Deprecated 32-bit! All IntelliJ-based IDEs will no longer support 32-bit operating systems

Shingai Zivuku
2 min readApr 27, 2021

Recently, JetBrains announced that all its IntelliJ-based IDEs will stop supporting 32-bit operating systems, including AppCode, Clion, DataGrip, GoLand, IntelliJ IDEA, PhpStorm, PyCharm, Rider, RubyMine and WebStorm.

Original Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán from Pexels

The main reason for giving up compatibility with 32-bit operating systems is that JetBrains has discovered that the number of users using Linux and Windows 32-bit operating systems has dropped significantly over the years, and they want to focus more on compatibility with the most commonly used operating systems. And emerging architectures, such as the AArch64 architecture, which is becoming more and more popular in the macOS field.

For all IntelliJ-based IDEs, the final version that supports 32-bit operating systems is v2021.1. However, starting from v2021.2, IntelliJ-based IDEs will no longer be compatible with 32-bit OS.

In fact, when 32-bit systems and applications are eliminated, major domestic and foreign manufacturers have already begun:

In 2016, many Linux distributions announced they would iterate in an orderly manner and withdrew from the 32-bit stage. For example, Ubuntu’s Dimitri John Ledkov once stated that starting with Ubuntu 16.10, the number of 32-bit version installations will be limited. Neither the server version nor the server version provides 32-bit support. In October 2018, the latest Ubuntu 18.10 will completely end the compatibility of 32-bit software.

In 2018, Apple stated that in the future macOS will not support 32-bit applications.

In May 2020, Microsoft has announced that starting from the 2004 version of Windows 10, it will stop providing 32-bit Windows 10 to PC manufacturers, phase out 32-bit versions of Windows 10 systems, and all-new Windows 10 systems will use the 64-bit version.

In October 2020, ARM announced that all market-oriented Cortex-A large cores will only support 64-bit and will cancel 32-bit support.

In the process of backward iteration, whether it is an operating system or an application program, 32-bit elimination has become an inevitable trend. There is a big difference between 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. A 32-bit operating system can only access and support 4GB of memory, while a 64-bit system can support more memory, such as 4GB, 8GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, and so on. For the advantages of 64-bit, the most intuitive thing is that the 64-bit version is more secure and reliable.

So, as of now, are you still using 32-bit systems and software? What do you think about the parties giving up 32-bit support? Please leave a comment below to share your views.

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Shingai Zivuku

Passionate about technology and driven by a love for learning and sharing knowledge