Bummer: Many older Macs can’t run OS X Mountain Lion

With each new release of Apple’s operating system, several older Mac models get left out in the cold when it comes to support. The just-announced Mountain Lion OS is no exception, and thanks to TUAW we now we have a list of several machines that won’t run it when it comes out late Summer 2012.

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Much like the jump from Leopard to Snow Leopard, the upgrade to the new Mountain Lion OS will act as a minor update to last year’s Lion OS. The Mountain Lion update will mostly look just like Lion, except it will add in iOS-like features. It will offer deeper integration with iCloud (even though iCloud is still mostly a failure), and it will offer a Notification Center and Game Center for staying better connected. It will also add in iMessage, Reminders, and Notes from iOS.

TUAW dug into the system requirements to find out which Mac models will be to run Mountain Lion. According to TUAW’s list, the following models will support the new OS:

• iMac (mid 2007 or newer)
• MacBook aluminum edition: (13 inch 2008 or newer)
• MacBook plastic edition: (early 2009 or newer)
• Macbook Pro (2009, or late 2007 if you had a 17-inch version or newer)
• MacBook Air (2008 or newer)
• Mac Mini (early 2009 or newer)
• Mac Pro (early 2008 or newer)
• Xserve (early 2009 or newer)

And of course, this means that the following older models will not run Mountain Lion:

• Late 2006 iMacs (iMac5,1, iMac5,2, iMac6,1)
• All plastic MacBooks that pre-date the aluminum unibody redesign (MacBook2,1, MacBook3,1, MacBook4,1)
• MacBook Pros released prior to June 2007 (MacBookPro2,1, MacBookPro2,2)
• The original MacBook Air (MacBookAir1,1)
• The Mid-2007 Mac mini (Macmini2,1)
• The original Mac Pro and its 8-core 2007 refresh (MacPro1,1, MacPro2,1)
• Late 2006 and Early 2008 Xserves (Xserve1,1, Xserve2,1)

Did your machine make the cut or will you stuck with Lion?

Mountain lion photo: Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority