Five years ago, Apple stopped development on Aperture and iPhoto, two apps made for photo management, the former being the professional app and the latter the app for general consumers. Apple replaced those apps with Photos, but you could still run the older apps, and Aperture users were more likely to stick with Aperture.
However, Apple recently announced that Aperture, a 32-bit app, will not work in future versions of macOS, which will eventually support only 64-bit apps. If you’ve been holding out, you have to make one of the following choices:
- Switch over to Photos
- Switch to a third-party app, such as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
- Never upgrade macOS beyond Mojave, the last version that will work with Aperture
If you really love Aperture, you could pick the third option, but eventually, you’ll need to upgrade to the latest OS. Apple has a support document that details how to migrate your Aperture library to Photos or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. If you choose Lightroom, be warned that there are several conditions to consider when migrating. For example, images with Aperture’s non-destructive adjustment layer are not migrated over.
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor
Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he's worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.