MacOS - Wikipedia MacOS This article is about the current Apple operating system for Mac computers. For pre-2001 versions, see Classic Mac OS. `` OSX '' and `` OS X '' redirect here. For other uses, see OSX ( disambiguation ). macOS Screenshot of the macOS High Sierra desktop Developer Apple Written in C++ Objective - C Swift OS family Macintosh, Unix Working state Current Source model Closed source ( with open source components ) Initial release March 24, 2001 ; 16 years ago ( 2001 - 03 - 24 ) Latest release 10.13. 2 ( 17C88 ) ( December 6, 2017 ; 10 days ago ( 2017 - 12 - 06 ) ) ( ± ) Latest preview 10.13. 3 beta 1 ( 17D20a ) ( December 11, 2017 ; 5 days ago ( 2017 - 12 - 11 ) ) ( ± ) Marketing target Personal computing Available in 34 languages List of languages As of macOS Sierra : Arabic, Catalan, Croatian, Chinese ( Simplified ), Chinese ( Traditional ), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese ( Brazil ), Portuguese ( Portugal ), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish ( Mexico ), Spanish ( Spain ), Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese Update method Mac App Store ( 10.8 + ) Software Update ( 10.0 -- 10.7 ) Platforms x86 - 64 ( 10.4. 7 - present ) IA - 32 ( 10.4. 4 -- 10.6. 8 ; discontinued ) PowerPC ( 10.0 -- 10.5. 8 ; discontinued ) Kernel type Hybrid ( XNU ) Default user interface Graphical ( Aqua ) License Commercial software, proprietary software Preceded by Classic Mac OS Official website www.apple.com/macos Support status Supported macOS ( / ˌmækoʊˈɛs / ; previously Mac OS X, then OS X ) is the current series of Unix - based graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Apple Inc. designed to run on Apple 's Macintosh computers ( `` Macs '' ). It has been preinstalled on all Macs since 2002. Within the market of desktop, laptop and home computers, and by web usage, it is the second most widely used desktop OS, after Microsoft Windows. Launched in 2001 as Mac OS X, the series is the latest in the family of Macintosh operating systems. Mac OS X succeeded `` classic '' Mac OS, which was introduced in 1984, and the final release of which was Mac OS 9 in 1999. An initial, early version of the system, Mac OS X Server 1.0, was released in 1999. The first desktop version, Mac OS X 10.0, followed in March 2001. Releases were code named after big cats from the original release up until OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Beginning in 2013 with OS X 10.9 Mavericks, releases have been named after landmarks in California. Apple changed the original name `` Mac OS X '' to `` OS X '' in 2012 and then to `` macOS '' in 2016, adopting the nomenclature that it uses for their other operating systems, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS. The latest version of macOS is macOS High Sierra, which was publicly released in September 2017. macOS is based on technologies developed at NeXT between 1985 and 1997, when Apple acquired the company. The `` X '' in Mac OS X and OS X is the Roman numeral for the number 10 and is pronounced as such. The X was a prominent part of the operating system 's brand identity, and was used to showcase its Unix compatibility ; UNIX 03 certification was achieved for the Intel version of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and all releases from Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard up to the current version also have UNIX 03 certification. macOS shares its Unix - based core, named Darwin, and many of its frameworks with iOS, tvOS and watchOS. A heavily modified version of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger was used for the first - generation Apple TV. Apple also used to have a separate line of releases of Mac OS X designed for servers. Beginning with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, the server functions were made available as a separate package on the Mac App Store. Releases of Mac OS X from 1999 to 2005 can run only on the PowerPC - based Macs from the time period. After Apple announced that they were switching to Intel CPUs from 2006 onwards, a separate version of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger was made and distributed exclusively with early Intel - based Macs ; it included an emulator known as Rosetta, which allowed users to run most PowerPC applications on Intel - based Macs. Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard was released as a Universal binary, meaning the installer disc supported both Intel and PowerPC processors. In 2009, Apple released Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, which ran exclusively on Intel - based Macs. In 2011, Apple released Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, which no longer supported 32 - bit Intel processors and also did not include Rosetta. All versions of the system released since then run exclusively on 64 - bit Intel CPUs and do not support PowerPC applications. Part of a series on macOS Features History Transition to Intel processors Architecture Technologies List of applications List of games Components Versions Hera ( 1.0 ) Kodiak ( Public Beta ) Cheetah ( 10.0 ) Puma ( 10.1 ) Jaguar ( 10.2 ) Panther ( 10.3 ) Tiger ( 10.4 ) Leopard ( 10.5 ) Snow Leopard ( 10.6 ) Lion ( 10.7 ) Mountain Lion ( 10.8 ) Mavericks ( 10.9 ) Yosemite ( 10.10 ) El Capitan ( 10.11 ) Sierra ( 10.12 ) High Sierra ( 10.13 ) Applications Automator Calculator Calendar Chess Contacts Dashboard Dictionary DVD Player FaceTime Finder Grapher iTunes ( version history ) Mac App Store Mail Messages Photo Booth Preview QuickTime Safari ( version history ) Stickies TextEdit Utilities Activity Monitor AirPort Utility Archive Utility Audio MIDI Setup Bluetooth File Exchange ColorSync Console Crash Reporter DigitalColor Meter Directory Utility DiskImageMounter Disk Utility Font Book Grab Help Viewer Image Capture Installer Keychain Access Migration Assistant Network Utility ODBC Administrator Remote Install Mac OS X Screen Sharing System Preferences System Information Terminal Universal Access VoiceOver Related Classic Mac OS Copland NeXTSTEP Rhapsody Darwin Contents 1 History 1.1 Development 1.2 Mac OS X 1.2. 1 Launch of Mac OS X 1.2. 2 Following releases 1.3 OS X 1.4 macOS 2 Architecture 2.1 Software compatibility 2.2 Hardware compatibility 2.3 PowerPC -- Intel transition 3 Features 3.1 Aqua user interface 3.2 Components 3.3 Multilingual support 3.4 Updating methods 4 Release history 4.1 Mac OS X Public Beta 4.2 Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah 4.3 Mac OS X 10.1 Puma 4.4 Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar 4.5 Mac OS X 10.3 Panther 4.6 Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger 4.7 Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard 4.8 Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard 4.9 Mac OS X 10.7 Lion 4.10 OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion 4.11 OS X 10.9 Mavericks 4.12 OS X 10.10 Yosemite 4.13 OS X 10.11 El Capitan 4.14 macOS 10.12 Sierra 4.15 macOS 10.13 High Sierra 5 Reception 5.1 Usage share 5.2 Malware and spyware 5.3 Promotion 6 See also 7 References 8 External links History Development Simplified history of Unix - like operating systems Main article : History of macOS The heritage of what would become macOS had originated at NeXT, a company founded by Steve Jobs following his departure from Apple in 1985. There, the Unix - like NeXTSTEP operating system was developed, and then launched in 1989. The kernel of NeXTSTEP is based upon the Mach kernel, which was originally developed at Carnegie Mellon University, with additional kernel layers and low - level user space code derived from parts of BSD. Its graphical user interface was built on top of an object - oriented GUI toolkit using the Objective - C programming language. Throughout the early 1990s, Apple had tried to create a `` next - generation '' OS to succeed its classic Mac OS through the Taligent, Copland and Gershwin projects, but all of them were eventually abandoned. This led Apple to purchase NeXT in 1996, allowing NeXTSTEP, then called OPENSTEP, to serve as the basis for Apple 's next generation operating system. This purchase also led to Steve Jobs returning to Apple as an interim, and then the permanent CEO, shepherding the transformation of the programmer - friendly OPENSTEP into a system that would be adopted by Apple 's primary market of home users and creative professionals. The project was first code named `` Rhapsody '' and then officially named Mac OS X. Mac OS X Launch of Mac OS X Mac OS X was originally presented as the tenth major version of Apple 's operating system for Macintosh computers ; current versions of macOS retain the major version number `` 10 ''. Previous Macintosh operating systems ( versions of the classic Mac OS ) were named using Arabic numerals, as with Mac OS 8 and Mac OS 9. The letter `` X '' in Mac OS X 's name refers to the number 10, a Roman numeral. It is therefore correctly pronounced `` ten '' / tɛn / in this context. However, it is also commonly pronounced like the letter `` X '' / ɛks /, in honor of the fact that it is based on Unix, unlike its predecessors. The first version of Mac OS X, Mac OS X Server 1.0, was a transitional product, featuring an interface resembling the classic Mac OS, though it was not compatible with software designed for the older system. Consumer releases of Mac OS X included more backward compatibility. Mac OS applications could be rewritten to run natively via the Carbon API ; many could also be run directly through the Classic Environment with a reduction in performance. The consumer version of Mac OS X was launched in 2001 with Mac OS X 10.0. Reviews were variable, with extensive praise for its sophisticated, glossy Aqua interface but criticizing it for sluggish performance. With Apple 's popularity at a low, the makers of several classic Mac applications such as FrameMaker and PageMaker declined to develop new versions of their software for Mac OS X. Ars Technica columnist John Siracusa, who reviewed every major OS X release up to 10.10, described the early releases in retrospect as ' dog - slow, feature poor ' and Aqua as ' unbearably slow and a huge resource hog '. Following releases Apple rapidly developed several new releases of Mac OS X. Siracusa 's review of version 10.3, Panther, noted `` It 's strange to have gone from years of uncertainty and vaporware to a steady annual supply of major new operating system releases. '' Version 10.4, Tiger, reportedly shocked executives at Microsoft by offering a number of features, such as fast file searching and improved graphics processing, that Microsoft had spent several years struggling to add to Windows with acceptable performance. As the operating system evolved, it moved away from the classic Mac OS, with applications being added and removed. Considering music to be a key market, Apple developed the iPod music player and music software for the Mac, including iTunes and GarageBand. Targeting the consumer and media markets, Apple emphasized its new `` digital lifestyle '' applications such as the iLife suite, integrated home entertainment through the Front Row media center and the Safari web browser. With increasing popularity of the internet, Apple offered additional online services, including the. Mac, MobileMe and most recently iCloud products. It later began selling third - party applications through the Mac App Store. Newer versions of Mac OS X also included modifications to the general interface, moving away from the striped gloss and transparency of the initial versions. Some applications began to use a brushed metal appearance, or non-pinstriped titlebar appearance in version 10.4. In Leopard, Apple announced a unification of the interface, with a standardized gray - gradient window style. In 2006, the first Intel Macs released used a specialized version of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. In 2007, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard was the first to run on both PowerPC and Intel Macs with the use of universal binaries. Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard was the first version of OS X to drop support for PowerPC Macs. A key development for the system was the announcement and release of the iPhone from 2007 onwards. While Apple 's previous iPod media players used a minimal operating system, the iPhone used an operating system based on Mac OS X, which would later be called `` iPhone OS '' and then iOS. The simultaneous release of two operating systems based on the same frameworks placed tension on Apple, which cited the iPhone as forcing it to delay Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. However, after Apple opened the iPhone to third - party developers its commercial success drew attention to Mac OS X, with many iPhone software developers showing interest in Mac development. In two succeeding versions, Lion and Mountain Lion, Apple moved some applications to a highly skeuomorphic style of design inspired by contemporary versions of iOS, at the same time simplifying some elements by making controls such as scroll bars fade out when not in use. This direction was, like brushed metal interfaces, unpopular with some users, although it continued a trend of greater animation and variety in the interface previously seen in design aspects such as the Time Machine backup utility, which presented past file versions against a swirling nebula, and the glossy translucent dock of Leopard and Snow Leopard. In addition, with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, Apple ceased to release separate server versions of Mac OS X, selling server tools as a separate downloadable application through the Mac App Store. A review described the trend in the server products as becoming `` cheaper and simpler... shifting its focus from large businesses to small ones. '' OS X OS X logo from 2012 -- 2013 In 2012, with the release of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, the name of the system was shortened from Mac OS X to OS X. That year, Apple removed the head of OS X development, Scott Forstall, and design was changed towards a more minimal direction. Apple 's new user interface design, using deep color saturation, text - only buttons and a minimal, ' flat ' interface, was debuted with iOS 7 in 2013. With OS X engineers reportedly working on iOS 7, the version released in 2013, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, was something of a transitional release, with some of the skeuomorphic design removed, while most of the general interface of Mavericks remained unchanged. The next version, OS X 10.10 Yosemite, adopted a design similar to iOS 7 but with greater complexity suitable for an interface controlled with a mouse. From 2012 onwards, the system has shifted to an annual release schedule similar to that of iOS. It also steadily cut the cost of updates from Snow Leopard onwards, before removing upgrade fees altogether from 2013 onwards. Some journalists and third - party software developers have suggested that this decision, while allowing more rapid feature release, meant less opportunity to focus on stability, with no version of OS X recommendable for users requiring stability and performance above new features. Apple 's 2015 update, OS X 10.11 El Capitan, was announced to focus specifically on stability and performance improvements. MacOS In 2016, with the release of macOS 10.12 Sierra, the name was changed from OS X to macOS to streamline it with the branding of Apple 's other primary operating systems : iOS, watchOS, and tvOS. macOS 10.12 Sierra 's main features are the introduction of Siri to macOS, Optimized Storage, improvements to included applications, and greater integration with Apple 's iPhone and Apple Watch. The Apple File System ( APFS ) was announced at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in 2016 as a replacement for HFS+, a highly criticized file system. At the 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference Apple previewed macOS 10.13 High Sierra. It uses APFS, rather than HFS+, on solid state drives. Architecture Main article : Architecture of macOS At macOS 's core is a POSIX compliant operating system built on top of the XNU kernel, with standard Unix facilities available from the command line interface. Apple has released this family of software as a free and open source operating system named Darwin. On top of Darwin, Apple layered a number of components, including the Aqua interface and the Finder, to complete the GUI - based operating system which is macOS. With its original introduction as Mac OS X, the system brought a number of new capabilities to provide a more stable and reliable platform than its predecessor, the classic Mac OS. For example, pre-emptive multitasking and memory protection improved the system 's ability to run multiple applications simultaneously without them interrupting or corrupting each other. Many aspects of macOS 's architecture are derived from OPENSTEP, which was designed to be portable, to ease the transition from one platform to another. For example, NeXTSTEP was ported from the original 68k - based NeXT workstations to x86 and other architectures before NeXT was purchased by Apple, and OPENSTEP was later ported to the PowerPC architecture as part of the Rhapsody project. Prior to macOS High Sierra, and on drives other than solid state drives ( SSDs ), the default file system is HFS+, which it inherited from the classic Mac OS. Operating system designer Linus Torvalds has criticized HFS+, saying it is `` probably the worst file system ever '', whose design is `` actively corrupting user data ''. He criticized the case insensitivity of file names, a design made worse when Apple extended the file system to support Unicode. Initially, HFS+ was designed for classic Mac OS, which runs on big - endian 68K and PowerPC systems. When Apple switched Macintosh to little - endian Intel processors, it continued to use big - endian byte order on HFS+ file systems. As a result, macOS on current Macs must do byte swap when it reads file system data. These concerns are being addressed with the new Apple File System, which is used for file systems on SSDs in macOS High Sierra. The Darwin subsystem in macOS is in charge of managing the file system, which includes the Unix permissions layer. In 2003 and 2005, two Macworld editors expressed criticism of the permission scheme ; Ted Landau called misconfigured permissions `` the most common frustration '' in macOS, while Rob Griffiths suggested that some users may even have to reset permissions every day, a process which can take up to 15 minutes. More recently, another Macworld editor, Dan Frakes, called the procedure of repairing permissions vastly overused. He argues that macOS typically handles permissions properly without user interference, and resetting permissions should just be tried when problems emerge. The architecture of macOS incorporates a layered design : the layered frameworks aid rapid development of applications by providing existing code for common tasks. Apple provides its own software development tools, most prominently an integrated development environment called Xcode. Xcode provides interfaces to compilers that support several programming languages including C, C++, Objective - C, and Swift. For the Apple -- Intel transition, it was modified so that developers could build their applications as a universal binary, which provides compatibility with both the Intel - based and PowerPC - based Macintosh lines. First and third - party applications can be controlled programatically using the AppleScript framework, retained from the classic Mac OS, or using the newer Automator application that offers pre-written tasks that do not require programming knowledge. Software compatibility See also : List of Macintosh software List of macOS versions and the software they run Operating system Safari Mail QuickTime iTunes Messages / iChat iWork 10.13 `` High Sierra '' 11.0 11.0 10.4 12.7 11.0 2017 10.12 `` Sierra '' 10.0 10.11 `` El Capitan '' 9.3 9.2 2016 10.10 `` Yosemite '' 9.1. 3 8.0 2014 10.9 `` Mavericks '' 7.3 10.3 12.6. 2 2013 10.8 `` Mountain Lion '' 6.1 ? 10.2 12.4. 3 ' 09 10.7 `` Lion '' 10.1 12.2. 2 8.0 b or 6.0. 1 10.6 `` Snow Leopard '' 5.1. 10 4.5 11.4 5.0 10.5 `` Leopard '' 5.0. 6 3.6 7.7 10.6. 3 4.0 10.4 `` Tiger '' 4.1. 3 2.1. 3 7.6. 4 9.2. 1 3.0 10.3 `` Panther '' 1.3. 2 1. x 7.5 7.7. 1 2.1 ' 05 10.2 `` Jaguar '' 1.0. 3 6.5. 3 6.0. 5 2.0 Keynote 10.1 `` Puma '' N / A 6.3. 1 4.7. 1 N / A N / A 10.0 `` Cheetah '' 5.0 2.0. 4 Jump up ^ Messages 8.0 b was a beta release that only functioned from February 16 to December 12, 2012. Afterwards, users could either revert to iChat or upgrade to a newer version of OS X ( 10.8 `` Mountain Lion '' for US $19.99, or 10.9 `` Mavericks '' or newer for free ) to continue using Messages. Jump up ^ Keynote 1.0 is the only iLife program that is compatible with Mac OS X 10.2 `` Jaguar ''. Two minor updates, 1.1 and 1.1. 1, can be applied to this version. Jump up ^ iTunes 2.0. 4 can only run if Classic is installed. Otherwise, Mac OS X 10.0 can only run iTunes 1.1. 1 natively. Apple offered two main APIs to develop software natively for macOS : Cocoa and Carbon. Cocoa was a descendant of APIs inherited from OPENSTEP with no ancestry from the classic Mac OS, while Carbon was an adaptation of classic Mac OS APIs, allowing Mac software to be minimally rewritten in order to run natively on Mac OS X. The Cocoa API was created as the result of a 1993 collaboration between NeXT Computer and Sun Microsystems. This heritage is highly visible for Cocoa developers, since the `` NS '' prefix is ubiquitous in the framework, standing variously for NeXTSTEP or NeXT / Sun. The official OPENSTEP API, published in September 1994, was the first to split the API between Foundation and ApplicationKit and the first to use the `` NS '' prefix. Traditionally, Cocoa programs have been mostly written in Objective - C, with Java as an alternative. However, on July 11, 2005, Apple announced that `` features added to Cocoa in Mac OS X versions later than 10.4 will not be added to the Cocoa - Java programming interface. '' macOS also used to support the Java Platform as a `` preferred software package '' -- in practice this means that applications written in Java fit as neatly into the operating system as possible while still being cross-platform compatible, and that graphical user interfaces written in Swing look almost exactly like native Cocoa interfaces. Since 2014, Apple has promoted its new programming language Swift as the preferred language for software development on Apple platforms. Apple 's original plan with macOS was to require all developers to rewrite their software into the Cocoa APIs. This caused much outcry among existing Mac developers, who threatened to abandon the platform rather than invest in a costly rewrite, and the idea was shelved. To permit a smooth transition from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X, the Carbon Application Programming Interface ( API ) was created. Applications written with Carbon were initially able to run natively on both classic Mac OS and Mac OS X, although this ability was later dropped as Mac OS X developed. Carbon was not included in the first product sold as Mac OS X : the little - used original release of Mac OS X Server 1.0, which also did not include the Aqua interface. Apple limited further development of Carbon from the release of Leopard onwards, announcing Carbon applications would not receive the ability to run at 64 - bit. As of 2015, a small number of older Mac OS X apps with heritage dating back to the classic Mac OS still used Carbon, including Microsoft Office. Early versions of macOS could also run some classic Mac OS applications through the Classic Environment with performance limitations ; this feature was removed from 10.5 onwards and all Macs using Intel processors. Because macOS is POSIX compliant, many software packages written for the other Unix - like systems such as Linux can be recompiled to run on it, including much scientific and technical software. Third - party projects such as Homebrew, Fink, MacPorts and pkgsrc provide pre-compiled or pre-formatted packages. Apple and others have provided versions of the X Window System graphical interface which can allow these applications to run with an approximation of the macOS look - and - feel. The current Apple - endorsed method is the open - source XQuartz project ; earlier versions could use the X11 application provided by Apple, or before that the XDarwin project. Applications can be distributed to Macs and installed by the user from any source and by any method such as downloading ( with or without code signing, available via an Apple developer account ) or through the Mac App Store, a marketplace of software maintained by Apple by way of a process requiring the company 's approval. Apps installed through the Mac App Store run within a sandbox, restricting their ability to exchange information with other applications or modify the core operating system and its features. This has been cited as an advantage, by allowing users to install apps with confidence that they should not be able to damage their system, but also as a disadvantage, by blocking the Mac App Store 's use by professional applications that require elevated privileges. Applications without any code signature can not be run by default except from a computer 's administrator account. Apple produces macOS applications, some of which are included and some sold separately. This includes iWork, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, iLife, and the database application FileMaker. Numerous other developers also offer software for macOS. Hardware compatibility List of macOS versions, the supported systems on which they run, and their RAM requirements Operating system Supported systems RAM requirement 10.12 -- 10.13 Intel Macs ( 64 - bit ) released in : 2009 ( iMac and main MacBook line ), 2010 ( other ) or later 2 GB 10.8 -- 10.11 Intel Macs ( 64 - bit ) released in : 2007 ( prosumer and iMac ), 2008 ( other consumer ), 2009 ( Xserve ) or later 10.7 Intel Macs ( 64 - bit ) Rosetta support dropped from 10.7 and newer. 10.6 Intel Macs ( 32 - bit or 64 - bit ) 1 GB 10.5 G4, G5 and Intel Macs ( 32 - bit or 64 - bit ) at 867 MHz or faster Classic support dropped from 10.5 and newer. 512 MB 10.4 Macs with built - in FireWire and either a New World ROM or Intel processor 256 MB 10.3 Macs with a New World ROM 128 MB 10.0 -- 10.2 G3, G4 and G5 iBook and PowerBook, Power Mac and iMac ( except PowerBook G3 `` Kanga '' ) Tools such as XPostFacto and patches applied to the installation media have been developed by third parties to enable installation of newer versions of macOS on systems not officially supported by Apple. This includes a number of pre-G3 Power Macintosh systems that can be made to run up to and including Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar, all G3 - based Macs which can run up to and including Tiger, and sub-867 MHz G4 Macs can run Leopard by removing the restriction from the installation DVD or entering a command in the Mac 's Open Firmware interface to tell the Leopard Installer that it has a clock rate of 867 MHz or greater. Except for features requiring specific hardware such as graphics acceleration or DVD writing, the operating system offers the same functionality on all supported hardware. As most Mac hardware components, or components similar to those, since the Intel transition are available for purchase, some technology - capable groups have developed software to install macOS on non-Apple computers. These are referred to as Hackintoshes, a portmanteau of the words `` hack '' and `` Macintosh ''. This violates Apple 's EULA ( and is therefore unsupported by Apple technical support, warranties etc. ), but communities that cater to personal users, who do not install for resale and profit, have generally been ignored by Apple. These self - made computers allow more flexibility and customization of hardware, but at a cost of leaving the user more responsible for their own machine, such as on matter of data integrity or security. Psystar, a business that attempted to profit from selling macOS on non-Apple certified hardware, was sued by Apple in 2008. PowerPC -- Intel transition Steve Jobs talks about the transition to Intel processors Main article : Apple 's transition to Intel processors In April 2002, eWeek announced a rumor that Apple had a version of Mac OS X code - named Marklar, which ran on Intel x86 processors. The idea behind Marklar was to keep Mac OS X running on an alternative platform should Apple become dissatisfied with the progress of the PowerPC platform. These rumors subsided until late in May 2005, when various media outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal and CNET, announced that Apple would unveil Marklar in the coming months. On June 6, 2005, Steve Jobs announced in his keynote address at the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference that Apple would be making the transition from PowerPC to Intel processors over the following two years, and that Mac OS X would support both platforms during the transition. Jobs also confirmed rumors that Apple had versions of Mac OS X running on Intel processors for most of its developmental life. Intel - based Macs would run a new recompiled version of OS X along with Rosetta, a binary translation layer which enables software compiled for PowerPC Mac OS X to run on Intel Mac OS X machines. The system was included with Mac OS X versions up to version 10.6. 8. Apple dropped support for Classic mode on the new Intel Macs. Third party emulation software such as Mini vMac, Basilisk II and SheepShaver provided support for some early versions of Mac OS. A new version of Xcode and the underlying command - line compilers supported building universal binaries that would run on either architecture. PowerPC - only software is supported with Apple 's official emulation software, Rosetta, though applications eventually had to be rewritten to run properly on the newer versions released for Intel processors. Apple initially encouraged developers to produce universal binaries with support for both PowerPC and Intel. There is a performance penalty when PowerPC binaries run on Intel Macs through Rosetta. Moreover, some PowerPC software, such as kernel extensions and System Preferences plugins, are not supported on Intel Macs at all. Some PowerPC applications would not run on macOS at all. Plugins for Safari need to be compiled for the same platform as Safari, so when Safari is running on Intel, it requires plug - ins that have been compiled as Intel - only or universal binaries, so PowerPC - only plug - ins will not work. While Intel Macs are able to run PowerPC, Intel, and universal binaries ; PowerPC Macs support only universal and PowerPC builds. Support for the PowerPC platform was dropped following the transition. In 2009, Apple announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference that Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard would drop support for PowerPC processors and be Intel - only. Rosetta continued to be offered as an optional download or installation choice in Snow Leopard before it was discontinued with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. In addition, new versions of Mac OS X first - and third - party software increasingly required Intel processors, including new versions of iLife, iWork, Aperture and Logic Pro. Features Aqua user interface Main article : Aqua ( user interface ) The original Aqua user interface as seen in the Mac OS X Public Beta from 2000 One of the major differences between the classic Mac OS and the current macOS was the addition of Aqua, a graphical user interface with water - like elements, in the first major release of Mac OS X. Every window element, text, graphic, or widget is drawn on - screen using spatial anti-aliasing technology. ColorSync, a technology introduced many years before, was improved and built into the core drawing engine, to provide color matching for printing and multimedia professionals. Also, drop shadows were added around windows and isolated text elements to provide a sense of depth. New interface elements were integrated, including sheets ( dialog boxes attached to specific windows ) and drawers, which would slide out and provide options. The use of soft edges, translucent colors, and pinstripes, similar to the hardware design of the first iMacs, brought more texture and color to the user interface when compared to what Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X Server 1.0 's `` Platinum '' appearance had offered. According to John Siracusa, an editor of Ars Technica, the introduction of Aqua and its departure from the then conventional look `` hit like a ton of bricks. '' Bruce Tognazzini ( who founded the original Apple Human Interface Group ) said that the Aqua interface in Mac OS X 10.0 represented a step backwards in usability compared with the original Mac OS interface. Third - party developers started producing skins for customizable applications and other operating systems which mimicked the Aqua appearance. To some extent, Apple has used the successful transition to this new design as leverage, at various times threatening legal action against people who make or distribute software with an interface the company says is derived from its copyrighted design. Apple has continued to change aspects of the macOS appearance and design, particularly with tweaks to the appearance of windows and the menu bar. Since 2012, Apple has sold many of its Mac models with high - resolution Retina displays, and macOS and its APIs have extensive support for resolution - independent development on supporting high - resolution displays. Reviewers have described Apple 's support for the technology as superior to that on Windows. The human interface guidelines published by Apple for macOS are followed by many applications, giving them consistent user interface and keyboard shortcuts. In addition, new services for applications are included, which include spelling and grammar checkers, special characters palette, color picker, font chooser and dictionary ; these global features are present in every Cocoa application, adding consistency. The graphics system OpenGL composites windows onto the screen to allow hardware - accelerated drawing. This technology, introduced in version 10.2, is called Quartz Extreme, a component of Quartz. Quartz 's internal imaging model correlates well with the Portable Document Format ( PDF ) imaging model, making it easy to output PDF to multiple devices. As a side result, PDF viewing and creating PDF documents from any application are built - in features. Reflecting its popularity with design users, macOS also has system support for a variety of professional video and image formats and includes an extensive pre-installed font library, featuring many prominent brand - name designs. Components Main article : List of macOS components The Finder is a file browser allowing quick access to all areas of the computer, which has been modified throughout subsequent releases of macOS. Quick Look is part of the Finder since version 10.5. It allows for dynamic previews of files, including videos and multi-page documents without opening any other applications. Spotlight, a file searching technology which has been integrated into the Finder since version 10.4, allows rapid real - time searches of data files ; mail messages ; photos ; and other information based on item properties ( metadata ) and / or content. macOS makes use of a Dock, which holds file and folder shortcuts as well as minimized windows. Apple added `` Exposé '' in version 10.3 ( called Mission Control since version 10.7 ), a feature which includes three functions to help accessibility between windows and desktop. Its functions are to instantly display all open windows as thumbnails for easy navigation to different tasks, display all open windows as thumbnails from the current application, and hide all windows to access the desktop. Also, FileVault was introduced, which is an optional encryption of the user 's files with the 128 - bit Advanced Encryption Standard ( AES - 128 ). Features introduced in version 10.4 include Automator, an application designed to create an automatic workflow for different tasks ; Dashboard, a full - screen group of small applications called desktop widgets that can be called up and dismissed in one keystroke ; and Front Row, a media viewer interface accessed by the Apple Remote. Moreover, the Sync Services were included, which is a system that allows applications to access a centralized extensible database for various elements of user data, including calendar and contact items. The operating system then managed conflicting edits and data consistency. All system icons are scalable up to 512 × 512 pixels as of version 10.5 to accommodate various places where they appear in larger size, including for example the Cover Flow view, a three - dimensional graphical user interface included with iTunes, the Finder, and other Apple products for visually skimming through files and digital media libraries via cover artwork. That version also introduced Spaces, a virtual desktop implementation which enables the user to have more than one desktop and display them in an Exposé - like interface ; an automatic backup technology called Time Machine, which provides the ability to view and restore previous versions of files and application data ; and Screen Sharing was built in for the first time. In more recent releases, Apple has developed support for emoji characters by including the proprietary Apple Color Emoji font. Apple has also connected macOS with social networks such as Twitter and Facebook through the addition of share buttons for content such as pictures and text. Apple has brought several applications and features that originally debuted in iOS, its mobile operating system, to macOS in recent releases, notably the intelligent personal assistant Siri, which was introduced in version 10.12 of macOS. Multilingual support There are 34 system languages available in macOS for the user at the moment of installation ; the system language is used throughout the entire operating system environment. Input methods for typing in dozens of scripts can be chosen independently of the system language. Recent updates have added increasing support for Chinese characters and interconnections with popular social networks in China. Updating methods macOS can be updated using the Mac App Store application or the softwareupdate command line utility. Until OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, a separate Software Update application performed this functionality. In Mountain Lion and later, this was merged into the Mac App Store application, although the underlying update mechanism remains unchanged and is fundamentally different than the download mechanism used when purchasing an App Store application. Release History Main article : History of macOS § Releases Box / Mac App Store artwork for every version of macOS. Left to right : Cheetah / Puma ( 1 ), Jaguar ( 2 ), Panther ( 3 ), Tiger ( 4 ), Leopard ( 5 ), Snow Leopard ( 6 ), Lion ( 7 ), Mountain Lion ( 8 ), Mavericks ( 9 ), Yosemite ( 10 ), El Capitan ( 11 ), Sierra ( 12 ). Mac OS X, OS X, and macOS version information Version Codename Darwin version Processor support Application support Kernel Date announced Release date Most recent version Rhapsody Developer Release Grail1Z4 / Titan1U 32 - bit PowerPC 32 - bit PowerPC 32 - bit Unknown August 31, 1997 DR2 ( May 14, 1998 ) Mac OS X Server 1.0 Hera Unknown March 16, 1999 1.2 v3 ( October 27, 2000 ) Mac OS X Developer Preview Unknown May 11, 1998 March 16, 1999 DP4 ( April 5, 2000 ) Mac OS X Public Beta Kodiak 1.2. 1 Unknown September 13, 2000 N / A Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah 1.3. 1 Unknown March 24, 2001 10.0. 4 ( June 22, 2001 ) Mac OS X 10.1 Puma 1.4. 1 / 5 July 18, 2001 September 25, 2001 10.1. 5 ( June 6, 2002 ) Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar 6 32 / 64 - bit PowerPC May 6, 2002 August 24, 2002 10.2. 8 ( October 3, 2003 ) Mac OS X 10.3 Panther 7 32 / 64 - bit PowerPC June 23, 2003 October 24, 2003 10.3. 9 ( April 15, 2005 ) Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger 8 32 / 64 - bit PowerPC and Intel 32 / 64 - bit PowerPC and Intel May 4, 2004 April 29, 2005 10.4. 11 ( November 14, 2007 ) Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard 9 32 / 64 - bit PowerPC and Intel June 26, 2006 October 26, 2007 10.5. 8 ( August 5, 2009 ) Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard 10 32 / 64 - bit Intel 32 / 64 - bit Intel 32 - bit PowerPC 32 / 64 - bit June 9, 2008 August 28, 2009 10.6. 8 v1. 1 ( July 25, 2011 ) Mac OS X 10.7 Lion 11 64 - bit Intel 32 / 64 - bit Intel October 20, 2010 July 20, 2011 10.7. 5 ( September 19, 2012 ) OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion 12 64 - bit February 16, 2012 July 25, 2012 10.8. 5 ( 12F45 ) ( October 3, 2013 ) OS X 10.9 Mavericks 13 June 10, 2013 October 22, 2013 10.9. 5 ( 13F1112 ) ( September 18, 2014 ) OS X 10.10 Yosemite 14 June 2, 2014 October 16, 2014 10.10. 5 ( 14F27 ) ( August 13, 2015 ) OS X 10.11 El Capitan 15 June 8, 2015 September 30, 2015 10.11. 6 ( 15G31 ) ( July 18, 2016 ) macOS 10.12 Sierra 16 June 13, 2016 September 20, 2016 10.12. 6 ( 16G29 ) ( July 19, 2017 ) macOS 10.13 High Sierra 17 June 5, 2017 September 25, 2017 10.13. 1 ( 17B48 ) ( October 31, 2017 ) Timeline of versions ( not including 2016 's macOS Sierra and 2017 's High Sierra ) The PowerMac G5 had special Jaguar builds. Tiger did not support 64 - bit GUI applications, only 64 - bit CLI applications. 32 - bit PowerPC applications were supported on Intel processors with Rosetta. With the exception of Mac OS X Server 1.0 and the original public beta, OS X versions were named after big cats until OS X 10.9 Mavericks, when Apple switched to using California locations. Prior to its release, Mac OS X 10.0 was code named `` Cheetah '' internally at Apple, and Mac OS X 10.1 was code named internally as `` Puma ''. After the immense buzz surrounding Mac OS X 10.2, codenamed `` Jaguar '', Apple 's product marketing began openly using the code names to promote the operating system. Mac OS X 10.3 was marketed as `` Panther '', Mac OS X 10.4 as `` Tiger '', Mac OS X 10.5 as `` Leopard '', Mac OS X 10.6 as `` Snow Leopard '', Mac OS X 10.7 as `` Lion '', OS X 10.8 as `` Mountain Lion '', and OS X 10.9 as `` Mavericks ''. `` Panther '', `` Tiger '' and `` Leopard '' are registered as trademarks of Apple, but `` Cheetah '', `` Puma '' and `` Jaguar '' have never been registered. Apple has also registered `` Lynx '' and `` Cougar '' as trademarks, though these were allowed to lapse. Computer retailer Tiger Direct sued Apple for its use of the name `` Tiger ''. On May 16, 2005 a US federal court in the Southern District of Florida ruled that Apple 's use did not infringe on Tiger Direct 's trademark. Mac OS X public Beta Main article : Mac OS X Public Beta On September 13, 2000, Apple released a $29.95 `` preview '' version of Mac OS X internally codenamed Kodiak in order to gain feedback from users. The `` PB '' as it was known marked the first public availability of the Aqua interface and Apple made many changes to the UI based on customer feedback. Mac OS X Public Beta expired and ceased to function in Spring 2001. Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah Main article : Mac OS X 10.0 Screenshot of OS X 10.0 On March 24, 2001, Apple released Mac OS X 10.0 ( internally codenamed Cheetah ). The initial version was slow, incomplete, and had very few applications available at the time of its launch, mostly from independent developers. While many critics suggested that the operating system was not ready for mainstream adoption, they recognized the importance of its initial launch as a base on which to improve. Simply releasing Mac OS X was received by the Macintosh community as a great accomplishment, for attempts to completely overhaul the Mac OS had been underway since 1996, and delayed by countless setbacks. Following some bug fixes, kernel panics became much less frequent. Mac OS X 101 Puma Main article : Mac OS X 10.1 Later that year on September 25, 2001, Mac OS X 10.1 ( internally codenamed Puma ) was released. It featured increased performance and provided missing features, such as DVD playback. Apple released 10.1 as a free upgrade CD for 10.0 users, in addition to the US $129 boxed version for people running Mac OS 9. It was discovered that the upgrade CDs were full install CDs that could be used with Mac OS 9 systems by removing a specific file ; Apple later re-released the CDs in an actual stripped - down format that did not facilitate installation on such systems. On January 7, 2002, Apple announced that Mac OS X was to be the default operating system for all Macintosh products by the end of that month. Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar Main article : Mac OS X 10.2 On August 23, 2002, Apple followed up with Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar, the first release to use its code name as part of the branding. It brought great raw performance improvements, a sleeker look, and many powerful user - interface enhancements ( over 150, according to Apple ), including Quartz Extreme for compositing graphics directly on an ATI Radeon or Nvidia GeForce2 MX AGP - based video card with at least 16 MB of VRAM, a system - wide repository for contact information in the new Address Book, and an instant messaging client named iChat. The Happy Mac which had appeared during the Mac OS startup sequence for almost 18 years was replaced with a large grey Apple logo with the introduction of Mac OS X v10. 2. Mac OS X 10.3 Panther Main article : Mac OS X Panther Mac OS X v10. 3 Panther was released on October 24, 2003. In addition to providing much improved performance, it also incorporated the most extensive update yet to the user interface. Panther included as many or more new features as Jaguar had the year before, including an updated Finder, incorporating a brushed - metal interface, Fast user switching, Exposé ( Window manager ), FileVault, Safari, iChat AV ( which added videoconferencing features to iChat ), improved Portable Document Format ( PDF ) rendering and much greater Microsoft Windows interoperability. Support for some early G3 computers such as `` beige '' Power Macs and `` WallStreet '' PowerBooks was discontinued. Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger Main article : Mac OS X Tiger Screenshot of Tiger Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger was released on April 29, 2005. Apple stated that Tiger contained more than 200 new features. As with Panther, certain older machines were no longer supported ; Tiger requires a Mac with 256 MB and a built - in FireWire port. Among the new features, Tiger introduced Spotlight, Dashboard, Smart Folders, updated Mail program with Smart Mailboxes, QuickTime 7, Safari 2, Automator, VoiceOver, Core Image and Core Video. The initial release of the Apple TV used a modified version of Tiger with a different graphical interface and fewer applications and services. On January 10, 2006, Apple released the first Intel - based Macs along with the 10.4. 4 update to Tiger. This operating system functioned identically on the PowerPC - based Macs and the new Intel - based machines, with the exception of the Intel release dropping support for the Classic environment. Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Main article : Mac OS X Leopard Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard was released on October 26, 2007. It was called by Apple `` the largest update of Mac OS X ''. It brought more than 300 new features. Leopard supports both PowerPC - and Intel x86 - based Macintosh computers ; support for the G3 processor was dropped and the G4 processor required a minimum clock rate of 867 MHz, and at least 512 MB of RAM to be installed. The single DVD works for all supported Macs ( including 64 - bit machines ). New features include a new look, an updated Finder, Time Machine, Spaces, Boot Camp pre-installed, full support for 64 - bit applications ( including graphical applications ), new features in Mail and iChat, and a number of new security features. Leopard is an Open Brand UNIX 03 registered product on the Intel platform. It was also the first BSD - based OS to receive UNIX 03 certification. Leopard dropped support for the Classic Environment and all Classic applications. It was the final version of Mac OS X to support the PowerPC architecture. Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Main article : Mac OS X Snow Leopard Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard was released on August 28, 2009. Rather than delivering big changes to the appearance and end user functionality like the previous releases of Mac OS X, Snow Leopard focused on `` under the hood '' changes, increasing the performance, efficiency, and stability of the operating system. For most users, the most noticeable changes were : the disk space that the operating system frees up after a clean install compared to Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, a more responsive Finder rewritten in Cocoa, faster Time Machine backups, more reliable and user friendly disk ejects, a more powerful version of the Preview application, as well as a faster Safari web browser. Snow Leopard only supported machines with Intel CPUs, required at least 1 GB of RAM, and dropped default support for applications built for the PowerPC architecture ( Rosetta could be installed as an additional component to retain support for PowerPC - only applications ). Snow Leopard also featured new 64 - bit technology capable of supporting greater amounts of RAM, improved support for multi-core processors through Grand Central Dispatch, and advanced GPU performance with OpenCL. An update introduced support for the Mac App Store, Apple 's digital distribution platform for macOS applications. Mac OS X Lion was announced at WWDC 2011 at Moscone West Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Main article : Mac OS X Lion Mac OS X 10.7 Lion was released on July 20, 2011. It brought developments made in Apple 's iOS, such as an easily navigable display of installed applications called Launchpad and a greater use of multi-touch gestures, to the Mac. This release removed Rosetta, making it incompatible with PowerPC applications. Changes made to the GUI include auto - hiding scrollbars that only appear when they are being used, and Mission Control which unifies Exposé, Spaces, Dashboard, and full - screen applications within a single interface. Apple also made changes to applications : they resume in the same state as they were before they were closed, similar to iOS. Documents auto - save by default. OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Main article : OS X Mountain Lion OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion was released on July 25, 2012. Following the release of Lion the previous year, it was the first of the annual rather than two - yearly updates to OS X ( and later macOS ), which also closely alined with the annual iOS operating system updates. It incorporates some features seen in iOS 5, which include Game Center, support for iMessage in the new Messages messaging application, and Reminders as a to - do list app separate from iCal ( which is renamed as Calendar, like the iOS app ). It also includes support for storing iWork documents in iCloud. Notification Center, which makes its debut in Mountain Lion, is a desktop version similar to the one in iOS 5.0 and higher. Application pop - ups are now concentrated on the corner of the screen, and the Center itself is pulled from the right side of the screen. Mountain Lion also includes more Chinese features including support for Baidu as an option for Safari search engine, QQ, 163.com and 126.com services for Mail, Contacts and Calendar, Youku, Tudou and Sina Weibo are integrated into share sheets. Starting with Mountain Lion, Apple software updates ( including the OS ) are distributed via the App Store. This updating mechanism replaced the Apple Software Update utility. A screenshot of OS X Mavericks OS X 10.9 Mavericks Main article : OS X Mavericks OS X 10.9 Mavericks was released on October 22, 2013. It was a free upgrade to all users running Snow Leopard or later with a 64 - bit Intel processor. Its changes include the addition of the previously iOS - only Maps and iBooks applications, improvements to the Notification Center, enhancements to several applications, and many under - the - hood improvements. OS X 10.10 Yosemite Main article : OS X Yosemite OS X 10.10 Yosemite was released on October 16, 2014. It features a redesigned user interface similar to that of iOS 7, intended to feature a more minimal, text - based ' flat ' design, with use of translucency effects and intensely saturated colors. Apple 's showcase new feature in Yosemite is Handoff, which enables users with iPhones running iOS 8.1 or later to answer phone calls, receive and send SMS messages, and complete unfinished iPhone emails on their Mac. As of OS X 10.10. 3, Photos replaced iPhoto and Aperture. OS X 10.11 El Capitan Main article : OS X El Capitan Screenshot of El Capitan OS X 10.11 El Capitan was released on September 30, 2015. Similar to Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Apple described this release as containing `` refinements to the Mac experience '' and `` improvements to system performance '' rather than new features. Refinements include public transport built into the Maps application, GUI improvements to the Notes application, adopting San Francisco as the system font for clearer legibility, and the introduction of System Integrity Protection. The Metal API, first introduced in iOS 8, was also included in this operating system for `` all Macs since 2012 ''. MacOS 10.12 Sierra Main article : macOS Sierra macOS 10.12 Sierra was released to the public on September 20, 2016. New features include the addition of Siri, Optimized Storage, and updates to Photos, Messages, and iTunes. MacOS 10.13 High Sierra Main article : macOS High Sierra The fall release of macOS 10.13 High Sierra was announced on June 5, 2017 at Apple 's WWDC event. On September 12, 2017 at Apple 's iPhone event, they announced its release to be September 25, 2017. Like OS X El Capitan and OS X Mountain Lion, High Sierra is a refinement - based update having very few new features. High Sierra uses the new Apple File System and includes enhancements to Safari, Photos, and Mail, among other changes. Reception Usage share See also : Usage share of operating systems As of July 2016, macOS is the second-most - active general - purpose desktop client operating system in use on the World Wide Web following Microsoft Windows, with a 4.90 % usage share according to statistics compiled by the Wikimedia Foundation. It is the second most widely - used desktop operating system ( for web browsing ), after Windows, and is estimated at approximately five times the usage of Linux ( which has 1.01 % ). Usage share generally continues to shift away from the desktop and toward mobile operating systems such as iOS and Android. Malware and spyware In its earlier years, Mac OS X enjoyed a near - absence of the types of malware and spyware that have affected Microsoft Windows users. macOS has a smaller usage share compared to Windows, but it also has traditionally more secure Unix roots. Worms, as well as potential vulnerabilities, were noted in 2006, which led some industry analysts and anti-virus companies to issue warnings that Apple 's Mac OS X is not immune to malware. Increasing market share coincided with additional reports of a variety of attacks. In early 2011, Mac OS X experienced a large increase in malware attacks, and malware such as Mac Defender, MacProtector, and MacGuard were seen as an increasing problem for Mac users. At first, the malware installer required the user to enter the administrative password, but later versions were able to install without user input. Initially, Apple support staff were instructed not to assist in the removal of the malware or admit the existence of the malware issue, but as the malware spread, a support document was issued. Apple announced an OS X update to fix the problem. An estimated 100,000 users were affected. Apple releases security updates for macOS regularly. Promotion As a devices company, most large - scale Apple promotion for macOS has been part of the sale of Macs, with promotion of macOS updates generally focused on existing users, promotion at Apple Store and other retail partners, or through events for developers. In larger scale advertising campaigns, Apple specifically promoted macOS as better for handling media and other home - user applications, and comparing Mac OS X ( especially versions Tiger and Leopard ) with the heavy criticism Microsoft received for the long - awaited Windows Vista operating system. See also Apple portal Macintosh operating systems Classic Mac OS ( 1984 -- 2001 ) Comparison of BSD operating systems Comparison of operating systems List of operating systems List of Macintosh software List of macOS technologies Dock ( macOS ) References Jump up ^ `` What 's New in Swift ''. Apple Developer ( Video ). June 14, 2016. At 2 : 40. Retrieved June 16, 2016. Jump up ^ Juli Clover ( December 6, 2017 ). `` Apple Releases macOS High Sierra 10.13. 2 With Compatibility Improvements for Third - Party USB Audio Devices ''. MacRumors. Jump up ^ `` Releases ''. Apple Developer. Apple Inc. December 6, 2017. Jump up ^ Juli Clover ( December 11, 2017 ). `` Apple Seeds First Beta of macOS High Sierra 10.13. 3 to Developers ''. MacRumors. Jump up ^ `` Releases ''. developer.apple.com. December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` macOS -- How to Upgrade -- Apple ''. Apple. Retrieved September 28, 2016. Jump up ^ Apple Events - WWDC Keynote June 2016. Event occurs at 36 : 28. Jump up ^ `` Desktop Operating System Market Share ''. Net Applications. Jump up ^ `` Top 8 Operating Systems from Sept 2011 to Aug 2015 ''. Jump up ^ Ha, Anthony ( June 10, 2013 ). `` Apple Has A New, California - Based Naming Scheme For OS X, Starting With OS X Mavericks ''. TechCrunch. Retrieved June 10, 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Mac OS X Version 10.5 on Intel - based Macintosh computers ''. The Open Group. Retrieved December 4, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Mac OS X Version 10.6 on Intel - based Macintosh computers ''. The Open Group. Retrieved December 4, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Apple technology brief on UNIX '' ( PDF ). Apple. Retrieved November 5, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Mac OS X Version 10.8 on Intel - based Macintosh computers ''. The Open Group. Retrieved December 4, 2014. Jump up ^ `` OS X Version 10.9 on Intel - based Macintosh computers ''. The Open Group. Retrieved December 4, 2014. Jump up ^ `` OS X version 10.10 Yosemite on Intel - based Mac computers ''. The Open Group. Retrieved December 4, 2014. Jump up ^ `` OS X version 10.11 El Capitan on Intel - based Mac computers ''. The Open Group. Retrieved October 23, 2015. Jump up ^ `` macOS version 10.12 Sierra on Intel - based Mac computers ''. The Open Group. Retrieved September 29, 2016. Jump up ^ `` macOS version 10.13 High Sierra on Intel - based Mac computers ''. The Open Group. Retrieved November 19, 2017. Jump up ^ Foresman, Chris ( September 2010 ). `` Apple TV definitely running iOS, could be jailbreak target ''. Ars Technica. Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved November 16, 2010. Jump up ^ Mossberg, Walter S. ( March 21, 2007 ). `` From PC to TV -- via Apple ''. All Things Digital. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved May 18, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Apple Facts ''. The Apple Museum. Retrieved December 15, 2008. a joint venture with IBM, called Taligent, but was discontinued soon thereafter Jump up ^ Markoff, John ( December 23, 1996 ). `` Why Apple Sees Next as a Match Made in Heaven ''. The New York Times. The New York Times Company. p. D1. Jump up ^ Fawcett, Neil ( February 12, 1998 ). `` Rhapsody suffers an identity crisis ''. Computer Weekly. Reed Business Information. Retrieved April 19, 2012. ( subscription required ) ^ Jump up to : Siracusa, John. `` Rhapsody and Blues ''. Ars Technica. Retrieved 30 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` What is an operating system ( OS ) ? ''. Apple. July 15, 2004. Retrieved December 20, 2006. The current version of Mac OS is Mac OS X ( pronounced `` Mac O-S ten '' ). Jump up ^ Siracusa, John ( March 24, 2006 ). `` Five years of Mac OS X ''. Ars Technica. Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved April 15, 2009. Even Steve Jobs still says `` ecks '' instead of `` ten '' sometimes. Jump up ^ Kelly, Spencer ( February 26, 2011 ). Click - BBC TV programme. BBC. Retrieved March 20, 2011. Of course X / ɛks / does mean 10, but anyone who used to poke around on Unix systems will know that in those days anything Unix had an X ( ˈɛks ) in it, and OS Ten is written OS X ( ˈɛks ) in honour of the fact that it is based on UNIX, unlike its predecessors. So, hey, you can say it any way you want ; me, I 'm showing my age and sticking with X ( ˈɛks ). Jump up ^ `` Mac OS X Hits Stores This Weekend ''. Apple. March 21, 2001. Retrieved December 1, 2017. Mac OS X is the world 's most advanced operating system, combining the power and openness of UNIX with the legendary ease of use and broad applications base of Macintosh ®. (... ) Mac OS X is built upon an incredibly stable, open source, UNIX - based foundation called Darwin (... ) ^ Jump up to : Siracusa, John ( May 13, 2011 ). `` Here 's to the crazy ones : a decade of Mac OS X reviews ''. Ars Technica. Retrieved November 30, 2015. Jump up ^ Dalrymple, Jim ( March 23, 2004 ). `` Adobe discontinues FrameMaker for Macintosh ''. Macworld. Retrieved 30 November 2015. ^ Jump up to : Siracusa, John. `` Lion review ''. Ars Technica. Jump up ^ Rubenstein, John ( July 1, 2011 ). `` Jon Rubinstein sends message to HP staff ; Addresses TouchPad reviews ''. WebOS Nation. Retrieved November 30, 2015. Jump up ^ Spolsky, Joel ( June 13, 2004 ). `` How Microsoft Lost the API War ''. Retrieved April 15, 2009. The developers of the Macintosh OS at Apple have always been in this camp ( i.e. not trying to be backwards compatible no matter what ). It 's why so few applications from the early days of the Macintosh still work... Jump up ^ Siracusa, John. `` OS X Panther review ''. Ars Technica. Retrieved 30 November 2015. Jump up ^ Gregg Keizer ( January 29, 2007 ). `` Microsoft 's Vista Had Major Mac Envy, Company E-Mails Reveal ''. Information Week. Retrieved February 28, 2013. Jump up ^ Orlowski, Andrew. `` The Jagwyre Review ''. The Register. Retrieved 19 September 2017. Using Mac OS X is like touring a land of fabulous ancient treasures - with a tourist authority that 's still busy renovating them, and that has n't quite completed the infrastructure. The sights can be breathtaking, but the roads are potholed and incomplete, and sometimes you have to get out and push. There are a few magnificent modern additions - Rendezvous, AppleScript Studio, for example - but in places the modern Apple archaeologists seem to have forgotten their ancestors techniques, and have resorted to inferior contemporary methods such as the Windows bodge of using three letter extensions for identifying the file type. Jump up ^ Thompson, Ben. `` Apple and the Oak Tree ''. Stratechery. Retrieved 19 September 2017. Jump up ^ Rizzo, John ( November 12, 2003 ). `` Mac OS X 10.3 Panther ''. Retrieved April 15, 2009. Once you reboot, you 'll notice that Apple has abandoned the light and airy Aqua interface for the darker, heavier brushed - metal look of iTunes. Jump up ^ W., Jeff ( May 27, 2008 ). `` Mac OS X ( 10.5 ) -- User Interface Changes ''. University of Wisconsin. Retrieved April 15, 2009. Jump up ^ Siracusa, John. `` OS X Leopard review ''. Ars Technica. Retrieved 30 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Mac OS X versions ( builds ) for computers -- Apple Support ''. support.apple.com. Retrieved May 24, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Apple -- Press Info -- Apple to Ship Mac OS X Leopard on October 26 ''. www.apple.com. Retrieved May 24, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard ''. Apple Store ( U.S. ). Retrieved May 24, 2015. Jump up ^ Chartier, David. `` Apple announces Leopard delays due to the iPhone ''. Engadget. Retrieved 30 November 2015. Jump up ^ Gruber, John. `` WWDC 2009 Wrap - Up ''. Daring Fireball. Retrieved 30 November 2015. Jump up ^ Brand, Thomas. `` Apple 's History of Skeuomorphism ''. Egg Freckles. Retrieved 30 November 2015. Jump up ^ Cunningham, Andrew. `` Server, simplified : A power user 's guide to OS X Server ''. Ars Technica. Retrieved 2 December 2015. Jump up ^ Charles Arthur, technology editor ( 2012 - 10 - 30 ). `` Apple 's Tim Cook shows ruthless streak in firing maps and retail executives Technology guardian.co.uk ''. London : Guardian. Retrieved 2012 - 12 - 06. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Siracusa, John. `` OS X Mavericks review ''. Ars Technica. Retrieved 30 November 2015. Jump up ^ Siracusa, John. `` OS X Yosemite review ''. Ars Technica. Retrieved 30 November 2015. Jump up ^ Gruber, John. `` Mountain Lion ''. Daring Fireball. Retrieved 15 August 2015. Jump up ^ Arment, Marco. `` Apple has lost the functional high ground ''. Retrieved 15 August 2015. Jump up ^ Hattersley, Lucy. `` Mac OS X El Capitan review : The best ( and worst ) new features ''. Macworld UK. Retrieved 2017 - 05 - 19. Jump up ^ `` Apple just renamed one of its oldest and most important products ''. Business Insider. June 13, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016. Jump up ^ Introducing Apple File System. Apple. 2016. Jump up ^ Grothaus, Michael ( April 12, 2011 ). `` Mac OS X Lion to tone down the Aqua ''. The Unofficial Apple Weblog. AOL. Retrieved April 9, 2012. Jump up ^ Raymond, Eric Steven. `` The Elements of Operating - System Style ''. Retrieved November 5, 2008. ^ Jump up to : `` Cocoa Fundamentals Guide : A Bit of History ''. ADC Reference Library. Apple Developer Connection. Retrieved December 15, 2008. Jump up ^ Swapnil Bhartiya ( January 13, 2015 ). `` Linus Torvalds : Apple 's HFS+ is probably the worst file system ever ''. CIO. Jump up ^ `` CVE - 2014 - 9390 aka `` Git on case - insensitive filesystems '' I did not give the... ``. google.com. Jump up ^ Robin Harris. `` WWDC 's biggest disappointment ''. ZDNet. Jump up ^ `` Mac OS X 10.7 Lion : the Ars Technica review ''. Ars Technica. Jump up ^ Griffiths, Rob ( February 2005 ). `` Prevent Mac Disasters ''. Macworld. IDG. Retrieved February 8, 2009. Jump up ^ Frakes, Dan ( August 2006 ). `` Repairing permissions : what you need to know ''. Macworld. IDG. Retrieved February 8, 2009. Jump up ^ Frakes, Dan ( June 2008 ). `` Five Mac maintenance myths ''. Macworld. IDG. Retrieved February 8, 2009. Jump up ^ `` About the Technologies for Developing Mac OS X Software ''. Apple. Retrieved April 4, 2012. Jump up ^ Zepko, Tom ( November 6, 2003 ). `` Why Cocoa ? ''. Retrieved April 15, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Adopting Universal Binaries on Mac OS X ''. Apple. February 22, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2008. Jump up ^ Productions, Nyhthawk. `` AppleScript : Graphic User Interface ( GUI ) Scripting ''. www.macosxautomation.com. Retrieved 2017 - 01 - 03. Jump up ^ `` AppleScript Introduction ''. whitefiles.org. Retrieved 2017 - 01 - 03. Jump up ^ `` The really simple guide to Automator in OS X on the Mac RAW Mac ''. www.rawinfopages.com. Retrieved 2017 - 01 - 03. Jump up ^ `` iTunes - Download iTunes Now ''. Apple. June 1, 2016. Archived from the original on September 5, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2017. Jump up ^ `` iTunes - Download iTunes Now ''. Apple. September 16, 2015. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Safari 5.1. 10 for Snow Leopard ''. Apple. September 12, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Mac OS X v10. 6 : `` You ca n't use this version of Mail... '' alert after installing Security Update 2012 - 004 ``. Apple. March 23, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2017. Jump up ^ `` iTunes 11.4 for OS X 10.6 ''. Apple. September 9, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2017. Jump up ^ `` iTunes 10.6. 3 ''. Apple. June 11, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2017. Jump up ^ `` iTunes 9.2. 1 ''. Apple. July 19, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2017. Jump up ^ `` iTunes 7.7. 1 for Panther ''. Official Apple Support Communities. August 25, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2017. Jump up ^ `` iChat AV 2.1 ''. Apple. March 23, 2004. Archived from the original on April 29, 2007. Retrieved March 16, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Introduction to Cocoa - Java Integration Guide ''. ADC Reference Library. Apple Developer Connection. Retrieved April 8, 2006. ^ Jump up to : Nack, John. `` Photoshop, Lightroom, and Adobe 's 64 - bit roadmap ''. Adobe Systems. Retrieved March 30, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Looking back at OS X 's origins ''. Macworld. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 17. Jump up ^ Steele, Billy. `` NASA WISE Deputy Project Scientist Amy Mainzer ''. Engadget. As an astrophysicist, having the Unix core underlying the OS is key, since virtually all of our software is Unix - based in some sense Jump up ^ `` X11 for Mac OS X 1.0 ''. Apple. October 28, 2003. Retrieved December 15, 2008. Jump up ^ Ben Byer ( October 27, 2007 ). `` Re : X11 in Leopard : xterm on start - up ''. Apple 's x11 - users mailing list. Retrieved January 18, 2008. Jump up ^ Michael Larabel ( May 28, 2011 ). `` X.Org Server 1.10. 2 Brings A Bunch Of Bug - Fixes ''. phoronix. Retrieved May 29, 2011. Jump up ^ Slivka, Eric ( February 17, 2012 ). `` Apple Removes X11 in OS X Mountain Lion, Shifts Support to Open Source XQuartz ''. MacRumors. Retrieved February 23, 2012. Jump up ^ Counsell, Dan. `` Not on the Mac App Store ''. Retrieved 1 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` Distributing Apps Outside the Mac App Store ''. Apple Developer. Apple. Retrieved 1 December 2015. Jump up ^ Kazmucha, Allyson. `` How to open apps from an unidentified developer in OS X Mountain Lion ''. IMore. Retrieved 1 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` About Gatekeeper ''. Apple. Retrieved 1 December 2015. Jump up ^ Andrew Cunningham ( June 5, 2017 ). `` Anything that can run macOS Sierra can also run macOS High Sierra ''. Ars Technica. ^ Jump up to : `` System requirements for OS X Lion and Mac OS X v10. 6 ''. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 22. ^ Jump up to : `` Mac OS X : System Requirements ''. Apple. April 28, 2005. Retrieved December 20, 2006. Jump up ^ `` iMac - Tech Specs - Apple ''. Apple Inc. Retrieved July 28, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Home page -- footer ''. tonymacx86.com. Retrieved July 28, 2015. Jump up ^ K, M. `` Is installing Mavericks on Hackintosh legal ? ''. apple.stackexchange.com. Retrieved July 28, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Choosing the right CPU for your hackintosh ''. www.macbreaker.com. Retrieved July 28, 2015. Jump up ^ Arment, Marco. `` Far Too Much Analysis Of The Alleged New Mac Pro Geekbench Score ''. Marco.org. Retrieved 14 August 2015. Jump up ^ Taub, Eric. `` Apple sues Psystar to block Macintosh clones ''. NYTimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Jump up ^ Rothenbourg, Matthew ; dePlume, Nick ( August 30, 2002 ). `` Apple Keeps x86 Torch Lit with ' Marklar ' ''. eWeek.com. Retrieved June 8, 2013. Jump up ^ Clark, Don ; Wingfield, Nick ( May 23, 2005 ). `` Apple Explores Use Of Chips From Intel For Macintosh Line ''. The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved February 8, 2009. Jump up ^ Kanellos, Michael ( May 23, 2005 ). `` Apple to Intel : Some advantage, lots of risk ''. CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 28, 2006. Jump up ^ Gruber, John. `` I 'll See You Intel ''. Daring Fireball. Retrieved 31 March 2016. Jump up ^ Gruber, John. `` Intel - Apple Odds and Ends ''. Daring Fireball. Retrieved 31 March 2016. Jump up ^ Gruber, John. `` Bombs Away ''. Daring Fireball. Retrieved 31 March 2016. Jump up ^ Siracusa, John. `` Picking up the pieces : John Siracusa mourns the Power PC ''. Ars Technica. Retrieved 31 March 2016. Jump up ^ AppleInsider Staff ( February 26, 2011 ). `` Mac OS X Lion drops Front Row, Java runtime, Rosetta ''. AppleInsider. AppleInsider, Inc. Archived from the original on March 1, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Apple to Use Intel Microprocessors Beginning in 2006 '' ( Press release ). Apple. June 6, 2005. Retrieved April 8, 2006. Jump up ^ `` Adopting Universal Binaries ''. Apple. January 2006. Retrieved December 20, 2006. Jump up ^ Landau, Ted ( May 2006 ). `` OS X First Aid ''. Macworld. IDG. Retrieved February 8, 2009. Jump up ^ Stevens, Tim ( June 10, 2009 ). `` Snow Leopard officially puts PowerPC Macs on endangered species list ''. Engadget. AOL. Retrieved June 15, 2009. ^ Jump up to : Arnold Kim ( February 27, 2011 ). `` Mac OS X Lion : Drops PowerPC Emulation, Adds QuickTime Pro Features, Much More ''. MacRumors. Retrieved February 27, 2011. Jump up ^ `` The Aqua Interface ''. Apple Human Interface Guidelines. Apple. June 9, 2008. Archived from the original on December 9, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008. ^ Jump up to : Davidson, James Duncan ( 2002 ). Learning Cocoa With Objective - C. O'Reilly. p. 6. ISBN 0 - 596 - 00301 - 3. Jump up ^ Siracusa, John ( October 28, 2007 ). `` Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard : the Ars Technica review ''. Ars Technica. Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved December 16, 2008. Jump up ^ Tognazzini, Bruce ( February 2000 ). `` OS X : A First Look ''. Retrieved November 5, 2008. Jump up ^ Thomas, Matthew Paul ( February 16, 2004 ). `` My first 48 hours enduring Mac OS X ''. Archived from the original on October 14, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Apple lowers boom on Aqua ' skins ' ''. ZDNet. CBS Interactive. February 2, 2001. Archived from the original on October 31, 2001. Retrieved May 22, 2006. Jump up ^ Castle, Alex. `` How to make the Windows desktop look good on high - DPI displays ''. PC World. Retrieved 9 July 2015. Jump up ^ Cunningham, Andrew. `` Using the Retina MacBook as a Windows PC ''. Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 July 2015. Jump up ^ Hutchinson, Lee. `` The Retina iMac and its 5K display... as a gaming machine ? ( Updated ) ''. Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 July 2015. Jump up ^ O'Malley, Kevin ( 2003 ). Programming Mac OS X : A Guide for Unix Developers. Manning. p. 7. ISBN 1 - 930110 - 85 - 5. Jump up ^ `` OS X. It 's what makes a Mac a Mac ''. Apple. Retrieved March 2, 2011. Jump up ^ Girard, Dave. `` Making the ultimate creative content OS from bits of Windows, Mac, and Linux ''. Ars Technica. Retrieved 14 August 2015. Jump up ^ Holwerda, Thom ( December 6, 2007 ). `` Review : Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard ''. OS News. Retrieved April 15, 2009. The next area where Apple claims to have made major improvements is the Finder. Jump up ^ Siracusa, John ( January 26, 2006 ). `` Finding Leopard ''. Ars Technica. Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved April 15, 2009. Unsurprisingly, each new Mac OS X release has been the vehicle for a parade of Finder fantasies. Jump up ^ Siracusa, John ( April 28, 2005 ). `` Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger ''. Ars Technica. Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved April 15, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Mac 101 : Spotlight ''. Apple. November 6, 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Mac 101 : Exposé ''. Apple. October 31, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008. Jump up ^ `` About FileVault ''. Mac OS X 10.5 Help. Apple. Retrieved December 16, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Mac 101 : Automator ''. Apple. November 6, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Mac 101 : Dashboard ''. Apple. November 11, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Front Row ''. Apple. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Why Use Sync Services ? ''. Apple. October 31, 2007. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Spaces. Room for everything ''. Apple. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Time Machine. A giant leap backward ''. Apple. Retrieved December 16, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Finder ''. Apple. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008. Jump up ^ Jeff Blagdon ( 2013 - 03 - 04 ). `` How emoji conquered the world ''. The Verge. Retrieved 2014 - 07 - 28. Jump up ^ Sternbergh, Adam. `` Smile, You 're Speaking EMOJI : the rapid evolution of a wordless tongue ''. New York magazine. Retrieved 15 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` OS X Mountain Lion : Share with iCloud, Facebook, Twitter, and other services ''. Apple. Retrieved 14 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` 13 Things You Can Do with MacOS Sierra You Could n't Before ''. Gizmodo. Retrieved September 28, 2016. Jump up ^ `` How to use Siri in macOS Sierra : A look at using the Apple 's virtual assistant on the Mac ''. Macworld. Retrieved September 28, 2016. Jump up ^ `` System -- New system languages ''. Apple. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2011. Jump up ^ Cheng, Jacqui. `` Apple 's Tim Cook visits China to talk expansion, expansion, expansion ''. Ars Technica. Retrieved 14 August 2015. Jump up ^ Foresman, Chris. `` Next version of OS X to be more iOS - like than ever with Mountain Lion ''. Ars Technica. Conde Nast. Retrieved 14 August 2015. Jump up ^ Campbell, Mikey. `` Apple targets China, Japan with new OS X El Capitan system fonts and input ''. Apple Insider. Retrieved 14 August 2015. ^ Jump up to : Panzarino, Matthew ( February 16, 2012 ). `` Apple courts China with Sina Weibo, Baidu, Youku and more integrated in Mountain Lion ''. The Next Web. Retrieved March 15, 2012. Jump up ^ Editors, Macworld ( 2014 - 01 - 22 ). Total OS X Mavericks Superguide : Everything you need to know about Apple 's newest operating system. IDG Consumer & SMB, Inc. ISBN 9781937821388. Jump up ^ Davis, Jim ( May 11, 1998 ). `` OS X is the future for Apple ''. CNET. Retrieved July 17, 2013. Jump up ^ Steven Borden - Weill ( April 15, 2011 ). `` Kodiak to Lion : 10 years of Mac OS X ''. Network World. Jump up ^ `` Apple Previews Next Version of Mac OS X '' ( Press release ). Apple. July 18, 2001. Retrieved March 11, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Apple Previews `` Jaguar '', the Next Major Release of Mac OS X '' ( Press release ). Apple. May 6, 2002. Retrieved March 11, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Apple Previews Mac OS X `` Panther '' '' ( Press release ). Apple. June 23, 2003. Retrieved March 11, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Steve Jobs to Kick Off Apple 's Worldwide Developers Conference 2004 with Preview of Mac OS X `` Tiger '' '' ( Press release ). Apple. Retrieved March 11, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Apple Executives to Preview Mac OS X `` Leopard '' at WWDC 2006 Keynote '' ( Press release ). Apple. Retrieved March 11, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Road to Mac OS X Snow Leopard : 64 - bit to the Kernel ''. AppleInsider. October 28, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Apple Previews Mac OS X Snow Leopard to Developers '' ( Press release ). Apple. June 9, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Apple Gives Sneak Peek of Mac OS X Lion '' ( Press release ). Apple. October 20, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Older 64 - bit Macs out of the picture for Mountain Lion ''. CNET. July 11, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Apple Releases OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview with Over 100 New Features '' ( Press release ). Apple. February 16, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Mountain Lion Available Today From Mac App Store '' ( Press release ). Apple. July 25, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Apple Releases Developer Preview of OS X Mavericks With More Than 200 New Features '' ( Press release ). Apple. June 10, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Apple releases OS X 10.9 Mavericks with reliability enhancements, includes Safari 7.0. 6 ''. appleinsider. Retrieved on December 18, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Apple Announces OS X Yosemite '' ( Press release ). Apple. June 2, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Apple Announces OS X El Capitan '' ( Press release ). Apple. June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Apple previews major update with macOS Sierra '' ( Press release ). Apple. June 13, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016. Jump up ^ U.S. Trademark 78,257,226 Jump up ^ U.S. Trademark 78,269,988 Jump up ^ U.S. Trademark 78,270,003 Jump up ^ U.S. Trademark 78,271,630 Jump up ^ U.S. Trademark 78,271,639 Jump up ^ Kasper, Jade. `` Court sides with Apple over `` Tiger '' trademark dispute ``. AppleInsider. Retrieved April 25, 2006. Jump up ^ John Siracusa. `` Mac OS X Beta -- Page 1 -- ( 10 / 2000 ) ''. Ars Technica. Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved March 11, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Mac OS X Public Beta Expires Today News ''. The Mac Observer. Retrieved March 11, 2010. Jump up ^ Although the version is now called Cheetah by users, rare evidences can be found to prove that it was called so internally. For instance, a Q&A was created in 2005 which mentions it. `` Technical Q&A ''. Apple. October 4, 2005. Retrieved December 20, 2006. Jump up ^ `` Mac OS X 10.0 ''. Ars Technica. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 17. ^ Jump up to : `` Mac OS X 10.0 - Page 17 - ( 03 / 2001 ) ''. archive.arstechnica.com. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 29. Jump up ^ Williams, Justin ( 2008 - 03 - 11 ). Getting StartED with Mac OS X Leopard. Apress. ISBN 9781430205197. Jump up ^ `` Apple Cease - And - Desists Stupidity Leak ''. Slashdot. 2001. Retrieved November 5, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Apple Makes Mac OS X the Default Operating System on All Macs '' ( Press release ). Apple. January 7, 2002. Retrieved December 3, 2006. Jump up ^ `` Jaguar `` Unleashed '' at 10 : 20 pm Tonight '' ( Press release ). Apple. August 23, 2002. Retrieved December 15, 2008. Jump up ^ The headline of the press release mention `` Jaguar '', while the codename was not mentioned for earlier versions. See Apple.com, `` Jaguar '' press release, compared to Mac OS X v10. 0 press release and Mac OS X v10. 1 press release Jump up ^ `` Mac OS X 10.2 Product Information Page ''. Apple. August 29, 2002. Archived from the original on August 29, 2002. Retrieved June 12, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Apple Previews `` Jaguar, '' the Next Major Release of Mac OS X '' ( Press release ). Apple. May 6, 2002. Retrieved December 20, 2006. Jump up ^ Thomas, Tommy. `` Murder on Macintosh Row : Happy Mac, 1984 - 2002 ''. lowendmac.com. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 29. Jump up ^ `` Apple Announces Mac OS X `` Panther '' '' ( Press release ). Apple. October 8, 2003. Retrieved January 11, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Mac OS X 10.3 Panther ''. Low End Mac. 2003 - 10 - 24. Retrieved 2016 - 12 - 31. Jump up ^ `` Apple Unleashes `` Tiger Friday at 6 : 00 pm '' ( Press release ). Apple. April 28, 2005. Retrieved January 11, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Apple unveils Intel iMacs ''. AppleInsider. January 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Apple -- Mac OS X Leopard -- Features -- 300 + New Features ''. Apple. 2008. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Apple -- BootCamp ''. Apple. 2006. Archived from the original on June 2, 2006. Retrieved June 5, 2006. Jump up ^ `` Mac OS X Leopard -- Technology -- UNIX ''. Leopard Technology Overview. Apple. Retrieved October 26, 2007. Leopard is now an Open Brand UNIX 03 Registered Product, conforming to the SUSv3 and POSIX 1003.1 specifications for the C API, Shell Utilities, and Threads. Jump up ^ `` Do Classic applications work with Mac OS X 10.5 or Intel - based Macs ? ''. Knowledge Base. Apple. January 13, 2006. Retrieved October 25, 2007. Jump up ^ Cheeseman, Bill ( 2010 - 04 - 26 ). Cocoa Recipes for Mac OS X. Pearson Education. ISBN 9780321702883. Jump up ^ Lynch, Steven ( June 12, 2008 ). `` Mac OS X Snow Leopard Drops PowerPC Support ''. HardOCP. Retrieved October 20, 2010. Jump up ^ `` The 64 - Bitness of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard ''. Low End Mac. 2009 - 08 - 19. Retrieved 2016 - 12 - 31. Jump up ^ Reisinger, Don ( January 6, 2011 ). `` Mac App Store launches on Snow Leopard ''. CNET. CBS Interactive. Jump up ^ `` Apple -- OS X Lion -- The world 's most advanced desktop operating system ''. Apple. October 20, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Review - Document Model ''. Ars Technica. July 20, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Apple -- OS X Mountain Lion -- The world 's most advanced desktop operating system ''. Apple. February 16, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Inside OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion : Apple overhauls software updates, App Store ''. AppleInsider. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 29. Jump up ^ Slivka, Eric. `` Software Update to Move Inside Mac App Store in OS X Mountain Lion ''. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 29. Jump up ^ Gupta, Poornima ; Chan, Edwin ( Oct 22, 2013 ). `` Apple gives away Mac software, unveils iPad Air ''. Reuters. Jump up ^ `` OS X Mavericks Available Today Free from the Mac App Store '' ( Press release ). Apple Inc. October 22, 2013. Jump up ^ Siracusa, John. `` Yosemite review ''. Ars Technica. Jump up ^ Gibbs, Samuel ( 16 April 2015 ). `` Upgrading from iPhoto or Aperture to Apple 's Photos ? Read this ''. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 July 2017. Jump up ^ Dhiraj, Rav ( June 2015 ). `` What 's New in Metal, Part 1 '' ( pdf ). Apple Developer. Apple. p. 84. Retrieved June 17, 2015. Jump up ^ `` macOS ''. Retrieved September 26, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Siri for Mac : How it works in Apple 's macOS Sierra and what it 's capable of ''. AppleInsider. Retrieved September 28, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` MacOS 10.13 High Sierra Release Date Set for Fall ''. OS X Daily. 2017 - 06 - 05. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 12. Jump up ^ Dillet, Romain. `` Apple is releasing macOS High Sierra on September 25 ''. TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 12. Jump up ^ `` Apple macOS High Sierra preview : the biggest Mac update you 'll never see ''. The Verge. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Wikimedia Traffic Analysis Report - Operating Systems, Jun27 - Jul31, 2016 ''. Jump up ^ Welch, John ( January 6, 2007 ). `` Review : Mac OS X Shines In Comparison With Windows Vista ''. Information Week. Retrieved February 5, 2007. Jump up ^ Granneman, Scott ( October 6, 2003 ). `` Linux vs. Windows Viruses ''. The Register. Retrieved February 5, 2007. Jump up ^ Gruber, John ( June 4, 2004 ). `` Broken Windows ''. Daring Fireball. Retrieved April 24, 2006. Jump up ^ `` Operating System Market Share ''. September 2009. Retrieved April 10, 2009. Jump up ^ Roberts, Paul ( February 21, 2006 ). `` New Safari Flaw, Worms Turn Spotlight on Apple Security ''. eWeek. Retrieved November 23, 2007. Jump up ^ Conneally, Tim ( August 28, 2009 ). `` ' Macs do n't get viruses ' myth dissolves before public 's eyes ''. BetaNews.com. Jump up ^ Grimes, Roger A. ( May 23, 2011 ). `` 7 questions about the Mac malware scare Security ''. InfoWorld. Retrieved July 5, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Mac Security Boasts Threatened by Malware Surge -- International Business Times ''. Ibtimes.com. May 26, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2011. Jump up ^ Trenholm, Rich ( May 20, 2011 ). `` Apple tells support staff not to confirm Mac Defender infections ''. UK : Crave. Retrieved July 5, 2011. Jump up ^ Seltzer, Larry ( May 25, 2011 ). `` Mac Defender 2.0 Released -- Security Watch ''. PC Mag. Retrieved July 5, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Apple security updates ''. Apple. January 21, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2009. Jump up ^ Nudd, Tim. `` Apple 's Get a Mac campaign ''. AdWeek. Retrieved 2 December 2015. Jump up ^ Arthur, Charles. `` Apple tweaks Microsoft over Vista ad spending ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 2 December 2015. External links macOS -- official site macOS History Architecture Components Technologies Server Software Versions Server 1.0 Hera Public Beta Kodiak 10.0 Cheetah 10.1 Puma 10.2 Jaguar 10.3 Panther 10.4 Tiger 10.5 Leopard 10.6 Snow Leopard 10.7 Lion 10.8 Mountain Lion 10.9 Mavericks 10.10 Yosemite 10.11 El Capitan 10.12 Sierra 10.13 High Sierra Applications Automator Calculator Calendar Chess Contacts Dashboard Dictionary DVD Player FaceTime Finder Game Center Grapher iTunes ( version history ) Launchpad Mac App Store Mail Messages Notes Notification Center Photo Booth Photos Preview QuickTime Reminders Safari ( version history ) Stickies TextEdit Time Machine Discontinued Front Row iChat iPhoto iSync Sherlock Utilities Activity Monitor AirPort Utility AppleScript Editor Archive Utility Audio MIDI Setup Bluetooth File Exchange Boot Camp ColorSync Configurator Console Crash Reporter DigitalColor Meter Directory Utility DiskImageMounter Disk Utility Font Book Grab Help Viewer Image Capture Installer Keychain Access Migration Assistant Network Utility ODBC Administrator Screen Sharing System Preferences System Information Terminal Universal Access VoiceOver Discontinued Software Update Remote Install Mac OS X Technology and user interface AirDrop Apple File System Apple menu Apple Push Notification Service AppleScript Aqua Audio Units Bonjour CloudKit Cocoa ColorSync Command key Core Animation Core Audio Core Data Core Foundation Core Image Core OpenGL Core Text Core Video CUPS Cover Flow Darwin Dock FileVault Fonts Gatekeeper Grand Central Dispatch icns iCloud Inkwell I / O Kit Kernel panic Keychain launchd Mach - O Menu extra Metal Mission Control OpenCL Option key Preference Pane Property list Quartz QuickTime Quick Look Smart Folders Speakable items Spotlight Stacks System Integrity Protection Uniform Type Identifier Universal binary WebKit XNU XQuartz Deprecated Carbon HFS+ Discontinued BootX Brushed metal Classic Environment Rosetta Spaces Xgrid Links to related articles Macintosh operating systems Classic Mac OS System 1 System 2, 3, and 4 System 5 System 6 System 7 Mac OS 8 Mac OS 9 Mac OS X / OS X / macOS History NeXTSTEP OpenStep Rhapsody Public Beta Core Darwin Desktop 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 Server 1.0 macOS Server Other projects Shipped A / ROSE A / UX MAE MkLinux Cancelled Star Trek Taligent Copland Overview Category Operating systems by Apple Inc. Apple II / III / Lisa Apple II series Apple DOS ProDOS GS / OS Apple III SOS Lisa Lisa OS MacWorks Macintosh ( overview ) Classic Mac OS System 1 System 2, 3, and 4 System 5 System 6 System 7 Mac OS 8 Mac OS 9 Mac OS X / OS X / macOS History NeXTSTEP OpenStep Rhapsody Public Beta Core Darwin Desktop 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 Server 1.0 macOS Server Other projects Shipped A / ROSE A / UX MAE MkLinux Cancelled Star Trek Taligent Copland iPod / iPhone / iPad iPod Software iOS 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Other devices Newton Newton OS Apple Watch watchOS Apple TV Apple TV Software tvOS Italics indicate discontinued products List Category Software by Apple Inc. OS Darwin iOS version history 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 macOS Public Beta `` Cheetah '' `` Puma '' `` Jaguar '' `` Panther '' `` Tiger '' `` Leopard '' `` Snow Leopard '' `` Lion '' `` Mountain Lion '' `` Mavericks '' `` Yosemite '' `` El Capitan '' `` Sierra '' `` High Sierra '' tvOS watchOS Consumer iBooks Author iCloud iLife iMovie GarageBand iWork Keynote Pages Numbers Clips Professional FileMaker Final Cut Studio Final Cut Pro X Motion Compressor Logic Studio Logic Pro Mainstage Bundled Calendar iTunes history Mail Messages Photo Booth Photos QuickTime Safari version history TextEdit Server Apple Remote Desktop macOS Server WebObjects Xsan Developer Dashcode Instruments Interface Builder Quartz Composer Xcode iAd Producer Discontinued. Mac Aperture AppleWorks Bento Classic Mac OS System 1 6 7 8 9 Color DVD Studio Pro Final Cut Express Front Row HyperCard iChat iDVD iPhoto iWeb Logic Express MacDraw MacPaint MacProject MacTerminal MacWrite MobileMe ResEdit Shake Soundtrack Pro Apple Inc. History Outline Founders Steve Jobs Steve Wozniak Ronald Wayne Board of directors Current James A. Bell Tim Cook ( CEO ) Albert Gore Jr. Robert A. Iger Andrea Jung Arthur D. Levinson ( Chairman ) Ronald D. Sugar Susan L. Wagner Former Fred D. Anderson Gil Amelio Bill Campbell Mickey Drexler Larry Ellison Steve Jobs Delano Lewis Mike Markkula Arthur Rock Eric Schmidt John Sculley Edgar S. Woolard Jr. Jerry York Executives Current Tim Cook ( CEO ) Jonathan Ive ( CDO ) Jeff Williams ( COO ) Luca Maestri ( CFO ) Katherine Adams ( General Counsel ) Angela Ahrendts Phil Schiller Eddy Cue Craig Federighi Dan Riccio Johny Srouji Lisa Jackson Former Steve Jobs Fred D. Anderson John Browett Tony Fadell Scott Forstall Nancy R. Heinen Ron Johnson Peter Oppenheimer Mark Papermaster Jon Rubinstein Bertrand Serlet Sina Tamaddon Avie Tevanian Gil Amelio Ellen Hancock David Nagel Guerrino De Luca Bruce Sewell Steve Wozniak Services Apple ID Apple Maps Apple Music Apple Pay Developer iAd TestFlight Game Center iCloud MobileMe iWork News Newsstand Stores Apple Store App Store iBookstore iTunes Store Mac App Store Support AppleCare Apple Specialist Certifications Genius Bar ProCare One to One Products Hardware Macintosh Intel transition iPod Nano Shuffle Touch iPhone iPad Mini Air Pro Apple TV Apple Watch Apple SIM Apple Mobile Processors Software Classic Mac OS macOS History Server Software iOS Version history tvOS watchOS Core Foundation Developer Tools Final Cut Pro Logic Pro QuickTime CarPlay Companies Subsidiaries Beats Electronics Beats Music Braeburn Capital FileMaker Inc. Acquisitions Anobit AuthenTec Inc. Beats Electronics Beats Music Cue Emagic FingerWorks Intrinsity Lala NeXT Nothing Real Metaio P.A. Semi PrimeSense Shazam Siri Spotsetter Topsy Related Advertising 1984 Think different Get a Mac iPods Product Red Campus Park Design IDg Typography Book Didi Chuxing History Codenames Community Criticism Litigation FBI -- Apple encryption dispute iOS app approvals Apple Music Festival Welcome to Macintosh ( 2008 documentary ) Artistic depictions of Steve Jobs Original programs distributed by Apple Book Category Portal Unix and Unix - like operating systems BSD 386BSD FreeBSD NetBSD OpenBSD DragonFly BSD NeXTSTEP Darwin macOS iOS SunOS Ultrix Coherent GNU Linux Android Chrome OS LynxOS MINIX QNX BlackBerry 10 Research Unix System V A / UX AIX HP - UX illumos IRIX OpenServer Solaris Tru64 UNIX UnixWare Xenix more... Category Commons Book Operating systems General Advocacy Comparison Forensic engineering History Hobbyist development List Timeline Usage share Kernel Architectures Exokernel Hybrid Microkernel Monolithic Rump kernel Unikernel Components Device driver Loadable kernel module Microkernel User space Process management Concepts Context switch Interrupt IPC Process Process control block Real - time Thread Time - sharing Scheduling algorithms Computer multitasking Fixed - priority preemptive Multilevel feedback queue Preemptive Round - robin Shortest job next Memory management and resource protection Bus error General protection fault Memory protection Paging Protection ring Segmentation fault Virtual memory Storage access and file systems Boot loader Defragmentation Device file File attribute Inode Journal Partition Virtual file system Virtual tape library List AmigaOS Android BeOS BSD Chrome OS CP / M DOS GNU Haiku illumos iOS Linux Macintosh Classic Mac OS macOS MINIX MorphOS MUSIC / SP Nemesis NOS OpenVMS ORVYL OS / 2 OSv Pick QNX ReactOS RISC OS RSTS / E RSX - 11 RT - 11 Solaris TOPS - 10 / TOPS - 20 TPF Unix Visi On VM / CMS VS / 9 Windows Xinu z / OS Miscellaneous concepts API Computer network HAL Live CD Live USB OS shell CLI GUI TUI VUI PXE VIAF : 8146152942405251549 LCCN : n96060065 GND : 4642298 - 5 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MacOS&oldid=815748808 '' Categories : MacOS Mac OS 1999 software Apple Inc. operating systems Apple Inc. software Computer - related introductions in 1999 Mach ( kernel ) Operating system families Hidden categories : Pages containing links to subscription - only content CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list Use mdy dates from July 2015 Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages All accuracy disputes Articles with disputed statements from December 2017 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2014 Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Wikibooks Wikiversity Afrikaans Asturianu Azərbaycanca Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Bosanski Català Чӑвашла Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua Íslenska Italiano עברית ಕನ್ನಡ ქართული Қазақша Kurdî Кыргызча Latina Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Lingála Lumbaart Magyar Македонски മലയാളം मराठी Bahasa Melayu Mìng - dĕ̤ng - ngṳ̄ Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski Português Română Русский Sardu Scots Shqip සිංහල Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Ślůnski کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog Татарча / tatarça తెలుగు ไทย Тоҷикӣ Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 粵語 Žemaitėška 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 16 December 2017, at 21 : 57. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what is the most current software for mac
Answer: macOS