Mac OS X Cheetah. Mac OS X version 10.0, code named Cheetah, is the first major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server operating system. Mac OS X v10.0 was released on March 24, 2001 for a price of US$129. It was the successor of the Mac OS X Public Beta and the predecessor of Mac OS X v10.1.
List of older Mac OS Versions. Following Mac OS versions are still running on older Macs, but Apple does not support them anymore, and there is no point to upgrade (or downgrade) to them: OS X 10.7 Lion; OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard; Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard; Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger; Mac OS X 10.3 Panther; Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar; Mac OS X 10.1 Puma; Mac OS X. Testing conducted by Apple in October 2019 using preproduction 2.3GHz 8-core Intel Core i9-based 16-inch MacBook Pro systems with 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD. The wireless web test measures battery life by wirelessly browsing 25 popular websites with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%. About MAC Apartments. MAC Apartments offers 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom apartments & duplexes. Visit our website at macapartmentsllc.com to view our full listing of apartments and duplexes. We offer housing for business professionals, families, and student.
Which Mac operating system is the best is a topic of numerous debates among Apple fans.
Since the mission of this blog is to refute myths and legends around Macs, it’s time for me to provide my 2 cents about the issue on hand. While everything below is just my opinion, as a long-time Mac user and veteran software engineer, I hope my opinion worth something.
The best Mac OS version is the one that your Mac is eligible to upgrade to. In 2021 it is macOS Big Sur. However, for users that need to run 32-bit apps on Mac, the best macOS is Mojave. Also, older Macs would benefit if upgraded at least to macOS Sierra for which Apple still releases security patches.
To find out which macOS is currently running on your Mac, follow these steps:
Not all Macs can be upgraded to the latest OS version. For instance, old Macs powered by PowerPC CPUs cannot run OS intended for Intel-based computers. Also, some versions have hardware limitations.
For instance, Mojave cannot be installed on MacBook Pro earlier than Mid 2012 model.
Check below to know exactly what version of OS your Mac can run.
Anytime someone asks me which OS is best for them I always suggested going with the latest. Things have changed recently, however.
While personally I like macOS Big Sur and have it installed on my MacBook Pro, it comes with serious breaking changes.
The first issue is compatibility.
Big Sur is a transition OS which is designed to help Apple to move from Intel processors to their own chips on ARM.
After I installed Big Sur on my MacBook Pro mid 2020 (pre-Silicon), most of my apps, including Microsoft Office, were working as expected.
However, my VMWare Fusion 11 does not start anymore, so I have to purchase a new license if I want to keep using it (or roll back to Catalina). Luckily, I took a full backup before the upgrade.
The second breaking issue is the lack of 32-bit app support.
macOS Catalina and Big Sur can only run 64-bit apps.
If you wondering whether you should upgrade to macOS Catalina or Big Sur, first verify that you don’t have any 32-bit apps. But first, take a back up, so you can go back in case something breaks after the upgrade.
For instance, I had to remove uTorrent after upgrade. And I didn’t know that uTorrent is 32-bit!
To find out whether the app on your Mac is 32-bit or 64-bit follow these steps:
If you have an older Mac which is not eligible to upgrade with some latest software or hardware, I’d suggest upgrading at least to Sierra (or better High Sierra) for the following reasons:
The most important point when choosing the best OS is the ability to get security updates. While Apple generally does not announce the OS end of life dates, it is possible to know when they stop releasing security updates from this page.
For instance, according to the page, the last security update for OS X Yosemite was released on September 12, 2017. The last update for OS X El Capitan was in July 2018, and Carnegie Mellon University confirmed that El Capitan’s end of life date was August 2018.
I know that some users on forums believe that the best OS version for Macs was Snow Leopard. But that is a myth. And I know how such myths get created.
Once I worked in the company, which was selling a 20-year old product. And customers were still using and didn’t want to switch to new versions, because the old one was rock solid.
I then talked to the engineer who worked on the project, and he revealed that the product was a total disaster when it was first deployed. Engineers had to work on-site for almost a year in order to fix all bugs.
After five or so years of polishing the product, it becomes virtually bug-free, and nobody now remembers how bad it was when it was first rolled out. A similar thing happened Snow Leopard, and it was recognized as best mac os version after some time.
There are two ways to update to the latest OS version on Mac:
This is by far the best option, but it only available if you have Yosemite, or later OS installed already. If you enabled automatic updates, then Mac will inform you that the next macOS is available.
Just open System Preferences, go to Software Update and click on the Upgrade Now button.
This method is also best if wondering how to check if you have the latest version of OS installed on your Mac. Only the version compatible with your hardware will appear here.
For instance, my the latest version for Mac Mini 2012 is Mojave, I can’t install anything newer than that.
If you are having problems with updates or having issues post-upgrade check my post about troubleshooting macOS.
For older systems or in case you need to downgrade, you have to download a standalone installer in DMG format. DMG stands for disk image, similar to ISO, just different formats.
After downloading the installer, just double click on it and follow instructions. Again, do not forget to take a backup before the upgrade.
Following is a high-level description of all Mac operating systems as early as Mountain Lion.
You can refer to those descriptions when deciding which operating system is best for your iMac, Mac Pro, Mac mini, or MacBook.
With each OS description, I included a list of Macs supported. However, you can use Mac OS compatibility checker for more detailed information.
macOS v11 (codename Big Sur) is the latest version of the operating system for Apple computers.
Release date: October 13, 2020
Hardware Requirements: RAM requirement 4GB. Big Sur is the first OS to support new Macs using ARM technology (in the future).
Software Compatibility Issues
Only 64-bit apps are allowed to run on Big Sur.
There are two ways to install Big Sur: enable automatic updates in System Preferences or download by using the following link.
Or check my post with tips on installing macOS on unsupported devices.
Release date: October 7, 2019
Hardware Requirements: RAM requirement increased from 2GB to 4GB.
Software Compatibility Issues
macOS Catalina is the first Mac operating system that does not support 32-bit applications. Only 64-bit apps are allowed to run on Catalina.
There are two ways to install Catalina: enable automatic updates in System Preferences or download by using the following link.
Release date: September 24, 2018
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 18.5GB free space on disk
If your Mac is eligible to update to Mojave, then the easiest way to install it is by enabling automatic updates. Downloading a standalone Mojave installer could be a little tricky.
Release date: September 25, 2017
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 14.3GB free space on disk
Here is a High Sierra download link.
This is the first macOS version. Previous OS versions for Macs were called OS X (X stands for 10).
Release date: September 20, 2016
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Here is a Sierra download link.
Last OS X version.
Release date: September 30, 2015
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
same as OS Mountain Lion.
Here is El Capitan download link.
Release date: October 16, 2014
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Same as OS Mountain Lion.
Here is Yosemite download link.
First free Mac OS. Previous OS versions vary from $19.99 to $129.
Release date: October 22, 2013
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Same as OS Mountain Lion.
OS X Mavericks installer is not available on Apple Site. Follow instructions here to install Mavericks.
Must be purchased. Fixed many bugs introduced in OS X Lion.
Release date: July 25, 2012
System Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Mountain Lion installer is not available on Apple Site. Follow instructions here to install OS X Mountain Lion.
Following Mac OS versions are still running on older Macs, but Apple does not support them anymore, and there is no point to upgrade (or downgrade) to them:
Mac OS XLeopard 10.5Leopard was introduced in late 2007 after being delayed by the development for iPhone. This was the last OS to run on PowerPC chips. | Safari 5.0.6 iTunes 10.6.3 QuickTime 7.7 Java SE7 (Hack) OS X 10.5.8 Combo Update |
Mac OS XTiger 10.4Released in 2005, Tiger had some innovative new features - such as Spotlight, Dashboard, and a offline Dictionary. 10.4.4 was the first intel edition of Tiger. | Safari 4.1.3 iTunes 8.2.1 (G3) iTunes 9.2.1 (G4/G5) QuickTime 7.6.4 Java Release 9 OS X 10.4.11 Combo Update |
Mac OS XPanther 10.3Commercially available in 2003, Panther had an all new Finder that made the OS much easier to navigate with Windows Server Support out of the box. | Safari 1.3.2 (download & install Safari 1.3.1 first) iTunes 7.7.1 QuickTime 7.5 OS X 10.3.9 Combo Update |
Mac OS X Jaguar 10.2Available in 2002, Jaguar introduced Mail, Address Book, and Hand Recognition. Jaguar lived for just over a year. | Safari 1.0.3 iTunes 6.0.5 QuickTime 6.5.3 OS X 10.2.8 Combo Update |
Mac OS X Puma 10.1This was the second major release of OS X. Released exactly one month before Windows XP, Puma shared the same web browser with XP. | Internet Explorer 5.2.3 iTunes 4.7.1 QuickTime 6.3.1 OS X 10.1.5 Combo Update |
Mac OS X Puma 10.1 BetasOS X Puma Beta was the next update to Mac OS X. This time around, Apple focused on improving performance and removing bugs. Overall, it was a much more refined operating system compared to Cheetah and Windows XP. The files are compressed in 7z file format. | Final: Mirror Beta 6: Mirror Beta 5: Mirror Beta 4: Mirror |
Mac OS X Kodiak 10.0 BetasOS X 'Kodiak' Beta was the first glimpse into what Apple had planned for the next decade. It offered Developers helpful insights into how they needed to style their applications. In the final beta, they renamed the project to its public name, Cheetah. The files are compressed in 7z file format. | Beta 2: Mirror Beta 1: Mirror |