Misleading compatibility information for Intel Macs (Codex CLI vs ChatGPT Desktop)

Intel Mac compatibility is confusing

I’m a ChatGPT Plus subscriber.

I recently purchased and configured a dedicated Intel Mac mini to use Codex for software development.

I spent many hours trying to find a ChatGPT desktop application compatible with Intel Macs because I found conflicting information online and even within OpenAI resources.

After investigating, I discovered that:

  • ChatGPT Desktop is only supported on Apple Silicon.
  • Codex CLI works perfectly on Intel Macs.
  • The distinction between the two products is not clear enough.

As a result, I wasted a significant amount of time trying to find a desktop application that does not appear to exist for Intel Macs.

I think OpenAI should clearly state on the download page:

  • :white_check_mark: ChatGPT Desktop → Apple Silicon only.
  • :white_check_mark: Codex CLI → Apple Silicon and Intel (x86_64).

This small clarification would avoid a lot of confusion for developers.

Is there any official statement about whether the ChatGPT Desktop app will ever support Intel Macs?

Thank you.

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