The current Mac renaissance has a certain “be careful what you wish for—you just might get it” feel to it. After more than a decade of stagnant market share, the Mac is thriving.
Apple used to sell about 1 million Macs every fiscal quarter. Now it sells three times that many, and it’s getting close to four. The longtime lament of the Mac enthusiast—Why don’t more people who are unhappy with Windows PCs switch to the Mac?—has been answered. They are switching, in droves. Quarter after quarter, Apple reports that over half of all Mac sales in the company’s retail stores are to first-time Mac buyers.
This sort of renaissance is rare. When markets are new, they tend to be fluid. But when they’re old, they’re settled—and a decade ago, the personal computer market seemed settled. But at some point about five years ago, that changed, and the Mac has seen year after year of consistent industry-leading growth.
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Just what longtime Mac enthusiasts have always wanted, right?
Long-term doubt
The irony is that there’s more doubt today about the long-term prospects of the Mac than there has been at any time since Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997. Rather than suffering defeat at the hands of a competing platform—like, say, Microsoft Windows—the problem for the Mac today is that it has been overshadowed by its own sibling, the fabulously precocious iOS. There are more iOS users and developers than Mac ones. For all the remarkable growth in Mac sales (especially for a 25-year-old platform), after six months of life the iPad was already outselling the Mac.
Here’s the short version of the “Mac is doomed” scenario: iOS is the future, Mac OS X is the past, and Apple is strongly inclined to abandon the past in the name of the future.
You can’t really argue with that, can you? But the premise that the end is near for the Mac presupposes quite a bit about the near-term future of iOS.
Apple’s cultural aversion to legacy technology isn’t about a lack of seriousness, or a short companywide attention span. It’s not about being attracted only to the new and shiny. It’s about fear—the fear of being weighed down by excess baggage. Fear that old stuff will slow them down in their pursuit of creating brand-new stuff.
So it goes: Classic was abandoned as quickly as possible in the transition to Mac OS X. PowerPC support was dropped in Mac OS X 10.6 three years after the last PowerPC Macs were discontinued. The 64-bit Carbon application programming interface died. It’s not that these technologies were no longer useful. It’s that continuing to support them would have slowed the company down. Time spent supporting the old is time not spent building the new.
At typical companies, “legacy” technology is something you figure out how to carry forward. At Apple, legacy technology is something you figure out how to get rid of. The question isn’t whether iOS has a brighter future than the Mac. There is no doubt: it does. The question is whether the Mac has become “legacy.” Is the Mac slowing iOS down or in any way holding it back?
Heavy versus light
I say no. In fact, quite the opposite. For one thing, Mac OS X development has been slowed by the engineering resources Apple has shifted to iOS, not the other way around. Apple came right out and admitted as much, when Mac OS X 10.5 was delayed back in 2007. The company’s explanation: It had to shift key engineering resources to help the original iPhone ship on time.
The bigger reason, though, is that the existence and continuing growth of the Mac allows iOS to get away with doing less. The central conceit of the iPad is that it’s a portable computer that does less—and because it does less, what it does do, it does better, more simply, and more elegantly. Apple can only begin phasing out the Mac if and when iOS expands to allow us to do everything we can do on the Mac. It’s the heaviness of the Mac that allows iOS to remain light.
When I say that iOS has no baggage, that’s not because there is no baggage. It’s because the Mac is there to carry it. Long term—say, ten years out—well, all good things must come to an end. But in the short term, Mac OS X has an essential role in an iOS world: serving as the platform for complex, resource-intensive tasks.
The funny thing is, the best slogan to describe the Mac’s role is the same one it started with 25 years ago:
The computer for the rest of us.
[John Gruber is the author of Daring Fireball.]
macOS Big Sur elevates the most advanced desktop operating system in the world to a new level of power and beauty. Experience Mac to the fullest with a refined new design. Enjoy the biggest Safari update ever. Discover new features for Maps and Messages. Get even more transparency around your privacy.
Chances are, your Mac can run macOS Big Sur
The following models are supported:
- MacBook (2015 or later)
- MacBook Air (2013 or later)
- MacBook Pro (Late 2013 or later)
- Mac mini (2014 or later)
- iMac (2014 or later)
- iMac Pro (2017 or later)
- Mac Pro (2013 or later)
To see which model you have, click the Apple icon in your menu bar and choose About This Mac.
Make sure you’re ready to upgrade.
Before you upgrade, we recommend that you back up your Mac. If your Mac is running OS X Mavericks 10.9 or later, you can upgrade directly to macOS Big Sur. You’ll need the following:
- OS X 10.9 or later
- 4GB of memory
- 35.5GB available storage on macOS Sierra or later*
- Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
- Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; charges may apply.
Upgrading is free and easy
Upgrading from macOS Catalina 10.15 or Mojave 10.14?
Go to Software Update in System Preferences to find macOS Big Sur. Click Upgrade Now and follow the onscreen instructions.
Upgrading from an older version of macOS?
If you’re running any release from macOS 10.13 to 10.9, you can upgrade to macOS Big Sur from the App Store. If you’re running Mountain Lion 10.8, you will need to upgrade to El Capitan 10.11 first.
- OS X 10.9 or later
- 4GB of memory
- 35.5GB available storage on macOS Sierra or later*
- Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
- Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; charges may apply.
For details about your Mac model, click the Apple icon at the top left of your screen and choose About This Mac. These Mac models are compatible with macOS Big Sur:
- MacBook (2015 or later)
- MacBook Air (2013 or later)
- MacBook Pro (Late 2013 or later)
- Mac mini (2014 or later)
- iMac (2014 or later)
- iMac Pro (2017 or later)
- Mac Pro (2013 or later)
Siri
Requires a broadband Internet connection and microphone (built-in or external).
Hey Siri
Supported by the following Mac models:
- MacBook Pro (2018 or later)
- MacBook Air (2018 or later)
- iMac Pro (2017 or later)
Dictation, Voice Control and Voice Memos
Requires a microphone (built-in or external).
Spotlight Suggestions
Requires a broadband Internet connection.
Gestures
Requires a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad, Magic Trackpad or Magic Mouse.
Force Touch gestures require a Force Touch trackpad.
VoiceOver gestures require a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad or Magic Trackpad.
Photo Booth
Requires a FaceTime or iSight camera (built-in or external), or USB video class (UVC) camera.
FaceTime
Colossorama Mac Os X
Audio calls require a microphone (built-in or external) and broadband Internet connection.
Video calls require a built-in FaceTime camera, an iSight camera (built-in or external), or a USB video class (UVC) camera; and broadband Internet connection.
Apple TV
High dynamic range (HDR) video playback is supported by the following Mac models:
- MacBook Pro (2018 or later)
- iMac Pro (2017 or later)
- Mac Pro (2019) with Pro Display XDR
Dolby Atmos soundtrack playback is supported by the following Mac models:
- MacBook Air (2018 or later)
- MacBook Pro (2018 or later)
Sidecar
Supported by the following Mac models:
- MacBook (2016 or later)
- MacBook Air (2018 or later)
- MacBook Pro (2016 or later)
- Mac mini (2018 or later)
- iMac (late 2015 or later)
- iMac Pro (2017 or later)
- Mac Pro (2019)
Supported by all iPad models with Apple Pencil support:
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro
- 11-inch iPad Pro
- 10.5-inch iPad Pro
- 9.7-inch iPad Pro
- iPad (6th generation or later)
- iPad mini (5th generation)
- iPad Air (3rd and 4th generation)
Continuity Camera
Requires an iPhone or iPad that supports iOS 12 or later.
Continuity Sketch and Continuity Markup
Requires an iPhone with iOS 13 or later or an iPad with iPadOS 13 or later.
Handoff
Requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector or with USB-C and iOS 8 or later.
Instant Hotspot
Requires an iPhone or iPad with cellular connectivity, a Lightning connector or USB-C, and iOS 8.1 or later. Requires Personal Hotspot service through your carrier.
Universal Clipboard
Requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector or with USB-C and iOS 10 or later.
Auto Unlock
Requires an Apple Watch with watchOS 3 or later or an iPhone 5 or later.
Approve with Apple Watch
Requires an Apple Watch with watchOS 6 or later or an iPhone 6s or later with iOS 13 or later.
Phone Calling
Requires an iPhone with iOS 8 or later and an activated carrier plan.
SMS
Requires an iPhone with iOS 8.1 or later and an activated carrier plan.
Home
Requires an iPhone with iOS 12 or later and a configured Home app.
AirDrop
AirDrop to iOS and iPadOS devices requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector or with USB-C and iOS 7 or later.
AirPlay
AirPlay Mirroring requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later).
AirPlay for web video requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later).
Peer-to-peer AirPlay requires a Mac (2012 or later) and an Apple TV (3rd generation rev A, model A1469 or later) with Apple TV software 7.0 or later.
Time Machine
Requires an external storage device (sold separately).
Maps electric vehicle routing
Requires an iPhone with iOS 14 and a compatible electric vehicle.
Maps number plate restrictions
Colossorama Mac Os Update
Requires an iPhone running iOS 14 or an iPad running iPadOS 14.
Boot Camp
Allows Boot Camp installations of Windows 10 on supported Mac models.
Exchange Support
Colossorama Mac Os Catalina
Requires Microsoft Office 365, Exchange 2016, Exchange 2013 or Exchange Server 2010. Installing the latest Service Packs is recommended.
Windows Migration
Supports OS X 10.7 or later and Windows 7 or later.
App Store
Available only to persons aged 13 or older in the US and many other countries and regions.
Photos
The improved Retouch tool is supported on the following Mac models:
- MacBook Pro (15-inch and 16-inch models) introduced in 2016 or later
- iMac (Retina 5K models) introduced in 2014 or later
- iMac (Retina 4K models) introduced in 2017 or later
- iMac Pro (2017 or later)
- Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later
- Apple Books
- Apple News
- App Store
- Automator
- Calculator
- Calendar
- Chess
- Contacts
- Dictionary
- DVD Player
- FaceTime
- Find My
- Font Book
- Home
- Image Capture
- Launchpad
- Maps
- Messages
- Mission Control
- Music
- Notes
- Photo Booth
- Photos
- Podcasts
- Preview
- QuickTime Player
- Reminders
- Safari
- Siri
- Stickies
- Stocks
- System Preferences
- TextEdit
- Time Machine
- TV
- Voice Memos
- Activity Monitor
- AirPort Utility
- Audio MIDI Setup
- Bluetooth File Exchange
- Boot Camp Assistant
- ColorSync Utility
- Console
- Digital Color Meter
- Disk Utility
- Grapher
- Keychain Access
- Migration Assistant
- Screenshot
- Screen Time
- Script Editor
- Sidecar
- System Information
- Terminal
- VoiceOver Utility
- Arabic
- Catalan
- Croatian
- Simplified Chinese
- Traditional Chinese
- Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
- Czech
- Danish
- Dutch
- English (Australia)
- English (UK)
- English (US)
- Finnish
- French
- French (Canada)
- German
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Hungarian
- Indonesian
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Malay
- Norwegian
- Polish
- Brazilian Portuguese
- Portuguese
- Romanian
- Russian
- Slovak
- Spanish
- Spanish (Latin America)
- Swedish
- Thai
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Vietnamese