Where we’re coming from: recent macOS – The Eclectic Light Company
This is the time of year when many of us look to upgrading macOS, whether we’re going to an existing version we feel is now tried and tested, or in the autumn/fall to macOS 13 Ventura. If you’re still undecided as to which to choose, or just enjoy looking back at what we’ve been through, this article summarises their highlights and lowlights.
OS X El Capitan and macOS Sierra 10.11.x (2015-16), 10.12.x (2016-17)
These were the last two major versions before Apple introduced its new file system APFS, and remain classics for those with older models dating back to 2007-08. El Capitan is notable for its introduction of System Integrity Protection (SIP), and Sierra for Apple Pay. Far simpler and more traditional than any macOS since, they weren’t without significant flaws. Some Macs suffer complete freezes in El Capitan, and all running Time Machine backups in Sierra have to restart their Macs every few days, because of a scheduling bug which wasn’t fixed until High Sierra.
High Sierra 10.13.x (2017-18)
A combination of the traditional and the new, as the first version of macOS to support APFS, some have found it a reliable halfway house between HFS+ of the past and APFS of the future. However, this early version of the new file system doesn’t support Fusion Drives, and isn’t as reliable or full-featured as later releases. For some Macs, it’s worth avoiding, but many using older Macs still like it. It brought initial support for HEVC and HEIF/HEIC video and image encoding, but hasn’t received any security updates since 2020.
Mojave 10.14.x (2018-19)
As the last version of macOS to support 32-bit software, this was a milestone and worth preserving in a Virtual Machine, in case you ever need to fall back and use an old app which isn’t fully 64-bit compatible. It’s also the last version with a single boot volume, making it more risky in terms of vulnerabilities, but much simpler and more versatile. Its version of APFS was a big improvement on that in High Sierra, and at last supported all boot media including Fusion Drives. Because it’s reliant on Metal accelerated graphics, it requires Metal-compatible graphics hardware. It last received security updates a year ago, in 2021.
Catalina 10.15.x (2019-20)
This is the first version of macOS to use the new boot volume group, but is a half-way house to the full signed and sealed System volume (SSV) to come in Big Sur. It’s also the first fully 64-bit macOS, but remains Intel-only. Together these give it some of the advantages of later versions, but most of the disadvantages too. Another disadvantage for many users are the new media apps, such as Books, Music, Podcasts and TV, which replace iTunes. In Catalina, those are underpowered and unpopular as a result.
Apple currently provides security updates, including offline Installer packages, but those don’t fix all known vulnerabilities, and in any case are expected to cease this summer, before the release of macOS 13. From then on, Catalina will be left unsupported. If you’re currently running Catalina, now is the time to plan your next move.
More at: https://eclecticlight.co/2022/06/07/where-were-coming-from-recent-macos/ |
