macOS Upgrade Guide: Sequoia, Sonoma, Ventura or Monterey?

Should you upgrade tour macOS version? Discover the key features and compatibility considerations of macOS Sequoia, Sonoma, Ventura, and Monterey. If you’re thinking about upgrading, this guide will help you choose the best macOS for you, your workflow and your Mac. If your Mac is unsupported for the newest macOS versions, see for yourself whether or not newer macOS features are worth the investment. Learn when unsupported installations can be beneficial and when they should be avoided.

#macOSUpgrade #macOSSequoia #MacTips

📋 Table of Contents

Introduction: 00:00
Checking Your macOS Version: 00:23
Key Features of Monterey, Ventura, Sonoma & Sequoia: 01:25
When to Use Unsupported macOS: 05:12

🔗 Links Mentioned

macOS Compatibility Guide:

💻 More Tips and Tutorials

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☎️ Get in Contact with Me

🎥 Behind the Scenes

[AnsonAlexander]

Supported Mac Quick List:
Most Macs made in 2015+ are supported for Monterey.
Most Macs made in 2017+ are supported for Ventura.
Most Macs made in 2018+ supported for Sonoma AND Sequoia (but not all).

There are exceptions so please look up the latest supported OS based on the model of your specific Mac.

[adamhutton]

Open Core Legacy Patcher is so spectacular. I have an office with 27 2012 MacPro 5, 1 models. We are all running Sequoia with OCLP and it is flawless and fast. No need to buy a new Mac and this software has saved me hundreds of thousands.

[louiskatzclay]

My history of upgrades with Mac is that they always come with a performance hit. How much base memory does the base system require? How much storage does it take? What software will you need to purchase new?
My take is that upgrading systems that were purchased on the cheaper macs. Always they push software that will fill my little solid state drive. Despite being able to use an external drive you can expect the Apple software to not use it.
Nowhere can I find the specs I need for new software.
The fresh install advice is great.

[Mbro-dqdo]

My 2011 17 inch Macbook Pro unibodys all run Sequoia flawlessly. DosDude GPU disable works wonders. They all work perfectly.

[moow]

I am using the macOS Sequoia RC on a MacBook Pro 2016 and I noticed that macOS feels much snappier than the official last supported macOS for this MacBook Pro, macOS Monterey! So many thanks to the folks of Open Core Patcher!!!

[rossiv]

From Monterey, upgraded to Ventura, upgraded to Sonoma, downgraded back to Monterey because it's more stable on my M1 Pro 14" macbook. I find strange lag glitches on Sonoma.

[be]

I have a stock iMac 2011 with 12GB RAM, used OCLP to upgrade to Mac OS Monterey, and surprisingly, it seems fast enough... minor glitches (like Maps dont work correctly), but I use it mainly for the up-to-date browser that can view modern websites that High Sierra may not render correctly.

[geoman]

NEVER upgrade to a new MacOS as soon as it gets out (unless you want to become a beta-tester!). Wait a couple of months for the initial bugs to be fixed. I don't understand the rush to upgrade... Each new macOS is almost identical to the previous one.... so you are not missing any REALLY NEW features if you wait...

[danandlaundry]

On my 2015 iMac it won't officially install anything past Monterey. But as macOS Monterey is out of support in the 30th October 2024 I now have to use open core legacy patcher to install a newer version of macOS. I went with macOS Ventura as it is probably the most stable version that is still got at least another year of support

[kinder-wunsch-coaching]

So helpful and clear also for a non tech user - thanks so much! Great video!

[miket.]

I have a late 2009 MacBook I upgraded to 8gb ram, SSD, and Catalina using DosDude’s patch program. I use it as a BlueBubbles server primarily, sitting next to my main PC. But the laptop runs so smoothly on Catalina that I could use it as my main PC if my main decides to break. I see I can upgrade the OS higher but I’m loathe to do that as it is only a core2Duo processor.

[MidnightToker]

Big Sur in the house! 🙌 😎 jk Tried Ventura, Sonoma and Sequoia but I prefer Ventura. Lightweight and has enough features I need. I only have 8gb ram. I suggest 16gb for Sonoma and anything newer.

[thomashartmann]

Thanks for a very useful video. Personally I use Parallels Desktop Pro on two Macs, a 2017 21.5” iMac with 16 Gb RAM and a 2023 14” MB Pro with M3 Pro and a basic 18 Gb RAM. With both I mainly use Parallels for som games and occasionally Windows based applications like MS Publisher, Access and Projects, plus the latest version of the animation software Cartoon Animator, because they dropped MacOS support in their latest version (v5). For me it works without any hiccups, but of course it depends on your need for speed.

[izaigacet]

I was in the middle of downloading the new Sequoia and while it was downloading, I got curious to check videos on it and honestly, I canceled right away. Am I the only one?

[lovemadeinjapan]

I would like to see a video on how to make a production workhorse on Mojave in 2024. Someway this OS looks so sleek. Less bloat, no fidgets, no whack round corners, normal menus, more usable space on your screen, but you need a guide to get into this, which versions of app you need, where to get them. Take for example browsing, there is not much wrong with using a Firefox ESR for that. Same with the latest FCP for 10.14, that version is newer than when Apple did the most relevant updates to the program like colour grading. I think you can make a very useful system on 10.14. Also things like Office, once you get into lightweight alternatives, you really start wondering why you were installing 8GB of Office apps on Seqoia with 1, 2GB of fonts in EACH of the 3 main apps.

[okuradani]

Good video. Out of curiosity, what's your problem with Parallels?

[gabrielb.trudeau]

Features aside; focusing on stability, performance and security. What are the Pros and Cons of staying on an outdated but device supported macOS, macOS 11 in my situation?

Furthermore, features aside; focusing on stability, performance and security, which path would you recommand upgrading to an unsupported OS on the device level. Upgrading to the oldest but still Apple supported macOS i.e. macOS 13 or shooting straight to the latest macOS i.e. macOS 15?

Thank you for your very very informative videos!

[MarbsMusic]

Been running the beta and now have the release of Sequoia on one of my Mac, only issue I have found is that some websites have some issues with Safari. Besides that one issue, it's been rock solid on an M3 MBP.

[wamote]

My Tipp: unless you have weird software, use the latest possible OS that works with your computer. The lastest OS is the only one who gets all the security patches.

[kakanangk]

I would like to ask a : I got a late 2012 (27") iMac that now run Catalina, it's still working fine but some app got updated and became unsupported so I'm not sure if it's still worth it to upgrade my iMac ? Not to Ventura or Sequoia, maybe to Monterey ?