Too Different Mac OS
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:
Classilla is a decent enough browser suite for those using Mac OS 8.6 through 9.2.2, and if you have a Mac that can’t run Mac OS X, it’s probably your best bet. (Other browsers for Mac OS 9 include Internet Explorer 5.1.7, Opera 6.03, and iCab 2.9.9, which even supports System 7.5!) Outdated Versions of OS X OS X 10.2 Jaguar.
This option is, however, a little different to using Time Machine features in the regular OS as this will entirely erase the contents of the selected drive and replace them with the contents of the backup. The process won't discriminate and your Mac will act as if it had literally been taken back in time to an earlier state. There're a couples of different way to install Python, as the update of OP says, and they locate files in different locations. For example, macports puts things into /opt/local/, while homebrew puts things into /usr/local/. Also, Mac OS X brings a few python versions with itself.
- 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; fees 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.
If you don’t have broadband access, you can upgrade your Mac at any Apple Store.
- 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; fees 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).
Mac Os Downloads
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
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.
Apple Pay on the Web
Requires a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air with Touch ID, an iPhone 6 or later with iOS 10 or later, or an Apple Watch with watchOS 3 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 license plate restrictions
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
Requires Microsoft Office 365, Exchange 2016, Exchange 2013, or Exchange Server 2010. Installing the latest Service Packs is recommended.
Windows Migration
Update Os On Mac
Supports OS X 10.7 or later and Windows 7 or later.
App Store
Available only to persons age 13 or older in the U.S. 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 (U.S.)
- 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
Featuring the detailed comparison between the two popular OS, macOS and Windows along with their features, benefits, advantages and disadvantages.
Are you confused between macOS and Windows? Then this is the perfect platform to know which operating system is the best for you.
Apple’s macOS and Microsoft Windows are two of the most popular operating systems in the world of desktop computers. Windows offers versatility; macOS offers quality and efficiency. Both have some amazing features as well as some serious disadvantages! So let’s have a bird-eye view on these two operating systems. Then we will proceed to the difference between the two.
macOS
macOS is a series of ‘proprietary graphical operating systems’ which are developed and marketed by Apple Inc since 2001. macOS is currently the primary operating system in Apple Mac computers. In the market of laptop, desktops computers and home computers, macOS is the second most popular operating system in the world, only behind Microsoft Windows.
macOS is the second major operating systems series of Macintosh Operating Systems. The first was classic Mac OS which was released in 1984, some months before the release of Microsoft Windows.
Advantages of macOS
- Offers free useful productivity apps: A number of Apple-developed applications are already pre-installed in a Mac device or is available for download through Apple’s App Store. Among these free apps, there are some office productivity applications like Numbers, Keynote and Pages. In the case of Microsoft, most of the essential applications, for example, Microsoft’s Office Suit does not come pre-installed, and the user has to pay separately for these applications.
- Simple and better user interface as compared to Windows: In case of macOS, the user interface is straightforward for its user to use. Any user who has prior experience of using the iOS operating system in iPads and iPhones will find it easy to use macOS. Its applications are available for download in the App Store, and all the downloaded applications can be found in the launchpad.
- Dedicated features for multi-tasking: There are many multi-tasking features available for macOS users. The users can run multiple workspaces simultaneously, which is similar to operating various desktops at the same time. macOS has devices and keys specially dedicated to switching between different applications and workspaces.
- Software and Hardware and designed for better integrations: This is one of the best features about macOS. All the workspaces and applications run very smoothly, without any signs of hiccups or hanging. One of the primary reasons for this is that Apple designs both it’s Hardware and software by itself, unlike many other companies and operating systems. In the case of Windows, Microsoft only develops the operating system and some essential applications. Other Hardware and software are generally the third parties. In the case of Apple and macOS, third party applications and Hardware are typically selected on some established criteria and undergo thorough tests and verifications for compatibility and security.
- Less vulnerability to malware and other security issues: The fact cannot be denied that Apple and macOS are vulnerable to Virus attacks by different hackers around the world. But, the risk is much less as compared to Microsoft Windows. Because of Windows’ increased popularity across the globe, Windows users become an easy target to hackers and malware developers.
- Compatible with other Apple devices and Services: macOS is seamlessly compatible with other Apple devices using another operating system like iOS in iPhone and iPad. Moreover, the interface in macOS and iOS is very much similar to each other. This makes things very easy and convenient for users of macOS and iOS. Apart from the ease of use, the users can also synchronize their files and other data in iCloud and access/edit them using different Apple devices.
Disadvantages of macOS
- Limited availability of Applications: This is one of the most significant drawbacks of macOS. Although there are many applications of Apple available free of cost in the Apple store, the number is still considerably less as compared to Windows. In Windows, you can get almost any software free of charge. macOS is also not ideal for those who love playing video games. Another thing which is worth mentioning is that Windows devices are far more accessible than Mac Devices. And this is one of the primary reasons why the developers of different software tend to develop software keeping in mind the Windows operating system. Windows can provide you with a far larger share of the market.
- Difficulty in upgrading or replacing Hardware: Although this problem not so severe, it is still worth mentioning. Mac devices have limited options available to improve the Hardware. For example, CPU or RAM of a MacBook cannot be easily replaced. This is because the Hardware is deeply integrated into the whole system. This is not the case in Windows. You can replace Hardware in most of the cases without facing much trouble. Hence Windows provides a better level of upgrades and customization.
- Very Expensive: One cannot deny that Windows is very expensive. But this is far cheaper than Apple devices. The devices released by Apple are costly as compared to methods of any other company with similar or better specification. And it is worth noting that macOS can only run in Apple devices and the operating system is costly on its own too.
- Lack of options for hardcore gamers: Are you a hardcore gamer? Then macOS is undoubtedly not for you. Firstly, macOS has limited number of variety in games, and limited options to upgrade or customization of Hardware to play heavy games like Call Of Duty, FIFA, Prince of Persia. Although, top quality macOS devices may have Hardware capable of running such heavy games, the variety of heavy games available in the Apple store is close to nothing! And another thing, Windows-based devices are far less expensive with the same hardware capabilities and more variety. This is one of the reasons why macOS keeps hardcore gamers and game developers away from itself. And to be honest, macOS is not at all marketed for gamers.
Windows
Microsoft Windows is commonly known as Windows. Windows is a group of ‘proprietary graphical operating system’ families, and these are developed and distributed by Microsoft.
Windows was introduced by Microsoft in 1985, some month after the introduction of classic macOS. Microsft Windows was quickly able to dominate the world market for desktop computers operating system. On desktop computers, Windows is still the most popular operating system by a distance. It has around 90% share in the world market of Desktop Computer’s operating system.
One thing is worth noting that both macOS and Windows have lost to Linux and in the market share of operating systems in servers, and supercomputers. In the case of a mobile phone operating system, Linux’s derivative Android is leading the market share.
The most recent version of Windows is Windows 10, which was released in 2015.
Advantages of using Windows
- Easy to use: Users who are familiar to the older version of Windows can still use the latest versions very comfortably. This is because ever since the release of the first version of Windows, Microsoft has not made many changes in the interface of its operating system in the later versions. This is one of the primary reasons why Windows users are often reluctant to switch their operating systems to Linux or macOS.
- Wide range of software availability: Since Windows has almost 90% market share in desktop computer’s operating system, most of the software developing companies develop software keeping in mind the users of Windows. Hence the chances are very high that you may find any type of Windows compatible software you want. This is not the case with other famous operating systems like macOS and Linux.
- Support for new Hardware: Akost all the hardware manufacturing companies offer support for Windows. Suppose you have to go out to purchase particular Hardware to replace the older one, the chances are high that almost all the Hardware in the market are compatible with the latest version of Windows. Moreover, Windows also lets its users upgrade and customize the Hardware. This feature is not available with macOS.
- Games: If you are a hardcore gamer, then Windows is the best option for you without any doubt! Almost all famous computer games are compatible with Windows. All the renowned computer games developing companies develop games keeping in mind the users of Windows. This is because of the considerable share of the market in desktop computer operating system. At the same time, Windows also allows you to modify Hardware according to the game you want to play. Moreover, most of the gaming hardware is Windows compatible.
Disadvantages of using Windows
- Inadequate Security: Because of its massive popularity among desktop users across the globe, Windows has become an easy target for the developers of malware and other hackers. Another thing, it is safe to say that the in-built security system is incompetent to save its users from viruses and other malware. And thanks to this incompetence and massive vulnerability to virus attacks, people who are involved in the anti-virus industries can make millions of dollars every year! Installing an anti-virus is a must for Windows users nowadays. This is not the case with other operating systems.
- Additional expenses: After setting up your Windows operating system in your desktop, you may still require to splash out some cash to pay for some essential software or applications like the whole Microsoft Office Suite. Office Suite consists of Word, PowerPoint, Excel Sheet etc. Apart from that, you also have to purchase anti-virus software which is mandatory for those who use the internet regularly. This is undoubtedly not the case with macOS and Linux, where most of the applications, atleast all the essential applications are freely available.
- Slow Performance: This is one of the worst disadvantages of Windows. Even minimal use of the device can make it agonizingly slow for its users. Moreover, the source code is not available for its general users. Because of this, you are required to find and fix the bugs using hit and trial methods, which is not always right. In the case of Apple macOS, the performance rarely goes down because of speed. This is because Apple gives particular emphasis on integrating its software and Hardware to make the speed better.
Difference between macOS and Windows
macOS | Windows |
macOS based devices are generally less vulnerable to security issues like virus threat and hacking. This is usually because of the small market share of Apple macOS and massive domination of Windows computers. Also, the in-built defence system of Apple is comparatively better than Windows. | Windows PCs are far more vulnerable to security issues as compared to macOS. This is of the large market share of Windows and incompetent defence system of Windows. Windows users are required to use anti-virus software. |
Most of the essential applications in macOS devices are available free of cost. The users can download and install these devices from the Apple Store. | Most of the essential applications are not free. And you are required to splash out a lot of cash for these applications. Such primary applications include Office Suite and anti-virus. |
macOS is not a good option for gamers. First of all the general macOS devices don’t have compatible Hardware for heavy games like Call Of Duty and Prince of Persia. And second, a large number of famous games do not run in macOS. This is because macOS does not have right enough market share. | Windows is the best operating system when it comes to gaming. All the famous vide game developing companies develop video games keeping in mind the users of Windows because of its market dominance. At the same time, Windows allows it’s users to upgrade the system hardware to make them compatible for certain video games. |
macOS only runs on Apple devices, and we all know Apple devices are extremely costly. | Windows can run on the Hardware of any other company. And the cost of these devices is far less as compared to Apple devices with the same specification. |
macOS devices are generally designed to run smoothly. The users rarely experience hiccups while working. Disk defragmentation is usually not required. | This is the most frustrating thing about Windows. The Windows devices generally get slow, even with minimal use. Disk defragmentation is usually very important. |
Because of security and performance-related issues, Apple does not include too many third-party applications. Because of this, there is less variety of software available to its users. | Almost all the major software developing companies develop software, especially for Windows. The chances are high that any practically any type of software you want is compatible with Windows. |
Repair costs of macOS based devices are too high. | The repair cost of Windows-based devices is relatively less. |
Well, now I hope you can clearly decide which operating system is the best for you. If you want quality and are ready to splash the cash, then Apple macOS is the best choice for you. If you are looking for a pocket-friendly operating system with a wide range of software and games availability, then I advise you to go for Windows.