macOS Mojave drops Back to My Mac iCloud feature, Apple Remote Desktop recommended

Zac Hall | Aug 21 2018 - 11:15 am PT

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When macOS Mojave is released later this fall, the operating system update will drop support for the Back to My Mac iCloud feature that lets you network with other Macs remotely. In place of Back to My Mac, Apple recommends iCloud Drive, screen sharing, and Apple Remote Desktop.

Back to My Mac has been absent in macOS Mojave developer and public betas, and Apple details the transition in a support document dated earlier this month. According to Brian Stucki, Apple is alerting Back to My Mac users with an alert on macOS. As Stucki also references, the $79.99 Apple Remote Desktop app that Apple recommends hasn’t been updated since February 2017 which doesn’t breathe confidence.

Here’s how Apple described Back to My Mac:

Back to My Mac is an iCloud feature that lets you set up a network of Mac computers that you can access remotely. Here’s what you can do with Back to My Mac:

– File sharing: Find files and folders on your remote Mac and drag them to your local Mac.

– Screen sharing: Use your remote Mac just like you were sitting in front of it. You can use your local mouse and keyboard to open applications and edit documents on your remote Mac.

Starting with macOS Mojave, however, Apple recommends relying on iCloud Drive for syncing files between Macs, using screen sharing for remote access, or using the more robust Apple Remote Desktop app.

In addition to ending support for Back to My Mac, macOS Mojave will also be the last version of macOS that supports 32-bit apps. Going forward, Apple will require 64-bit software to run on future versions of macOS.

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