Apple's macOS is the operating system for the MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac mini. The latest version is macOS 14 Sonoma.
Apple
Release date: Release Date coming Fall 2024 (specific date to be announced)
Likely named after the national park in California, the next version of the Mac operation system, macOS 15 Sequoia, will introduce Apple Intelligence to Macs with Apple silicon, Continuity for iPhone mirroring, and updates to many of the core apps.
iPhone Mirroring puts your iPhone screen directly on your Mac, letting you control everything from your computer. This includes making and receiving FaceTime calls and controlling all your apps. Notifications for both devices are visible on your Mac and you can move files between them via simple drag and drop.
Safari's update will make it easier to get what you need out of the web pages you visit with a summary and table of contents. Messages includes Send Later so you can schedule texts, and the ability to add animated effects to any letter, word, or phrase.
Maps in macOS 15 will feature topographic maps and thousands of trail hikes that you can save offline. The Notes app is getting live audio transcriptions, Math Notes which solves problems as you type, and a new highlight style to mark up your notes.
Other changes include new Calculator features like history and unit conversions, the ability to edit reminders from Calendar, and collections (like Recent Days and People & Pets) in the Photos app.
There's also a new app coming to macOS called Passwords. It can store all the passwords and verification codes you need to easily log in to all your accounts. With online syncing, it will work on all your Apple devices (including Vision Pro) and even Windows.
How to Update a MacRelease date: September 26, 2023
MacOS 14 Sonoma, named for the northern California region famous for its vineyards, is the 20th major release of the Mac operating system. It offers several improvements over Ventura.
The first major update is the ability to add and manage widgets on your desktop. When your iPhone is nearby, you can also pass widgets from there to your Mac.
Game Mode is a processing mode that minimizes all other processes when you have a game open. This option aims to give as many resources as possible to the software you're using. Sonoma also includes improvements when you're using game controllers and AirPods to minimize latency.
Safari gets profiles to help you separate work from personal life. Private browsing also gets a boost to help block more trackers, and you can securely share credentials through iCloud.
Should I Upgrade to macOS Sonoma?Release date:October 24, 2022
MacOS 13 Ventura, named for the California coastal city famous for its beaches, surfers, and windsurfers, is the 19th major release of the Mac operating system. The operating system adds new continuity features and powerful productivity tools to take the Mac experience to a new level of performance.
Stage Manager is a new feature that automatically organizes open files and apps on the desktop so users can better focus on the main window they are working in instead of dozens of open windows begging for attention. Stage Manager puts the main window squarely in the center of the screen and groups other open files and apps into small icons on the left side of the screen.
Mac Mail receives an enormous overhaul in Ventura. Finally, senders can schedule emails and cancel delivery. In addition, users can opt to return to a message at a specific date and time and receive prompts to follow up on an email after no response.
Continuity is a central feature of macOS and increases the options for interacting with more than one of your Apple devices when convenient. Take a call on your iPhone? When you get near your Mac, you get a prompt to switch to the bigger screen. Plus, a new Handoff feature for FaceTime makes it easy to pass a FaceTime call from an iPhone to an iPad or Mac. The Continuity Camera feature also means users can use the phone as a webcam for their Macs.
Additional new features include:
Release date: October 25, 2021
Apple
Named for the city of Monterey on California's rugged central coast, macOS Monterey is the 18th major release of the Mac operating system. It builds on the robust foundation of Big Sur and is loaded with enhancements.
Universal Control addresses the long-awaited desire to control side-by-side Macs and iPads with a single mouse, trackpad, and keyboard.
Improvements abound in the Mac core apps. Messages has a convenient Save button for Photos; Apple Books was upgraded with Reading Goals, Reading Now, and Want to Read features. Safari has a major redesign that includes a streamlined tab bar, tab groups, and iCloud Private Relay. This service ensures the traffic leaving your Mac is encrypted so it can't be intercepted and used.
FaceTime audio and video received an extensive update. In group FaceTime calls, you and the other participants can watch TV and movies together or listen to music. Synced playback means you can pause, fast-forward or jump to a new screen, and the change occurs on all the call participants' screens in real time.
A few new features require a Mac with Apple's M1 chip. These include a portrait mode on FaceTime, on-device dictation of any length without a time out, spatial audio, an interactive globe, and new city experiences for the Maps app.
Additional new features include:
Release date: November 12, 2020
Named for the mountainous region in central California, macOS 11 Big Sur is the 17th major release of the Mac operating system. Unveiled at WWDC20, the new design of macOS Big Sur is stunningly beautiful and iOS-like familiar.
Unlike Catalina, which delivered minor improvements over Mojave, macOS Big Sur embodies the most significant changes to the Apple operating system in years. One notable difference is that it allows the new M1-chip Macs to run iPad and iPhone apps directly on the Mac.
Here are other changes you'll find:
The key new features include:
Released: October 7, 2019
Apple, Inc.Announced in June 2019 at WWDC, macOS 10.15 Catalina (named for the island off the coast of California) is the 16th major release of the computer operating system. It's the first version of macOS to support 64-bit applications only and became a free update to all Mac users in September 2019.
It features a new development system called Catalyst, allowing developers to target macOS Catalina and iPadOS with the same app. Voice control continues Apple's quest to let you control your Mac with your voice.
Here are other changes that Apple made in Catalina:
These are the key new features:
Released: September 24, 2018
macOS 10.14, or Mojave, was initially announced in June 2018 at WWDC and released on September 24 that same year. Named for California's Mojave Desert, macOS 10.14 brought iOS apps Apple News, Voice Memos, and Home to the Mac desktop. It also included a better dark mode and was the last version of macOS to support 32-bit applications (you'll receive a notification when attempting to use these).
The Finder got a new view for file metadata and a new Gallery View to browse files visually. When you take a screenshot, the image appears briefly in the corner of the screen, similar to iOS. macOS Mojave also added video capability to its screenshot tool.
Mojave includes Group FaceTime, which lets you chat with up to 32 people at once using video or audio from your Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch.
Safari, Apple's web browser, added tracking protection and sent less information about your system to websites. It can create strong passwords for new online accounts, store them, and autofill forms.
The Mac App Store was rebuilt with a new interface and editorial content, bringing it in line with the iOS App Store. There's a new Discover tab and Create, Work, Play, and Develop tab for easier app discovery. News, Stocks, Voice Memos, and Home (for HomeKit automation) apps came over from iOS with this release.
Key new features include:
Released: September 25, 2017
Tatsuo Yamashita / CC By 2.0 / FlickrNamed for the High Sierra mountain region in California, macOS 10.13 was the 14th release of macOS. This sequel to the previous OS, Sierra (10.12), offered performance and technical updates rather than a complete overhaul.
Apple replaced the HFS Plus file system with a new Apple File System, which supported technologies like 64-bit inode numbers and flash memory to speed up everyday file-related tasks like duplicating, finding, and backing up files.
Here are other notable changes:
Key new features include:
Released: September 20, 2016
iphonedigital / CC By 2.0 / FlickrmacOS 10.12 Sierra, named for the Sierra Nevada region in California, was the first Macintosh operating system called macOS. It took over for OS X El Capitan (also named after a well-known California geographical feature). First announced in June 2016, macOS Sierra came as a free update to El Capitan in September.
It brought a host of features that exist in macOS today, including:
Apps got new features, including:
Key new features include:
macOS is a continuation of Mac OS X (later called OS X, pronounced oh-ess-ten), initially released in 2001. It is built on Unix and shares many under-the-hood similarities to Unix and Linux, most notably multiuser support, preemptive multitasking, and access to the system using Terminal.
OS X was renamed in 2016 as macOS 10.12 Sierra to match Apple's other operating systems like iOS, watchOS, and tvOS.
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