What is really sad is that I don't think the majority of Apple consumers really understand what this means for the Intel macs in the long run. I fear a number of people will buy them not realizing they have a very limited lifespan.
> […] not realizing they have a very limited lifespan.
It may depend on one's definition of "limited": the Rosetta was first released with Mac OS 10.4 in 2005, [1][2] and was last available in Mac OS 10.6, which first released in 2010, [3] but whose last update was in 2011.
Six years of transitional support is not unreasonable.
They won't, necessarily. Fat binaries worked ok the last time around. Sure, Apple could stop making updates available for Intel Macs, but they can stop making updates available for any older model of Mac if they want to.
If those devices will have 4-5 years worth of use, then I think most people would be fine with the purchase. 4-5 years already does require upgrading for either performance or quality of life features.
Part of the motivation for the transition is the hope that the progress will be much faster over the next 6. If that happens, those intel macs may age out sooner.
