What system software can my Mac run?

Mac
Two MacBook Pro computers side by side

Most recently updated: March 29, 2026

This article is a little different from my usual. Normally, I cover tips and tricks for everyday Apple users, but I also maintain this as a reference document for myself and anyone who needs it. I update it each year when Apple announces new system software.

Below you'll find tables of each Mac model from the past several years, a list of all macOS versions they can run, and a reference table of all macOS versions with useful details.

Since 2013, Apple has released a major system software upgrade every fall. From time to time, older Mac models don't make the cut for the newest version. There's no precise pattern, but most Macs receive OS upgrades for about 7 to 8 years, followed by security patches for another two years. Going the other direction, you can never downgrade past the original OS your Mac came with.

What Mac do I have?

To find out what system software your Mac can run, you'll first need to know which Mac you have.

Click the Apple menu and choose "About This Mac." If you are running OS X 10.7 through 10.10, you'll also need to click "More Info."

macOS Version History

NameVersionRelease DateFinal Security PatchWhere To GetUpgrade
From
Key Features
macOS Tahoe26September 15, 2025Fall 2028 (predicted)Software Update10.15Liquid Glass redesign, Live Translation, Phone app, multiple iMessage features, Passkey migration
macOS Sequoia15September 16, 2024Fall 2027 (predicted)Mac App Store10.13Apple Intelligence, iPhone mirroring, window tiling, Math Notes, Send Later for iMessage
macOS Sonoma14September 26, 2023Fall 2026 (predicted)Mac App Store10.13Drone screensavers, desktop widgets, video conferencing improvements, iCloud Keychain sharing, third-party Passkey managers, Web Apps, Game Mode
macOS Ventura13October 24, 2022August 20, 2025Mac App Store10.12Send Later for Mail, Passkeys, Unsend and Edit for Messages, Family Sharing for Photos, Stage Manager, Continuity Camera
macOS Monterey12October 25, 2021July 29, 2024Mac App Store10.9Focus, AirPlay Receiver, FaceTime SharePlay, Universal Control, Shortcuts for Mac
macOS Big Sur11November 12, 2020September 2023Mac App Store10.9Cosmetic redesign, Control Center, Messages/Maps ported from iPadOS, APFS drives for Time Machine, support for Apple processors
macOS Catalina10.15October 7, 2019July 2022Mac App Store10.9Find My app, Sidecar, Music/Podcasts/TV replaces iTunes
macOS Mojave10.14September 24, 2018July 2021Mac App Store10.8Dark Mode, Desktop Stacks, last OS to support 32-bit Intel apps
macOS High Sierra10.13September 25, 2017November 2020Mac App Store10.8Apple File System, Metal 2, HEVC and HEIF support
macOS Sierra10.12September 20, 2016October 2019Download10.7Siri, Apple Pay, Desktop & Documents in iCloud
OS X El Capitan10.11September 30, 2015September 2018Mac App Store10.6Public Transit in Maps, Metal API
OS X Yosemite10.10October 16, 2014August 2017Download10.6UI redesign without skeuomorphism, Continuity & Handoff, Photos replaces iPhoto
OS X Mavericks10.9October 22, 2013September 2016Unavailable10.6iBooks, Apple Maps, first OS X upgrade to be free
OS X Mountain Lion10.8July 25, 2012September 2015Download10.6iMessage, Reminders, Notes, Notification Center
Mac OS X Lion10.7July 20, 2011October 2014Download10.6Launchpad, auto-hiding scrollbars, Mission Control, iCloud
Mac OS X Snow Leopard10.6August 28, 2009February 2014(unofficial) from Amazon10.4Stability refinements, last OS to support PowerPC apps on Intel
Mac OS X Leopard10.5October 26, 2007June 2011Unavailable10.4Time Machine, Spaces, 64-bit support, MobileMe
Mac OS X Tiger10.4April 29, 2005September 2009UnavailableFirst release for Intel Macs, Spotlight, Automator, Dashboard, Dictionary
Mac OS X Panther10.3October 24, 2003March 2007UnavailableFast user switching, Exposé, Font Book, FileVault, Safari
Mac OS X Jaguar10.2October 23, 2002January 2007UnavailableCUPS printing system, Universal Access, HFS+ journaling, Bonjour
Mac OS X Puma10.1September 29, 2001November 2006UnavailableDVD video player, Image Capture
Mac OS X Cheetah10.0March 24, 2001November 2006UnavailableDock, Address Book, Terminal, original release of Mac OS X built on FreeBSD/UNIX
Mac OS 99October 23, 1999December 5, 2001UnavailableMulti-user support
Mac OS 88July 26, 1997May 10, 1999UnavailableSkins, HFS+, Sherlock (now Spotlight)
Mac OS 77May 13, 1991April 7, 1997UnavailableVirtual memory, file sharing, QuickTime
System 66April 1988March 1992UnavailableImproved multitasking
System 55October 1987November 1987UnavailableMultiFinder, basic multitasking
System 44January 1987March 2, 1987Unavailable
System 33January 19861988Unavailable
System 22April 1985September 1985Unavailable"Shut down" command, folders, screenshots
System 11January 24, 1984May 5, 1984Unavailable

About downgrading macOS versions

Downgrading macOS in-place can seriously destabilize your computer, because all of your settings files will have been updated to work with the newer software. The better path is to back up your data, create a USB installer for the version you want, erase your Mac, and install the older OS fresh. Then restore your documents and reinstall your apps manually. If working in Terminal isn't your thing, Mist is an excellent tool for downloading macOS installers with a friendlier interface.

One edge case: if you upgraded recently and want to go back, you can boot into macOS Recovery and restore from a Time Machine backup made before the upgrade. Keep in mind that any changes made since that backup will be lost, so this option really only makes sense immediately after an upgrade that didn't go well.

Mac system software compatibility

MacBook

Not to be confused with MacBook Air, MacBook Neo, or MacBook Pro. Apple discontinued the MacBook line in 2019; the last model was the 12-inch Retina from 2017. No MacBook can run past macOS 13 Ventura.

NameIdentifier10.410.510.610.710.810.910.1010.1110.1210.1310.1410.15111213
MacBook (13-inch)MacBook1,1
MacBook (13-inch, Late 2006)MacBook2,1
MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2007)MacBook2,1
MacBook (13-inch, Late 2007)MacBook3,1
MacBook (13-inch, Early 2008)MacBook4,1
MacBook (13-inch, Late 2008)MacBook4,1
MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008)MacBook5,1
MacBook (13-inch, Early 2009)MacBook5,2
MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2009)MacBook5,2
MacBook (13-inch, Late 2009)MacBook6,1
MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2010)MacBook7,1
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)MacBook8,1
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)MacBook9,1
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, 2017)MacBook10,1

MacBook Neo

The MacBook Neo was introduced in March 2026 as Apple's most affordable laptop, starting at $599. It is the first Mac to use an A-series chip (A18 Pro) rather than an M-series chip. The MacBook Neo runs only macOS Tahoe 26, as it shipped after Sequoia was no longer the current OS.

NameIdentifier26
MacBook Neo (2026)Mac17,5

MacBook Air

NameIdentifier10.510.610.710.810.910.1010.1110.1210.1310.1410.15111213141526
MacBook Air (Early 2008)MacBookAir1,1
MacBook Air (Late 2008)MacBookAir2,1
MacBook Air (Mid 2009)MacBookAir2,1
MacBook Air (11-inch, Late 2010)MacBookAir3,1
MacBook Air (13-inch, Late 2010)MacBookAir3,2
MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2011)MacBookAir4,1
MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2011)MacBookAir4,2
MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2012)MacBookAir5,1
MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012)MacBookAir5,2
MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2013)MacBookAir6,1
MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2013)MacBookAir6,2
MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2014)MacBookAir6,1
MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2014)MacBookAir6,2
MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015)MacBookAir7,1
MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)MacBookAir7,2
MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)MacBookAir7,2
MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)MacBookAir8,1
MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019)MacBookAir8,2
MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020)MacBookAir9,1
MacBook Air (M1, 2020)MacBookAir10,1
MacBook Air (M2, 2022)Mac14,2
MacBook Air 15" (M2, 2023)Mac14,15
MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024)Mac15,12
MacBook Air (15-inch, M3, 2024)Mac15,13
MacBook Air (13-inch, M4, 2025)Mac16,12
MacBook Air (15-inch, M4, 2025)Mac16,13
MacBook Air (13-inch, M5, 2026)Mac17,3
MacBook Air (15-inch, M5, 2026)Mac17,4

MacBook Pro

NameIdentifier10.1110.1210.1310.1410.15111213141526
MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid/Late 2007, 2.4/2.2GHz)MacBookPro3,1
MacBook Pro (17-inch Mid/Late 2007, 2.4GHz)MacBookPro3,1
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2008)MacBookPro4,1
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008)MacBookPro4,1
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)MacBookPro5,1
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2008)MacBookPro4,1
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009)MacBookPro5,2
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2009)MacBookPro5,5
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2.53GHz, Mid 2009)MacBookPro5,4
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009)MacBookPro5,3
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2009)MacBookPro5,2
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010)MacBookPro7,1
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010)MacBookPro6,2
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010)MacBookPro6,1
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011)MacBookPro8,1
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)MacBookPro8,2
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2011)MacBookPro8,3
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2011)MacBookPro8,1
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011)MacBookPro8,2
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2011)MacBookPro8,3
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)MacBookPro9,2
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012)MacBookPro9,1
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012)MacBookPro10,1
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012)MacBookPro10,2
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2013)MacBookPro10,2
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013)MacBookPro10,1
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013)MacBookPro11,1
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)MacBookPro11,2 or MacBookPro11,3
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014)MacBookPro11,1
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)MacBookPro11,2 or MacBookPro11,3
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)MacBookPro12,1
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)MacBookPro11,4 or MacBookPro11,5
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)MacBookPro13,1
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)MacBookPro13,2
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)MacBookPro13,3
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)MacBookPro14,1
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)MacBookPro14,2
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)MacBookPro14,3
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)MacBookPro15,2
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)MacBookPro15,1 or MacBookPro15,3
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)MacBookPro15,2
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019)MacBookPro15,1 or MacBookPro15,3
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)MacBookPro15,4
MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)MacBookPro16,1
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)MacBookPro16,2
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)MacBookPro16,3
MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020)MacBookPro17,1
MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021)MacBookPro18,1
MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021)MacBookPro18,2
MacBook Pro (13-inch, M2, 2022)Mac14,7
MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2023)Mac14,9 (M2 Pro) or Mac14,5 (M2 Max)
MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023)Mac14,10 (M2 Pro) or Mac14,6 (M2 Max)
MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023)Mac15,3
MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3 Pro or M3 Max, Nov 2023)Mac15,6 / Mac15,10 / Mac15,8
MacBook Pro (16-inch, Nov 2023)Mac15,7 / Mac15,11 / Mac15,9
MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4, 2024)Mac16,1
MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4 Pro or M4 Max, 2024)Mac16,8 (M4 Pro) / Mac16,6 (M4 Max)
MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2024)Mac16,7 (M4 Pro) / Mac16,5 (M4 Max)
MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5, 2025)Mac17,2
MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max, 2026)Mac17,7 (M5 Pro) / Mac17,9 (M5 Max)
MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max, 2026)Mac17,6 (M5 Pro) / Mac17,8 (M5 Max)

iMac

NameIdentifier10.1110.1210.1310.1410.15111213141526
iMac (20-inch, Mid 2007)iMac7,1
iMac (24-inch, Mid 2007)iMac7,1
iMac (20-inch, Early 2008)iMac8,1
iMac (24-inch, Early 2008)iMac8,1
iMac (20-inch, Early 2009)iMac9,1
iMac (24-inch, Early 2009)iMac9,1
iMac (20-inch, Mid 2009)iMac9,1
iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009)iMac10,1
iMac (27-inch, Late 2009)iMac10,1 or iMac11,1
iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2010)iMac11,2
iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010)iMac11,3
iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011)iMac12,1
iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)iMac12,2
iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2011)iMac12,1
iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012)iMac13,1
iMac (27-inch, Late 2012)iMac13,2
iMac (21.5-inch, Early 2013)iMac13,1
iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013)iMac14,1 or iMac14,3
iMac (27-inch, Late 2013)iMac14,2
iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014)iMac14,4
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014)iMac15,1
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015)iMac15,1
iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015)iMac16,1 or iMac16,2
iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015)iMac16,2
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)iMac17,1
iMac (21.5-inch, 2017)iMac18,1
iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017)iMac18,2
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)iMac18,3
iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)iMac19,2
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)iMac19,1
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)iMac20,1 or iMac20,2
iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)iMac21,2 (2-port) / iMac21,1 (4-port)
iMac (24-inch, 2023)Mac15,4 (2-port) / Mac15,5 (4-port)
iMac (24-inch, 2024)Mac16,2 (2-port) / Mac16,3 (4-port)

iMac Pro

There was only ever one model of iMac Pro, and it cannot be upgraded past macOS 15 Sequoia.

NameIdentifier10.1310.1410.151112131415
iMac Pro (2017)iMacPro1,1

Mac mini

NameIdentifier10.1110.1210.1310.1410.15111213141526
Mac mini (Early 2009)Macmini3,1
Mac mini (Late 2009)Macmini3,1
Mac mini Server (Late 2009)Macmini3,1
Mac mini (Mid 2010)Macmini4,1
Mac mini Server (Mid 2010)Macmini4,1
Mac mini (Mid 2011)Macmini5,1 or Macmini5,2
Mac mini Server (Mid 2011)Macmini5,3
Mac mini (Late 2012)Macmini6,1 or Macmini6,2
Mac mini Server (Late 2012)Macmini6,2
Mac mini (Late 2014)Macmini7,1
Mac mini (2018)Macmini8,1
Mac mini (M1, 2020)Macmini9,1
Mac mini (2023)Mac14,3 (M2) / Mac14,12 (M2 Pro)
Mac mini (2024)Mac16,10 (M4) / Mac16,11 (M4 Pro)

Mac Studio

NameIdentifier1213141526
Mac Studio (2022)Mac13,1 (M1 Max) / Mac13,2 (M1 Ultra)
Mac Studio (2023)Mac14,13 (M2 Max) / Mac14,14 (M2 Ultra)
Mac Studio (2025)Mac16,9 (M4 Max) / Mac15,14 (M3 Ultra)

Mac Pro

Not to be confused with MacBook Pro, Apple's notebook computer. The 2023 model is the final Mac Pro. This product line has effectively been replaced by Mac Studio.

NameIdentifier10.1110.1210.1310.1410.15111213141526
Mac Pro (Early 2008)MacPro3,1
Mac Pro (Early 2009)MacPro4,1
Mac Pro (Mid 2010)MacPro5,1✓ *
Mac Pro Server (Mid 2010)MacPro5,1✓ *
Mac Pro (Mid 2012)MacPro5,1✓ *
Mac Pro Server (Mid 2012)MacPro5,1✓ *
Mac Pro (Late 2013)MacPro6,1
Mac Pro (2019)MacPro7,1
Mac Pro (Rack, 2019)MacPro7,1
Mac Pro (2023)Mac14,8

* Mac Pro 2010 and 2012 can only run macOS 10.14 Mojave if a Metal-capable GPU is installed.

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