folder, then open the Finder and click on Go at the top. After that, press and hold the Option key and open the Library folder. Now just simply remove any related files from the list.
Note: Be careful when deleting an app from your Mac. A wrong turn may negatively impact your Mac.
If nothing is fixed, then the last hope for success is to reset your Mac to its stable state. To do this, make sure you check our article here.
Also read: How to reset a MacBook Pro
Wrapping Up
MacOS Catalina is a big update that gives us a handy way to do your things. There is still a lot of work to be done ahead of its final release. If you want to install macOS Catalina in the current beta form, then we suggest you get it on a secondary machine.
I have a 64-bit version of Photoshop CS 5 installed. Since it is 64-bit, will it still work or can it be tweaked to work with Catalina? There was a tweak that allows it to be used with Mojave and I have been very satisfied. I can’t afford to pay $500+ a year to Adobe for something I don’t use but a couple of times a month. Thank you for this forum.