macOS version history facts for kids

The history of macOS is about Apple's main computer operating system. It was called Mac OS X until 2011, then OS X until 2016. This system was made to replace Apple's older "classic" Mac OS, which had been used since 1984.

The current macOS is a UNIX-based system. It was built using technology from a company called NeXT. Steve Jobs started NeXT in the 1980s after he left Apple. Apple bought NeXT in 1997.

Even though it was first called "version 10" of Mac OS, it was completely different from Mac OS 9. It had a new look and feel. To help people switch, early versions of macOS (10.0 to 10.4) could still run old Mac OS 9 apps using something called the Classic Environment.

The first macOS version, Mac OS X Server 1.0, came out in 1999. It used NeXT's technology but didn't have the famous Aqua look. The first version for regular users, Mac OS X 10.0, arrived in March 2001. Since then, many new versions have been released.

Starting with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, the server tools for macOS were sold separately, not as a whole new operating system. These server tools were stopped completely in 2022. Most macOS versions since Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard (for Intel computers) are certified as Unix systems.

The name changed over time. It was "Mac OS X Lion," then "OS X Mountain Lion," and finally "macOS" starting with macOS Sierra.

macOS kept the major version number 10 for a long time. This changed with macOS 11 Big Sur in 2020, which became version 11.

Early versions of Mac OS X (10.0 and 10.1) had internal code names like "Cheetah" and "Puma." From Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar onwards, Apple used "big cat" names for marketing. Later, starting with OS X 10.9 Mavericks, they began using names of places in California.

The newest major version, macOS 14 Sonoma, was announced in June 2023 and released in September 2023.

How macOS Was Made

Starting Outside Apple

After Apple removed Steve Jobs from his role in 1985, he left the company. He then started a new company called NeXT. NeXT made advanced computers, but they were quite expensive. The computers were stopped in 1993. However, NeXT's special operating system, NeXTSTEP, became very important. It was the base for what would become Mac OS X.

NeXTSTEP was built on parts of Unix, a computer system from the 1970s. It used something called the Mach kernel and BSD. NeXTSTEP also had a special way of building programs using Objective-C. This way of building programs is now known as Cocoa in the Mac world.

NeXT later changed NeXTSTEP into OPENSTEP. This version could run on more types of computers. Other companies like Sun and HP even used it for a short time.

However, many other big companies were also trying to make similar systems. Some of these projects didn't work out, while others, like Java, became very popular.

On February 4, 1997, Apple bought NeXT for $427 million. Apple then used OPENSTEP as the foundation for its new operating system, which was called Mac OS X at the time. You can still see parts of NeXT's software in macOS today. For example, some programming tools still use "NS" in their names, which stands for NeXTSTEP.

Building Inside Apple

At the same time, Apple was having its own problems. Their old Macintosh System Software was very old and couldn't handle new tasks well. It also looked outdated. Apple tried to build a new system called Copland in 1994, but it failed because of internal issues. By 1996, Copland was cancelled. Some parts of it were used in Mac OS 8, which came out in 1997.

Apple thought about buying another operating system called BeOS. But in the end, they decided to buy NeXT and use OPENSTEP as the base for their new OS. Avie Tevanian took charge of building the new OS, and Steve Jobs came back to Apple as a helper.

The first idea was to build a new OS mostly from OPENSTEP. It would also have a "Blue Box" feature to run old Macintosh apps. This project was called Rhapsody.

But many software makers didn't want to rewrite their programs for OPENSTEP. They had seen Apple make many promises before that didn't come true. They were not interested in doing a lot of work for a platform that might not last.

New Direction with Steve Jobs

Apple was losing money, and the company's leaders asked Gil Amelio, the CEO, to leave. They asked Steve Jobs to lead the company temporarily. This gave him the power to make big changes to help Apple succeed again. When Jobs announced that Apple would make a modern version of the Mac OS that developers wanted, everyone cheered.

Over the next two years, Apple worked hard to bring the old Macintosh programming tools to Unix. This new set of tools was called Carbon. With Carbon, developers could update their old Mac apps to work on the new system without rewriting them completely. Older apps could still run using the "Classic" Mac OS 9 environment. Apple also added support for popular programming languages like C, C++, Objective-C, Java, and Python.

During this time, the core parts of the operating system (the Mach kernel and BSD) were released as open-source software. This project was named Darwin. Darwin provides a strong and flexible base for macOS.

The Java programming language was also becoming popular. Apple worked to make Java run better on Macs and connect it to the new macOS features.

The first release of the new OS, Mac OS X Server 1.0, used a slightly changed version of the old Mac OS look. But all later versions for regular users, starting with Mac OS X Developer Preview 3, used a brand new design called Aqua. Aqua looked very different from the old Mac OS 9. It had colorful, smooth graphics, clear text, shadows, and cool animations. A new feature was the Dock, which helped users launch apps easily.

Even with these changes, Mac OS X still felt like a Mac. It kept the menu bar at the top, familiar keyboard shortcuts, and worked with a single-button mouse.

macOS Versions Over Time

Mac OS X, OS X, and macOS version information

Version	Release Name	Darwin version	Processor support	Application support	Kernel	Date announced	Release date	Most recent version
Old version, no longer maintained: Rhapsody Developer Release	Grail1Z4/Titan1U (internal codename)	Unknown	32-bit PowerPC	32-bit PowerPC	32-bit	January 7, 1997	August 31, 1997	DR2 (May 14, 1998)
Old version, no longer maintained: Mac OS X Server 1.0	Hera (internal codename)	Unknown				Unknown	March 16, 1999	1.2v3 (October 27, 2000)
Old version, no longer maintained: Mac OS X Developer Preview	Unknown	Unknown				May 11, 1998	March 16, 1999	DP4 (April 5, 2000)
Old version, no longer maintained: Mac OS X Public Beta	Kodiak (internal codename)	Unknown				May 15, 2000	September 13, 2000	N/A
Old version, no longer maintained: Mac OS X 10.0	Cheetah (internal codename)	1.3.1				January 9, 2001	March 24, 2001	10.0.4 (4Q12) (June 22, 2001)
Old version, no longer maintained: Mac OS X 10.1	Puma (internal codename)	1.4.1/5				July 18, 2001	September 25, 2001	10.1.5 (5S60) (June 6, 2002)
Old version, no longer maintained: Mac OS X 10.2	Jaguar	6	32/64-bit PowerPC[Note 1]			May 6, 2002	August 24, 2002	10.2.8 (October 3, 2003)
Old version, no longer maintained: Mac OS X 10.3	Panther	7				June 23, 2003	October 24, 2003	10.3.9 (7W98) (April 15, 2005)
Old version, no longer maintained: Mac OS X 10.4	Tiger	8	32/64-bit PowerPC and Intel	32/64-bit PowerPC and Intel [Note 2] [Note 3]		May 4, 2004	April 29, 2005	10.4.11 (November 14, 2007)
Old version, no longer maintained: Mac OS X 10.5	Leopard	9				June 26, 2006	October 26, 2007	10.5.8 (9L31a) (August 13, 2009)
Old version, no longer maintained: Mac OS X 10.6	Snow Leopard	10	32/64-bit Intel	32/64-bit Intel 32-bit PowerPC[Note 3]	32/64-bit	June 9, 2008	August 28, 2009	10.6.8 (10K549) (July 25, 2011)
Old version, no longer maintained: Mac OS X 10.7	Lion	11	64-bit Intel	32/64-bit Intel		October 20, 2010	July 20, 2011	10.7.5 (11G63) (October 4, 2012)
Old version, no longer maintained: OS X 10.8	Mountain Lion	12			64-bit	February 16, 2012	July 25, 2012	10.8.5 (12F2560) (August 13, 2015)
Old version, no longer maintained: OS X 10.9	Mavericks	13				June 10, 2013	October 22, 2013	10.9.5 (13F1911) (July 18, 2016)
Old version, no longer maintained: OS X 10.10	Yosemite	14				June 2, 2014	October 16, 2014	10.10.5 (14F2511) (July 19, 2017)
Old version, no longer maintained: OS X 10.11	El Capitan	15				June 8, 2015	September 30, 2015	10.11.6 (15G22010) (July 9, 2018)
Old version, no longer maintained: macOS 10.12	Sierra	16				June 13, 2016	September 20, 2016	10.12.6 (16G2136) (September 26, 2019)
Old version, no longer maintained: macOS 10.13	High Sierra	17				June 5, 2017	September 25, 2017	10.13.6 (17G14042) (November 12, 2020)
Old version, no longer maintained: macOS 10.14	Mojave	18				June 4, 2018	September 24, 2018	10.14.6 (18G9323) (July 21, 2021)
Old version, no longer maintained: macOS 10.15	Catalina	19		64-bit Intel		June 3, 2019	October 7, 2019	10.15.7 (19H2026) (July 20, 2022)
Older version, yet still maintained: macOS 11	Big Sur	20	64-bit Intel and ARM	64-bit Intel and ARM[Note 4]		June 22, 2020	November 12, 2020	11.7.3 (20G1116) (January 23, 2023)
Older version, yet still maintained: macOS 12	Monterey	21				June 7, 2021	October 25, 2021	12.6.3 (21G419) (January 23, 2023)
Current stable version: macOS 13	Ventura	22				June 6, 2022	October 24, 2022	13.2 (22D49) (January 23, 2023)
Legend: Old version Older version, still maintained Latest version Latest preview version Future release

1.^↑ The Power Mac G5 had special Jaguar builds.

2.^↑ Tiger did not support 64-bit GUI applications, only 64-bit CLI applications.

3.^1 2 32-bit (but not 64-bit) PowerPC applications were supported on Intel processors with Rosetta.

4.^↑ 64-bit Intel applications are supported on Apple silicon Macs with Rosetta 2. However, Intel-based Macs are unable to run ARM-based applications, such as iOS and iPadOS apps.

The first few macOS versions were named after big cats. Before it was released, version 10.0 was called "Cheetah" inside Apple, and version 10.1 was called "Puma."

After "Jaguar" for version 10.2 became known, Apple started using these names to market the system. So, 10.3 was "Panther," 10.4 was "Tiger," 10.5 was "Leopard," 10.6 was "Snow Leopard," 10.7 was "Lion," and 10.8 was "Mountain Lion."

Apple later started using names of places in California for new releases. 10.9 Mavericks was named after a surfing spot. 10.10 Yosemite was named after a national park. 10.11 El Capitan was named after a rock in Yosemite. 10.12 Sierra was named after a mountain range. 10.13 High Sierra was named after an area in the mountains.

In 2016, OS X was officially renamed to macOS. Then, in 2020, with macOS Big Sur, the main version number changed from 10 to 11. This made macOS version numbers work like Apple's other operating systems. All new major releases since then have also increased the first number.

Public Beta: "Kodiak"

On September 13, 2000, Apple released a special "preview" version of Mac OS X. It was called "Kodiak" inside Apple. This was the first time the Aqua look was shown to the public. Apple used feedback from users to make many changes to the design. This Public Beta stopped working in spring 2001.

Version 10.0: "Cheetah"

On March 24, 2001, Apple released Mac OS X 10.0, known as "Cheetah." This first version was a bit slow and didn't have many apps. Some people thought it wasn't ready for everyone to use. But it was a big step for Apple, as they had been trying to update the Mac OS since 1996. After some fixes, it became more stable.

Version 10.1: "Puma"

Mac OS X 10.1, called "Puma," came out on September 25, 2001. It ran faster and added missing features, like playing DVDs. Apple gave this update for free to people who had 10.0.

In January 2002, Apple announced that Mac OS X would be the main operating system for all new Mac computers.

Version 10.2: "Jaguar"

On August 23, 2002, Apple released Mac OS X 10.2 "Jaguar." This was the first time Apple used the code name as part of the product's name. Jaguar made the system much faster and gave it a cleaner look. It also added many new features. These included Quartz Extreme for better graphics, a new Address Book for contacts, and an instant messaging app called iChat. The "Happy Mac" icon that used to appear when a Mac started up was replaced with a large grey Apple logo in Mac OS X 10.2.

Version 10.3: "Panther"

Mac OS X Panther was released on October 24, 2003. It made the system much faster and gave the user interface its biggest update yet. Panther added many new features, like an updated Finder (for managing files), Fast user switching (to quickly switch between users), Exposé (to manage open windows), FileVault (for encrypting data), and the Safari web browser. It also improved how it worked with Microsoft Windows computers. Some older Mac computers were no longer supported by Panther.

Version 10.4: "Tiger"

Mac OS X Tiger was released on April 29, 2005. Apple said Tiger had over 200 new features. Like Panther, Tiger stopped supporting some older Macs. Tiger needed a Mac with a built-in FireWire port. New features in Tiger included Spotlight (for searching), Dashboard (for small apps called widgets), Smart Folders, an updated Mail program, QuickTime 7, Safari 2, Automator, and VoiceOver (for accessibility).

On January 10, 2006, Apple released its first Macs with Intel processors. This came with the 10.4.4 update to Tiger. This version of the operating system worked the same on both older PowerPC Macs and the new Intel Macs. However, the Intel version did not support the Classic environment. The 10.4.4 update also brought Rosetta, which allowed older PowerPC apps to run on the new Intel Macs.

Version 10.5: "Leopard"

Mac OS X Leopard was released on October 26, 2007. Apple called it "the largest update of Mac OS X." Leopard worked on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. It stopped supporting Macs with G3 processors. New features included a new look, an updated Finder, Time Machine (for backups), Spaces (for multiple desktops), and Boot Camp (to run Windows). It also fully supported 64-bit applications.

Leopard was the first BSD-based OS to get a special UNIX certification. It was also the last version of Mac OS X to support PowerPC Macs and the Classic Environment.

Version 10.6: "Snow Leopard"

Mac OS X Snow Leopard was released on August 28, 2009. This was the last version sold on a disc. Instead of big new features, Snow Leopard focused on making the system faster, more efficient, and more stable. For most users, the biggest changes were that it took up less disk space, the Finder was faster, and Time Machine backups were quicker.

An update added the Mac App Store, where users could buy and download macOS apps and upgrades. Snow Leopard only works on Macs with Intel CPUs and needs at least 1 GB of memory. It also stopped supporting apps made for the PowerPC architecture by default, though Rosetta could be installed to run them.

Version 10.7: "Lion"

Mac OS X Lion (also called OS X Lion) came out on July 20, 2011. It brought many features from Apple's iOS (for iPhones and iPads) to the Mac. These included Launchpad (a screen to see all your apps) and more use of multi-touch gestures. This version removed Rosetta, so PowerPC apps could no longer run. It also stopped supporting 32-bit Intel processors and needed 2 GB of memory. Other changes included auto-hiding scrollbars and Mission Control, which combined several window management features. Apps also started to remember their state when closed, similar to iOS.

Version 10.8: "Mountain Lion"

OS X Mountain Lion was released on July 25, 2012. It added more features from iOS 5, such as Game Center, iMessage in the new Messages app, and Reminders. It also supported storing documents in iCloud. It needed 2 GB of memory. App notifications now appeared in the corner of the screen, and Notification Center was added to show all alerts.

Version 10.9: "Mavericks"

OS X Mavericks was released on October 22, 2013, as a free update. It focused on making battery life better and improving the Finder. It also brought more of Apple's iOS apps, like iBooks and Apple Maps, to the Mac. Mavericks needed 2 GB of memory. It was the first version named after a place in California. Mavericks was also the first OS X version that was free for all users with compatible Macs. This started Apple's policy of offering free operating system upgrades.

Version 10.10: "Yosemite"

OS X Yosemite was released on October 16, 2014, as a free update. It had a big change in its look, moving to a flatter design with blurred effects, similar to iOS 7. It added "Continuity" and "Handoff" features, which allowed Macs and iOS devices to work together more closely. For example, you could answer phone calls or text messages on your Mac. An update later added the Photos app to replace iPhoto.

Version 10.11: "El Capitan"

OS X El Capitan was shown on June 8, 2015, and released on September 30, 2015. Apple said this version focused on making the Mac experience smoother and improving performance, rather than adding many new features. Changes included public transport info in the Maps app and improvements to the Notes app. It also introduced Metal API, which helps apps run faster, for Macs made since 2012.

Version 10.12: "Sierra"

macOS Sierra was announced on June 13, 2016, and released on September 20, 2016. This update brought the Siri assistant to macOS, allowing it to do Mac-specific tasks like searching for files. It also let websites use Apple Pay. iCloud was improved, allowing users to store their Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud so they could be synced across different Macs.

Version 10.13: "High Sierra"

macOS High Sierra was announced on June 5, 2017, and released on September 25, 2017. This release included many improvements "under the hood." It switched to a new file system called APFS, introduced Metal 2 for better graphics, and supported new video formats. Many standard apps like Photos, Safari, and Notes also received updates.

Version 10.14: "Mojave"

macOS Mojave was announced on June 4, 2018, and released on September 24, 2018. Key new features included a Dark Mode that changed the look of the system to a darker theme. It also added Desktop Stacks, which organizes files on your desktop, and Dynamic Desktop, which changes the background image based on the time of day.

Version 10.15: "Catalina"

macOS Catalina was announced on June 3, 2019, and released on October 7, 2019. It mainly updated built-in apps. iTunes was replaced by separate Music, Podcasts, and TV apps. The Reminders and Books apps were redesigned, and a new Find My app was added. Catalina also introduced Sidecar, which lets you use an iPad as a second screen for your Mac. This was the first version of macOS that did not support older 32-bit applications.

Version 11: "Big Sur"

macOS Big Sur was announced on June 22, 2020, and released on November 12, 2020. This was the first time the main version number changed from 10 to 11. It brought support for Apple's new ARM (Apple silicon) chips, new icons, and big changes to the GUI (the look of the system). Big Sur also introduced Rosetta 2, which allows apps made for Intel Macs to run on the new Apple silicon Macs.

Version 12: "Monterey"

macOS Monterey was announced on June 7, 2021, and released on October 25, 2021. Monterey added features like Universal Control, which lets you use one keyboard and mouse across multiple Apple devices. It also improved AirPlay and brought the Shortcuts app from iOS to macOS. macOS Monterey is the last version that officially supports macOS Server.

Version 13: "Ventura"

macOS Ventura was announced on June 6, 2022, and released on October 24, 2022. Ventura introduced Stage Manager, a new way to manage windows, and a redesigned System Settings app. It also added Continuity Camera, which lets you use your iPhone as a webcam for your Mac. This is the first version of macOS without macOS Server support.

Version 14: "Sonoma"

macOS Sonoma was announced on June 5, 2023, and released on September 26, 2023. Key changes include a new look for Widgets, updates to the lock screen, and video wallpapers that use Apple TV's screen saver videos.

Version 15: "Sequoia"

macOS Sequoia was announced on June 10, 2024.

Timeline of Macintosh Operating Systems

See also

• Mac operating systems
• Architecture of macOS
• List of macOS built-in apps
• iOS version history