How can I install Final Cut Pro 10.5.4 on Catalina with “needs 14.6” error?

Until recently, Apple would give you a compatible version, but this has changed and it appears that only the current version is available.

You will probably have to recover an older version from a backup or find someone who can share it with you.

Amidee wrote:

What else could it be that it's preventing it to run?

What is preventing it to run is that the versions you tried are not compatible with Catalina.

As BenB stated this is not about being on Intel, but a matter of which version of FCP works on each version of macOS.

As I wrote before you need some version between 10.4.7 and 10.5.4.

Amidee (Author)

Appears the version FCP is too new for Catalina macOS 10.15.7.

Yet where did you get that from? ~I'm no expert in this one, but

see there appears to be a mis-match..

'Just playing janitor, sweeping the floor!'

From a quick search online, it appears that in order to work in Catalina you'll need some version of FCP between 10.4.7 and 10.5.4, inclusive.

This used to be so easy, you'd do as you did in your question, but Apple giveth it and Apple taketh away...

Amidee (Author)

The Catalina version is macOS 10.15.7 & mid-last of Intel-mac series.

Upgrade Paths for Macs running Intel & and Apple Silicon CPUs

https://www.macmaps.com/docs/DOC-13695/

Sonoma and Sequioa (2020+) are Apple Silicon based OS

and nothing older would be able to function due to hardware.

Anything which might run in the very new hardware is way beyond

those old antiques; and much older MacOS X 10.5 is Leopard, my

very old PPC G4 last model (from Late 2005) was able to run that

due to advancements in those days, & allowed pre-Intel hardware

to run. ~So that was a bridge model year. As were other later steps.

Many official Apple support articles and software have gone wayside

..& so much of those decades is officially 'OBSOLETED' before now..

PS:

(& Aimee)

Thread..'timed-out' : so added following, past natural edit window..

FinalCutPro for Mac - Technical Specifications - Apple

"The latest version of FC Pro that supports Intel-based Macs is version 11.1, released on March 27, 2025. Apple has indicated that they will continue to support and release new versions of macOS for Intel-based Macs for years to come."

FinalCutPro release notes - Apple Support

//support.apple.com › en-us › 102825

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=latest+FCP+Version+to+Support+Intel+based+Macs&t=ftsa&ia=web

The previous history lesson would be helpful to get your facts in order:

•Mac transition to Apple silicon - Wikipedia

•Apple announces Mac transition to Apple silicon - Apple

•How 30 years of chip transitions paved the way for the spectacular.. - macworld

•Intel to Apple Silicon Transition for Mac Was Announced ... - MacRumors

newer URLs found here: (edited)

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ftsa&q=macOS+intel+to+apple+silicon+transition&ia=web

Amidee wrote:

btw why is the forum censoring the word c u t???

I also noticed that *** is being, well, ***, but seemingly only in thread titles, not within a thread.

EDIT: Hah, I see it's happening within threads too.

Hopefully it gets fixed soon since it's not a great look to have part of your application name mistakenly disallowed.

terryb:

Also this issue, often reported since it began in less

public channels ~ where it may hopefully see a Fix..

..This too affects any 'search' terms from ASC..

The Apple Community's irksome issue makes bad

search results, that also carries those *** forward!

.Of those, once copied and sent out cannot be fixed

duck-duck-go keeps those asterisks alive in results.

If not for my participation, I'd have Un-Followed.

Thank you for your contribution! 💮🐟🐻🍄❄️

"...does anybody have any idea what is the latest FCPX version to support Intel?"

FCP 11.1.1 runs on Intel.

Another possibility, since you have access to FCP 10.4, might be to install macOS Mojave on the old Mac, assuming it is compatible.