I may earn a commission on purchases made through links on this page.
Update 12-July-2020: Added information about macOS Big Sur and recent computer models.
Update 30-June-2021: Added information about macOS Monterey and recent computer models.
Update 28-June 2022: Added information about macOS Ventura and recent computer models.
Update 22-June 2023: Added information about macOS Sonoma and recent computer models.
This blog entry is a little different from my usual. Normally I have handy tips and tricks for the average user. But I wanted to make a reference document both for myself and for anyone else who might need it. I will try to update this document every year when the new system software is announced.
Below you will find tables of each model of Mac from the past several years, a list of all OSes they are capable of running, and a table of all OSes with useful details.
Since 2013, Apple releases system software upgrades every fall, and unfortunately from time to time, some older Mac models don’t make the cut. There is no precise pattern, but usually, your computer will get OS upgrades for about 7 to 8 years, and then you’ll receive security patches for another two years. In the other direction, you can never downgrade past the original OS for your model.
What Mac do I have?
To find out what system software you can run, you’ll first need to determine 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 will also need to click “More Info”.
Apple’s naming convention has varied over the years, but generally, you will see the model (MacBook Pro) and the variation (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports). The specifics of the variation may be important, especially if it has a particular time of year. An Early 2012 MacBook Pro is very different from a Late 2012 MacBook Pro.
If you are running OS X 10.6 or earlier you will need to click the Apple menu > About this Mac > More Info and look for the Model Identifier. These older versions of the Mac system software do not use user-friendly names. I have included the Model Identifier in my tables below.
From time to time I’ve seen some computers running newer system software that don’t show the model name. In that case, you will need to click the “System Report” button and look for the Model Identifier.
About each version of macOS
First, here are the specifics of each version of macOS that was ever released for Intel Mac.
The prerequisite column could be useful if, for example, you have a Mid-2010 MacBook running 10.6 that you want to upgrade to 10.13. You’ll see that you must make a stopover at 10.10 along the way, and there is a download link for 10.10 in the table.
Please pay attention to the “Final Security Patch” column. Running system software that is no longer getting security patches is risky, and I never recommend using these older versions with a connection to the internet.
| Name | Version | Release Date | Final Security Patch | Where To Get | Upgrade From | Key Features | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | macOS Sonoma | 14 | Fall 2023 (predicted) | Fall 2026 (predicted) | Upcoming | Unknown yet | Drone screensavers, desktop widgets, video conferencing improvements, iCloud Keychain sharing, Web Apps, Game Mode |
 | macOS Ventura | 13 | October 24, 2022 | Fall 2025 (predicted) | Mac App Store | 10.12 | Send Later for Mail, Passkeys, Unsend and Edit for Messages, Family Sharing for Photos, Stage Manager, Continuity Camera |
 | macOS Monterey | 12 | October 25, 2021 | Fall 2024 (predicted) | Mac App Store | 10.9 | Focus, AirPlay Receiver, FaceTime SharePlay, Universal Control, Shortcuts for Mac |
 | macOS Big Sur | 11 | November 12, 2020 | Fall 2023 (predicted) | Mac App Store | 10.9 | Cosmetic redesign, Control Center, Messages/Maps ported from iPadOS, support for Apple processors |
 | macOS Catalina | 10.15 | October 7, 2019 | July 2022 | Mac App Store | 10.9 | Find My app, Sidecar, Music/Podcasts/TV replaces iTunes |
 | macOS Mojave | 10.14 | September 24, 2018 | July 2021 | Mac App Store | 10.8 | Dark Mode, Desktop Stacks |
 | macOS High Sierra | 10.13 | September 25, 2017 | November 2020 | Mac App Store | 10.8 | Apple File System, Metal 2, HEVC and HEIF support |
 | macOS Sierra | 10.12 | September 20, 2016 | October 2019 | Download | 10.7 | Siri, Apple Pay, Desktop & Documents in iCloud |
 | OS X El Capitan | 10.11 | September 30, 2015 | September 2018 | Direct download or Mac App Store | 10.6 | Public Transit in Maps, Metal API |
 | OS X Yosemite | 10.10 | October 16, 2014 | August 2017 | Direct Download | 10.6 | UI redesign without skeuomorphism, Continuity & Handoff, Photos replaces iPhoto |
 | OS X Mavericks | 10.9 | October 22, 2013 | September 2016 | Unavailable | 10.6 | iBooks, Apple Maps, first OS X upgrade to be free |
 | OS X Mountain Lion | 10.8 | July 25, 2012 | September 2015 | Direct Download | 10.6 | iMessage, Reminders, Notes, Notification Center |
 | Mac OS X Lion | 10.7 | July 20, 2011 | October 2014 | Direct Download | 10.6 | Launchpad, auto-hiding scrollbars, Mission Control, iCloud |
 | Mac OS X Snow Leopard | 10.6 | August 28, 2009 | February 2014 | (unofficial) from Amazon | 10.4 | Stability Refinements |
 | Mac OS X Leopard | 10.5 | October 26, 2007 | June 2011 | Unavailable | 10.4 | Time Machine, Spaces, 64-bit support, MobileMe |
 | Mac OS X Tiger | 10.4 | April 29, 2005 | September 2009 | Upgrade not available for Intel | n/a | First release for Intel, Spotlight, Automator, Dashboard, Dictionary |
| Mac OS X Panther | 10.3 | October 24, 2003 | March 2007 | Unavailable | Fast user switching, Exposé, Font Book, FileVault, Safari | ||
| Mac OS X Jaguar | 10.2 | October 23, 2002 | January 2007 | Unavailable | CUPS printing system, Universal Access, HFS+ Journaling, Bonjour | ||
| Mac OS X Puma | 10.1 | September 29, 2001 | November 2006 | Unavailable | DVD video player, Image Capture | ||
| Mac OS X Cheetah | 10.0 | March 24, 2001 | November 2006 | Unavailable | Dock, Address Book, Terminal, original release of Mac OS X which was completely built on top of FreeBSD/UNIX. | ||
| Mac OS 9 | 9 | October 23, 1999 | December 5, 2001 | Unavailable | Multi-user support | ||
| Mac OS 8 | 8 | July 26, 1997 | May 10, 1999 | Skins, HFS+, Sherlock (today we know it as Spotlight) | |||
| Mac OS 7 | 7 | May 13, 1991 | April 7, 1997 | Virtual memory, file sharing, QuickTime | |||
| System 6 | 6 | April 1988 | March 1992 | Improved multitasking | |||
| System 5 | 5 | October 1987 | November 1987 | MultiFinder which allows basic multitasking | |||
| System 4 | 4 | January 1987 | March 2, 1987 | ||||
| System 3 | 3 | January 1986 | 1988 | ||||
| System 2 | 2 | April 1985 | September 1985 | “Shut down” command, folders, screenshots | |||
| System 1 | 1 | January 24, 1984 | May 5, 1984 | ||||
| Name | Version | Release Date | Final Security Patch | Where To Get | Upgrade From | Key Features |
About downgrading OS versions
Downgrading OS versions in-place can be disastrous to the stability of your computer because all of your settings files have been updated to work with newer software. Instead, you should back up your data, create a USB installer for the version you want to install, and use the USB installer to erase your computer and install the old OS. Then you can manually restore your documents and reinstall your software if needed. If Terminal is beyond your ability or you want something easier, DiskMaker X is great.
One fringe case: if you have recently upgraded to a new OS version you can boot into macOS Recovery mode and restore from a Time Machine backup, which will also downgrade your software to the version you had at the date you select. Any changes to files and settings made since that date will also be rolled back, so this option is only viable immediately after you upgrade and find that the upgrade doesn’t work for you.
Mac system software compatibility
MacBook
Not to be confused with MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. The last MacBook (2017) will not receive macOS Sonoma or later.
| Name | Identifier | 10.11 | 10.12 | 10.13 | 10.14 | 10.15 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | | | | | | | | |
| Name | Identifier | 10.11 | 10.12 | 10.13 | 10.14 | 10.15 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
MacBook Air
| Name | Identifier | 10.11 | 10.12 | 10.13 | 10.14 | 10.15 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | | | ||||||||
| Name | Identifier | 10.11 | 10.12 | 10.13 | 10.14 | 10.15 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
MacBook Pro
| Name | Identifier | 10.11 | 10.12 | 10.13 | 10.14 | 10.15 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid/Late 2007, 2.4/2.2GHz) | MacBookPro3,1 | | ||||||||
| MacBook Pro (17-inch Mid/Late 2007, 2.4 GHz) | 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, 2.53 GHz, 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, 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) | Mac14,9 (M2 Pro) or Mac14,5 (M2 Max) | | | |||||||
| Name | Identifier | 10.11 | 10.12 | 10.13 | 10.14 | 10.15 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
iMac
| Name | Identifier | 10.11 | 10.12 | 10.13 | 10.14 | 10.15 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | iMac21,1 | | | | | |||||
| Name | Identifier | 10.11 | 10.12 | 10.13 | 10.14 | 10.15 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
iMac Pro
| Name | Identifier | 10.13 | 10.14 | 10.15 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iMac Pro (2017) | iMacPro1,1 | | | | | | | |
Mac Mini
| Name | Identifier | 10.11 | 10.12 | 10.13 | 10.14 | 10.15 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mac mini (Early 2009) | Macmini3,1 | | ||||||||
| Mac mini (Late 2009) | Macmini3,1 | | ||||||||
| Mac mini (Mac OS X 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) or Mac14,12 (M2 Pro) | | | |||||||
| Name | Identifier | 10.11 | 10.12 | 10.13 | 10.14 | 10.15 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
Mac Studio
| Name | Identifier | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mac Studio (M1 Max) | Mac13,1 | | | |
| Mac Studio (M1 Ultra) | Mac13,2 | | | |
| Mac Studio (M2 Max) | | | ||
| Mac Studio (M2 Ultra) | | |
Mac Pro
Not to be confused with MacBook Pro, Apple’s notebook computer.
| Name | Identifier | 10.11 | 10.12 | 10.13 | 10.14 | 10.15 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mac Pro (Early 2008) | MacPro3,1 | | ||||||||
| Mac Pro (Early 2009) | MacPro4,1 | | ||||||||
| Mac Pro (Mid 2010) | MacPro5,1 | | | | (note below) | |||||
| Mac Pro Server (Mid 2010) | MacPro5,1 | | | | (note below) | |||||
| Mac Pro (Mid 2012) | MacPro5,1 | | | | (note below) | |||||
| Mac Pro Server (Mid 2012) | MacPro5,1 | | | | (note below) | |||||
| Mac Pro (Late 2013) | MacPro6,1 | | | | | | | | ||
| Mac Pro (2019) | MacPro7,1 | | | | | | ||||
| Mac Pro (Rack, 2019) | MacPro7,1 | | | | | | ||||
| Mac Pro (2023) | | | ||||||||
| Name | Identifier | 10.11 | 10.12 | 10.13 | 10.14 | 10.15 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
Further Help
If you are an existing customer who needs help with this or if you have other questions, or if you are in San Francisco and interested in becoming a client I invite you to book an appointment with me. Otherwise, you may wish to contact Apple Support or find a local Apple consultant.
More Tips
For more tips like this delivered directly to your inbox sign up for my email list: