I have been promising a mac article for a little while, so here it is… a pure 100% Apple topic. As you know already, I am not a big fan of Apple devices, but there are a plenty of macs out there in the wild so it is only fair to give them some airtime.
Mac updates work in a similar way to Windows updates: Apple release security patches every few weeks that should install automatically onto your mac. These little updates fix security or stability problems that have been found in the original software. Every few years Apple release a version update which brings new features and cosmetics to the operating system.
Helpfully, Apple have names for their version updates to help us differentiate them. Ten years ago, they were named after big wild cats, then mountains in California and later expanded to other Californian landmarks. The oldest we’re likely to see in use today might be El Capitan, after that came Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey and the latest is Ventura.
Apple only officially support the current and last two MacOS versions. The same applies for Mac apps from other software vendors like Microsoft, Norton, McAfee and Adobe. With the October release of Ventura, that means Monterey and Big Sur are currently supported, but Catalina, Mojave and earlier are considered obsolete.
Apple are restrictive about which older machines will run newer MacOS versions. Ventura will run on most Macs bought in the last few years and some machines from 2017 but nothing older than that. Big Sur will run on some machines back as far as 2013 but not all.
If your Mac is Mojave or older and cannot be upgraded then sadly it should be decommissioned and replaced. Strictly speaking it will stay working as-is, but it will become more dangerous to use online as it becomes more vulnerable to online threats and doesn’t support apps, online services and anti-malware software. This will not matter much if you just use your mac for Internet browsing and email, but if you use a Microsoft 365 product or online service such as Dropbox, then this will stop working and a replacement is inevitable. Some people feel that this is artificially aging mac computers and forcing you into an unwanted and expensive upgrade.
The most basic of MacBook Air models starts at £999 and basic desktops start at £1249. With good spec Windows PCs available at half this price and probably lasting twice the lifespan I’m sure it’s obvious why we continue to recommend PCs over Macs.
I hope you find this information useful. If you would like to see a particular subject covered then please feel free to ask at www.alfindlay.com.
Al Findlay | Freelance IT & AV Support Consultant | Website design and Hosting | www.AlFindlay.com | 01395 542500