MacOS has supported three major processor architectures, beginning with PowerPC-based Macs in 1999. After sixteen distinct versions of macOS 10, macOS Big Sur was presented as version 11 in 2020, and macOS Monterey was presented as version 12 in 2021. Apple shortened the name to "OS X" in 2012 and then changed it to "macOS" in 2016 to align with the branding of Apple's other operating systems, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS.
Ī prominent part of macOS's original brand identity was the use of Roman numeral X, pronounced "ten" as in Mac OS X and also the iPhone X, as well as code naming each release after species of big cats, or places within California. Apple's mobile operating system, iOS, has been considered a variant of macOS. All releases from Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and after are UNIX 03 certified, with an exception for OS X 10.7 Lion. The first desktop version, Mac OS X 10.0, was released in March 2001, with its first update, 10.1, arriving later that year. During this time, Apple cofounder Steve Jobs had left Apple and started another company, NeXT, developing the NeXTSTEP platform that would later be acquired by Apple to form the basis of macOS. MacOS succeeded the classic Mac OS, a Macintosh operating system with nine releases from 1984 to 1999. Within the market of desktop and laptop computers it is the second most widely used desktop OS, after Microsoft Windows and ahead of Chrome OS. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers.
So if by any chance you have an old Mac and want to install an old version, you can choose one of the two paths: The new M1 Macs, for example, can only be restored to macOS 11 Big Sur. For example, only Macs launched before 2012 are eligible to install them and the user must factory reset their computer to be able to run these older OS X systems.
Why would I install an older Mac OS X software?Īs for now, a limited number of Macs can install these old operating systems.
Some features require an Apple ID terms apply.OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or later or OS X Lion 10.7 already installed.Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor.Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is available for older systems that are not compatible with the latest version of macOS and requires the following: Ten years ago, users needed to pay Apple $19.99 for the latest version of its OS X, and now you can finally download these two for free.Īs reported by MacWorld, through support pages, it’s possible to download them for free. Released in 20, Mac OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion were the last paid software updates for the Mac.