AutoCAD 2019 was the last version built with a : It ran efficiently on both Intel-based Macs (using a native Cocoa framework) and older hardware.
To sum up, achieving the experience requires three things:
Running older software on newer Mac hardware—particularly the Apple Silicon M1, M2, and M3 chips—can be a mixed bag. While Rosetta 2 translation allows Intel-based apps like AutoCAD 2019 to run, it is not as efficient or stable as running a natively optimized version like AutoCAD 2024 or 2025. Therefore, while 2019 might be the "best" for an older machine running macOS Mojave, it is certainly not the best choice for a brand-new MacBook Pro.
Note: Users with older Macs could still fall back to OpenGL, preserving compatibility.
