11 Years Mac OS
- Mac OS X 10.2 'Jaguar': For the first time, Mac OS X comes in two flavours, regular and Server editions. Jaguar 10.2 Server costs more, and uses a serial-number, but with general-user apps replaced with administrator-level server toys, it is a single CD of 635MB.
- If you aren’t running iTunes 12.8 and at least Mac OS X 10.11.6 (El Capitan) your Mac will not recognise your iPhone or iPad. The list suggests that once a Mac is eight years old it is time.
Is your Mac up to date with the latest version of the Mac operating system? Is it using the version required by a product that you want to use with your Mac? Which versions are earlier (older) or later (newer, more recent)? To find out, learn which version is installed now.
“Puma” Mac OS X 10.1 (Puma) is the second major release of the Mac OS X, which was released on.
If your macOS isn't up to date, you may be able to update to a later version.
Which macOS version is installed?
From the Apple menu in the corner of your screen, choose About This Mac. You should see the macOS name, such as macOS Big Sur, followed by its version number. If you need to know the build number as well, click the version number to see it.
Which macOS version is the latest?
These are all Mac operating systems, starting with the most recent. When a major new macOS is released, it gets a new name, such as macOS Big Sur. As updates that change the macOS version number become available, this article is updated to show the latest version of that macOS.
If your Mac is using an earlier version of any Mac operating system, you should install the latest Apple software updates, which can include important security updates and updates for the apps that are installed by macOS, such as Safari, Books, Messages, Mail, Music, Calendar, and Photos.
| macOS | Latest version |
|---|---|
| macOS Big Sur | 11.3 |
| macOS Catalina | 10.15.7 |
| macOS Mojave | 10.14.6 |
| macOS High Sierra | 10.13.6 |
| macOS Sierra | 10.12.6 |
| OS X El Capitan | 10.11.6 |
| OS X Yosemite | 10.10.5 |
| OS X Mavericks | 10.9.5 |
| OS X Mountain Lion | 10.8.5 |
| OS X Lion | 10.7.5 |
| Mac OS X Snow Leopard | 10.6.8 |
| Mac OS X Leopard | 10.5.8 |
| Mac OS X Tiger | 10.4.11 |
| Mac OS X Panther | 10.3.9 |
| Mac OS X Jaguar | 10.2.8 |
| Mac OS X Puma | 10.1.5 |
| Mac OS X Cheetah | 10.0.4 |
It was two decades ago to the day—March 24, 2001—that Mac OS X first became available to users the world over. We're not always big on empty sentimentality here at Ars, but the milestone seemed worthy of a quick note.
Of course, Mac OS X (or macOS 10 as it was later known) didn't quite survive to its 20th birthday; last year's macOS Big Sur update brought the version number up to 11, ending the reign of X.But despite its double life on x86 and ARM processors and its increasingly close ties to iOS and iPadOS, today's macOS is still very much a direct descendant of that original Mac OS X release. Mac OS X, in turn, evolved in part from Steve Jobs' NeXT operating system—which had recently been acquired by Apple—and its launch was the harbinger of the second Jobs era at Apple.
Cheetah, Mac OS X's initial release, was pretty buggy. But it introduced a number of things that are still present in the operating system today. Those included the dock, which—despite some refinements and added features—is still fundamentally the same now as it ever was, as well as the modern version of Finder. And while macOS has seen a number of UI and design tweaks that have changed over time, the footprints of Cheetah's much-hyped Aqua interface can still be found all over Big Sur.
AdvertisementOS X brought many new features and technologies we now take for granted, too. For example, it enabled Apple's laptops to wake up from sleep immediately, and it introduced dynamic memory management, among other things.
11 Years Mac Os X
Mac OS X's greatest impact in retrospect may be in the role it had in inspiring and propping up iOS, which has far surpassed macOS as Apple's most widely used operating system. And indeed, macOS lives in a very different context today than it did in 2001. It was recently bumped from the No.2 operating system spot globally by Google's Chrome OS, ending a very long run for Mac OS as the world's second-most popular desktop operating system in terms of units shipped.
The most popular desktop operating system in 2021 is Windows, just as it was in 2001, but the most popular OS overall is Google's Android, which has dramatically larger market share in the mobile space than iOS does.So while Mac OS X's influence is profound, it exists today primarily as a support for iOS, which is also itself not the most popular OS in its category. Despite Apple's resounding success in the second Steve Jobs era, as well as in the recent Tim Cook era, the Mac is still a relatively niche platform—beloved by some, but skipped by much of the mainstream.
11 Years Mac Os Catalina
After 20 years, a lot has changed, but a whole lot has stayed the same.