A History of Versions of the Apple MacOS

A History of Mac OS
Damian Gordon

Timeline of Mac OS
1985
Sys 2
1987
Sys 4
1988
Sys 6
1999
Mac OS 9
1984
Sys 1
1986
Sys 3
1987
Sys 5
1991
Sys 7
2001
Mac OS X
1997
Mac OS 8
2001
OS X v10.1
2003
OS X v10.3
2007
OS X v10.5
2012
OS X v10.8
2001
OS X v10.0
2002
OS X v10.2
2005
OS X v10.4
2009
OS X v10.6
2013
OS X v10.9
2011
OS X v10.7
2014
OS X v10.10

Timeline of Mac OS
2015
OS X v10.11
2016
OS X v10.12
2017
OS X v10.13
2018
OS X v10.14
2023
macOS 14
2019
OS X v10.15
2021
macOS 12
2020
macOS 11
2024
macOS 15
2022
macOS 13

System 1
• Introduced menu bar, pop-up menus; concept
of drag-and-drop and direct manipulation.
• Only runs one application at a time
January
1984
Based on the pioneering
GUI technology
developed at Xerox
PARC, but Apple added
many game-changing
innovations.

System 2
• Introduced multiple folders, the "Shut Down"
command, and a quick-launching application
feature.
April
1985
Added support for
AppleTalk (networking)
and the newly
introduced LaserWriter
to use it. Also introduced
the HFS (Hierarchical File
System).

System 3
• Implemented HFS, support for several new
technologies including SCSI and AppleShare,
and Trash "bulging“.
January
1986
Introduced with
the Mac Plus

System 4
• Software for improved hardware - expansion
slots, the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB), internal
hard drives.
January
1987
Introduced with
the Mac SE

System 5
• Added MultiFinder which allowed cooperative
multitasking, so time was given to the
background applications only when the
running application yielded control.
October
1987
System Software 5 is the
first Macintosh operating
system to be given a
unified "Macintosh
System Software" version
number

System 6
• Added MacroMaker allowed users to record
mouse and keyboard input as "macros."
• A complete, stable, and long-lasting operating
system
April
1988
A maximum of 15 Desk
Accessories could be
installed at one time,
including the Chooser,
Scrapbook, and Control
Panel.

System 7
• Added virtual memory, personal file sharing,
QuickTime, QuickDraw 3D, and improved UI.
• Used over a megabyte (Sys 6 took up 600K).
May
1991
It was the first Apple
operating system to be
available on CD, although
it shipped on a set of 15
floppy disks initially.
Big Bang

System 8
• Improved multi-tasking, files can be copied in
the background, GUI skins introduced.
• Released shortly after Steve Jobs return.
Initially planned as Mac
OS 7.7, renumbered "8"
to exploit a legal
loophole and terminate
third-party
manufacturers' licenses
to System 7
July
1997
Copland

System 9
• Provides a much improved memory
implementation and management.
• Improved support for wireless networking
October
1999
Makes the first use of the
centralized Apple
Software Update to find
and install OS and
hardware updates
Sonata

System 10 (OS X)
• Introduced Launch Pad, a springboard-style
home for applications.
• OS X is a Unix-based operating system
March
2001
Heavily criticized for
three main reasons:
Interface responsiveness
was sluggish. It was
riddled with bugs. And
had Missing Features and
Compatibility Issues
Cheetah

Versions of OS X
Version Release Date
Mac OS X v10.0 (Cheetah) 24th March 2001
Mac OS X v10.1 (Puma) 25th September 2001
Mac OS X v10.2 (Jaguar) 24th August 2002
Mac OS X v10.3 (Panther) 24th October 2003
Mac OS X v10.4 (Tiger) 29th April 2005
Mac OS X v10.5 (Leopard) 26th October 2007
Mac OS X v10.6 (Snow Leopard) 28th August 2009
Mac OS X v10.7 (Lion) 20th July 2011

Versions of OS X
Version Release Date
OS X v10.8 (Mountain Lion) 25th July 2012
OS X v10.9 (Mavericks) 22nd September 2013
OS X v10.10 (Yosemite) 16th October 2014
OS X v10.11 (El Capitan) 30th September 2015
OS X v10.12 (Sierra) 13th June 2016
OS X v10.13 (High Sierra) 5th June 2017
OS X v10.14 (Mojave) 4th June 2018
OS X v10.15 (Catalina) 7th October 2019

OS X v10.1
• Improved AppleScript, allows scripting access
to system components
• Easier CD and DVD burning, and DVD playback
support
September
2001
Still criticized for
Interface responsiveness
that was sluggish
Puma

OS X v10.2
• Introduced Rendezvous (renamed Bonjour)
allows networked devices to find each other
• Added Inkwell, for handwriting recognition.
August
2002
The operating system
was available for single-
computer installations,
or in a “family pack”,
which allowed five
installations on separate
computers
Jaguar

OS X v10.3
• Allows a user to remain logged in while
another user logs in
• TextEdit now compatible with Microsoft Word
October
2003
On older machines third-
party software (such as
XPostFacto) was required
override checks made
during the installation
process to get it to work.
Panther

OS X v10.4
• Added Quartz Composer, a development tool
for processing and rendering graphical data.
• Added Dashboard, a widget application.
April
2005
Apple announced a
transition to Intel x86
processors during Tiger's
lifetime, making it the
first Apple OS to work on
Apple–Intel architecture
machines.
Tiger

OS X v10.5
• Network file sharing improvements including
more granular control over permissions
• Introduced an automated backup utility called
Time Machine
October
2007
According to Apple,
Leopard contains over
300 changes and
enhancements over its
predecessor.
Leopard

OS X v10.6
• Improved performance, greater efficiency and
the reduction of its overall memory footprint.
• Implemented stack protection and sandboxing
August
2009
Breaks compatibility with
several older versions of
some applications, such
as Parallels Desktop,
versions of Aperture, and
versions of Keynote
Snow Leopard

OS X v10.7
• Includes an easily navigable display of all of
the installed applications
• Introduced a recovery partition with tools
July
2011
Applications such as
Office for Mac 2004,
AppleWorks, and early
versions of Quicken for
Mac 2007, are no longer
supported.
Lion

OS X v10.8
• Allows users to easily manage and synchronise
content between multiple Apple devices.
• New malware-blocking system Gatekeeper
July
2012
Notification Center was
added, which provides
an overview of alerts
from applications and
displays notifications
until the user completes
an associated action.
Mountain Lion

OS X v10.9
• The update places emphasis on battery life,
and Finder enhancements.
• Added more of Apple's iOS apps to the OS X
platform.
September
2013
During the first few
weeks of release, a
number of Western
Digital external hard
drive users complained
about data losses and
corruption.
Mavericks

OS X v10.10
• New features focus on increasing integration
with other services such as iOS and iCloud
• Some icons changed to correspond with iOS 7
and iOS 8.
October
2014
Many components send
data to Apple by default,
reporting the user's
current location (at the
city level) and all their
search queries to Apple
and third parties.
Yosemite

OS X v10.11
• Focuses mainly on performance, stability and
security. Adds multi-touch gestures to
applications like Mail and Messages
September
2015
Has a new security feature
called System Integrity
Protection (SIP, aka
"rootless") that protects
system processes, files and
folders from being tampered
with.
El Capitan

OS X v10.12
• Its major new features concern Continuity,
iCloud, and windowing, as well as support for
Apple Pay and Siri.
June
2016
In the 10.12.2 update the
"time remaining" estimate
has been removed after
complaints of the battery life
of 2016 MacBook Pros.
Sierra

OS X v10.13
• Focused mainly on updates to existing
software, including to the Apple File System
(APFS), and improvements to VR support.
June
2017
Numerous changes were
made to standard
applications including
Photos, Safari, Notes, and
Spotlight
High Sierra

OS X v10.14
• Brings several iOS apps to the desktop
operating system, including Apple News, Voice
Memos, and Home.
June
2018
Includes "dark mode" a
colour scheme that uses
light-coloured text, icons,
and graphical user interface
elements on a dark
background.
Mojave

OS X v10.15
• It focuses on updates to built-in apps, such as
replacing iTunes with separate Music,
Podcasts, and TV apps. Supports 32-bit
applications
October
2019
It features Sidecar, which
allows the user to use an
iPad as a second screen
for their computer, or to
simulate a graphics tablet
with an Apple Pencil.
Catalina

macOS 11
• It brings ARM support, new icons and GUI
changes to the system. It introduced Rosetta 2
to allow 64-bit Intel applications to run.
June
2020
Since macOS 11.2.3, it is
no longer possible to
install iOS apps by default
from an IPA file instead of
the Mac App Store on
Apple silicon Macs
Big Sur

macOS 12
• It includes a new on-device machine-learning–
activated keyboard dictation using Siri. It also
includes a new Passwords Manager for
Mac.
June
2021
It includes networkQuality,
a command-line tool for
measuring upload and
download capacity, and
responsiveness.
Monterey

macOS 13
• Introduced new apps: Weather (for weather
forecasts), Clock (displays times and alarms),
and Freeform, for real-time collaboration.
June
2022
Introduces Stage
Manager, which provides
an alternative interface
for multitasking, in
addition to the previous
Mission Control.
Ventura

macOS 14
September
2023
The lock screen has been
redesigned to include a
date and time similar to
iOS and iPadOS. The
power buttons have
become a context menu.
Sonoma
• It revamped Widgets and they are no longer
constrained to the Notification Center -
instead they can be placed anywhere on the
desktop.

macOS 15
• The Tips app is now independent from the rest
of the operating system. The user interface
(UI) has also been redesigned.
June
2024
It introduced Passwords,
a cross-platform
password manager
application, which
replaces Keychain.
Sonoma

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