macOS
macOS (formerly OS X and originally Mac OS X) is Apple's Unix offering for a desktop operating system, derived from OPENSTEP for the Mach microkernel and FreeBSD. It is propietary and strictly limited to Apple's own desktops and laptops. macOS is currently the second-most used dekstop operating system, just behind Windows and ahead of all Linux distributions. The current latest version of macOS is macOS 26 Tahoe.
The first Macintosh was released on January 14, 1984. The operating system that came with the Macintosh did not have a name and was partially based on Lisa OS for the Apple Lisa which was released in 1983. The name Macintosh System Software came into use in 1987 with the release of System 5. The name Mac OS was used with the release of Mac OS 7.6 due to the Macintosh clone program and the requirement for a more licensable name. The series of Macintosh operating systems up until Mac OS 9 is now called Classic Mac OS.
In 2001, after a 4 year development effort, Apple released Mac OS X (pronounced "Mac OS 10") which was completely different from Classic Mac OS, both visually and architecturally. It was derived from NeXTSTEP, a Unix-like operating system developed by Steve Jobs during his time away from Apple, rather than on the previous version's code. The final versions of Mac OS 9 provided some interoperability with Mac OS X.
Apple shortened the name Mac OS X to OS X with the release of 10.7 Lion in 2011. In 10.9 Mavericks, the naming convention was changed to reference places in California. Apple then changed OS X to macOS in 2016 with the release of 10.12 Sierra to align with the branding of Apple's other operating systems. In 2020, Apple released macOS Big Sur as version 11, a significant departure from the 10.xx versioning convention, but Apple continued to reference places in California in the names of the releases. 2025 saw Apple unifying the version number across all their products to align with the year after their Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), so the latest version is 26 Tahoe.
List of macOS releases
Classic Mac OS
Mac OS (originally System Software) is the series of operating systems developed for the Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and ending with Mac OS 9. The Macintosh operating system is credited with having popularized the graphical user interface concept. It was included with every Macintosh that was sold during the era in which it was developed, and many updates to the system software were done in conjunction with the introduction of new Macintosh systems.
Mac OS X 10.0
Mac OS X 10.0 (code named Cheetah) is the first major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system. It was released on March 24, 2001, for a price of $129 after a public beta. Mac OS X was Apple's successor to the classic Mac OS. It was derived from NeXTSTEP and FreeBSD, and featured a new user interface called Aqua, as well as improved stability and security due to its new Unix foundations. It introduced the Quartz graphics rendering engine for hardware-accelerated animations. Many technologies were ported from the classic Mac OS, including Sherlock and the QuickTime framework. The core components of Mac OS X were open sourced as Darwin.
Mac OS X 10.1
Mac OS X 10.1 (code named Puma) is the second major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system. It superseded Mac OS X 10.0 and preceded Mac OS X Jaguar. Mac OS X 10.1 was released on September 25, 2001, as a free update for Mac OS X 10.0 users. The operating system was handed out for free by Apple employees after Steve Jobs' keynote speech at the Seybold publishing conference in San Francisco. It was subsequently distributed to Mac users on October 25, 2001, at Apple Stores and other retail stores that carried Apple products.
Mac OS X Jaguar
Mac OS X Jaguar (version 10.2) is the third major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system. It superseded Mac OS X 10.1 and preceded Mac OS X Panther. The operating system was released on August 23, 2002. It was available both for single-computer installations and in a "family pack" that allowed five installations on separate computers in one household. Jaguar was the first Mac OS X release to publicly use its code name in marketing and advertisements.
Mac OS X Panther
Mac OS X Panther (version 10.3) is the fourth major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system. It followed Mac OS X Jaguar and preceded Mac OS X Tiger. It was released on October 24, 2003, with the retail price of US$129 for a single user and US$199 for a five user, family license. The main features of Panther included a refined Aqua theme, Exposé, Fast user switching, and a new Finder. Panther also included Safari as its default browser, as a change from Internet Explorer in Jaguar.
Mac OS X Tiger
Mac OS X Tiger (version 10.4) is the 5th major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Mac computers. Tiger was released to the public on April 29, 2005, for US$129.95 as the successor to Mac OS X 10.3 Panther. Included features were a fast searching system called Spotlight, a new version of the Safari web browser, Dashboard, a new 'Unified' theme, and improved support for 64-bit addressing on Power Mac G5s. Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger also had a number of additional features that Microsoft had spent several years struggling to add to Windows with acceptable performance, such as fast file search and improved graphics processing.
Mac OS X Leopard
Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5) is the sixth major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Leopard was released on October 26, 2007 as the successor of Mac OS X Tiger, and is available in two editions: a desktop version suitable for personal computers, and a server version, Mac OS X Server. It retailed for $129 for the desktop version and $499 for Server. Leopard was superseded by Mac OS X Snow Leopard (version 10.6) in 2009. Mac OS X Leopard is the last version of macOS that supports the PowerPC architecture as its successor, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, functions solely on Intel based Macs.
Mac OS X Snow Leopard
Mac OS X Snow Leopard (version 10.6) (also referred to as OS X Snow Leopard) is the seventh major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Snow Leopard was publicly unveiled on June 8, 2009 at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. On August 28, 2009, it was released worldwide, and was made available for purchase from Apple's website and retail stores at the price of $29 USD for a single-user license. As a result of its low price, initial sales of Snow Leopard were significantly higher than those of its predecessors, with prices starting at $129 USD. The release of Snow Leopard came nearly two years after the launch of Mac OS X Leopard, the second longest time span between successive Mac OS X releases (the time span between Tiger and Leopard was the longest).
OS X
Lion
OS X Lion, also known as Mac OS X Lion, (version 10.7) is the eighth major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating syste for Mac computers. A preview of OS X 10.7 Lion was publicly shown at the "Back to the Mac" Apple Special Event on October 20, 2010. It brought many developments made in Apple's iOS, such as an easily navigable display of installed applications, to the Mac, and includes support for the Mac App Store, as introduced in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard version 10.6.6. On February 24, 2011, the first developer's preview of Lion (11A390) was released to subscribers to the Apple Developer program. Other developer previews were subsequently released, with Lion Preview 4 (11A480b) being released at WWDC 2011.
OS X Mountain Lion
OS X Mountain Lion (version 10.8) is the ninth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. OS X Mountain Lion was released on July 25, 2012, for purchase and download through the Mac App Store, as part of a switch to releasing OS X versions online and every year, rather than every two years. Named to signify its status as a refinement of the previous OS X version, Lion, Apple's stated aims in developing Mountain Lion were to allow users to more easily manage and synchronise content between multiple Apple devices and to make the operating system more familiar.
OS X Mavericks
OS X Mavericks (version 10.9) is the 10th major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. OS X Mavericks was announced on June 10, 2013, at WWDC 2013, and was released on October 22, 2013, worldwide. It was also the last version to use a mostly skeuomorphic design; the next release, OS X Yosemite, featured a redesign of the user interface appearance. It was also the first version of macOS to be offered only on the App Store, rather than on a physical disk.
OS X Yosemite
OS X Yosemite is the eleventh major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. OS X Yosemite was announced and released to developers on June 2, 2014, at WWDC 2014 and released to public beta testers on July 24, 2014. Yosemite was released to consumers on October 16, 2014. Following the Northern California landmark-based naming scheme introduced with OS X Mavericks, Yosemite is named after the national park.
OS X El Capitan
OS X El Capitan (version 10.11) is the twelfth major release of macOS (named OS X at the time of El Capitan's release), Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh. It focuses mainly on performance, stability, and security. Following the California location-based naming scheme introduced with OS X Mavericks, El Capitan was named after the famous eponymous rock formation in Yosemite National Park. OS X El Capitan is the final version to be released under the name OS X. OS X El Capitan received far better reviews than Yosemite.
macOS Sierra
macOS Sierra (version 10.12) is the thirteenth major release of macOS (formerly known as OS X and Mac OS X), Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. The name "macOS" stems from the intention to unify the operating system's name with that of iOS, watchOS and tvOS. Sierra is named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California and Nevada. Specifically, Lone Pine Peak is the location for macOS Sierra's default wallpaper. Its major new features concern Continuity, iCloud, and windowing, as well as support for Apple Pay and Siri.
macOS High Sierra
macOS High Sierra (version 10.13) is the fourteenth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop operating system for Macintosh computers. macOS High Sierra was announced at the WWDC 2017 on June 5, 2017 and was released on September 25, 2017. The name "High Sierra" refers to the High Sierra region in California. Its name signified its goal to be a refinement of the previous macOS version, macOS Sierra, focused on performance improvements and technical updates rather than features. This makes it similar to previous macOS releases Snow Leopard, Mountain Lion and El Capitan. Among the apps with notable changes are Photos and Safari.
macOS Mojave
macOS Mojave (pronounced mo-HAH-vee) is the fifteenth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop operating system for Macintosh computers. macOS Mojave was announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 4, 2018, and was released to the public on September 24. The operating system's name refers to the Mojave Desert, continuing the use of California-themed names that began with OS X Mavericks. It succeeded macOS High Sierra and was followed by macOS Catalina. macOS Mojave is the last version of macOS that features the iTunes and Dashboard apps.
macOS Catalina
macOS Catalina (version 10.15) is the sixteenth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop operating system for Macintosh computers. It is the successor to macOS Mojave and was announced at WWDC 2019 on June 3, 2019 and released to the public on October 7, 2019. Catalina is the first version of macOS to support only 64-bit applications and the first to include Activation Lock. It is also the last version of macOS to have the major version number be 10.x; its successor, Big Sur, released on November 12, 2020, is version 11. In order to increase web compatibility, Safari, Chromium and Firefox have frozen the OS in the user agent running in subsequent releases of macOS at 10.15.7 Catalina.
macOS Big Sur
macOS Big Sur (version 11) is the seventeenth major release of macOS, Apple's operating system for Macintosh computers. It was announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 22, 2020, and was released to the public on November 12, 2020. For the first time since OS X Yosemite (version 10.10) six years earlier, macOS Big Sur features a user interface redesign. It features new blurs to establish a visual hierarchy, along with making icons more square and UI elements more consistent. Other changes include a revamp of the Time Machine backup mechanism, and the addition of the Control Center (which was previously introduced, exclusively for touch devices, with iOS 7). It is also the first macOS version to support Macs with ARM-based processors. To mark the transition, the operating system's major version number was incremented, for the first time since 2001, from 10 to 11. The operating system is named after the coastal region of Big Sur in the Central Coast of California, continuing the naming trend of California locations that began with OS X Mavericks.
macOS Monterey
macOS Monterey (version 12) is the eighteenth major release of macOS, Apple's desktop operating system for Macintosh computers. The successor to macOS Big Sur, it was announced at WWDC 2021 on June 7, 2021, and released on October 25, 2021. macOS Monterey was succeeded by macOS Ventura, which was released on October 24, 2022. The operating system is named after Monterey Bay, continuing the trend of releases named after California locations since 2013's 10.9 Mavericks.
macOS Ventura
macOS Ventura (version 13) is the nineteenth major release of macOS, Apple's operating system for Macintosh computers. The successor to macOS Monterey, it was announced at WWDC 2022 on June 6, 2022, and launched on October 24, 2022. macOS Ventura was succeeded by macOS Sonoma, which was released on September 26, 2023. It is named after the city of Ventura and is the tenth macOS release to bear a name from the company's home state of California. The macOS 13 Ventura logo, official graphics and default wallpaper resemble an abstract California poppy.
macOS Sonoma
macOS Sonoma (version 14) is the twentieth major release of macOS, Apple's operating system for Mac computers. The successor to macOS Ventura, it was announced at WWDC 2023 on June 5, 2023, and released on September 26, 2023. It is named after the wine region located in California's Sonoma County. macOS Sonoma was succeeded by macOS Sequoia, which was released on September 16, 2024.
macOS Sequoia
macOS Sequoia (version 15) is the twenty-first and current major release of Apple's macOS operating system, the successor to macOS Sonoma. It was announced at WWDC 2024 on June 10, 2024. In line with Apple's practice of naming macOS releases after landmarks in California, it is named after Sequoia National Park, located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The first developer beta was released on June 10, 2024. The first public beta was released on July 15, 2024. It was released on September 16, 2024. Sequoia was the first macOS version released on the same day as a new iOS and iPadOS version.
macOS Tahoe
macOS Tahoe (version 26) is the upcoming twenty-second major release of Apple's macOS operating system. The successor to macOS Sequoia (macOS 15), it was first announced at WWDC 2025 on June 9, 2025, with its first developer beta released the same day. In line with Apple's practice of naming macOS releases after landmarks in California, it is named after Tahoe, a lake straddling the border between California and Nevada.