Mac OS X has been through a great deal in 20 - plus age . As someone who was sit down in the front row at Macworld Expo when then - CEOGil Amelio bring Steve Jobs on stageto celebrate Apple ’s purchase of NeXT , it feel like I ’ve been a witnesser to the whole story . The macOS we use today is the answer of iteration — sometimes rapid , sometimes distressingly irksome — over 16 major OS outlet during those 20 years . Here are the highlights .
Before there was Mac OS X, there was Rhapsody
Before it was Mac OS X , the next - generation Mac OS was codification - named Rhapsody . Software written for NextStep — what would become Cocoa — run natively . Classic Mac atomic number 8 apps run in a compatibility window . Rhapsody ape Mac OS 8 in its design voice communication , but that purpose would be thrown forth before OS X ultimately shipped .
Most significantly , major Mac software package developer were not willing to rewrite their apps for the “ Yellow Box ” of NextStep . Apple had to go back to the drawing board and come up with a more robust transition approach for developers , which lead to the “ Blue Box ” that volunteer the ability to adapt classic Mac apps to run away natively on the fresh operating system .
In 1999 , Apple released Mac OS X Server 1.0 , which was a weird nuclear fusion of NextStep and Mac OS , with port quirks never get wind before or since . It sort of front like Mac OS , but if you used it for a minute you ’d realize it was more like a re - skinned version of NextStep .
After adeveloper previewversion , Mac OS X Public Beta ( internally it had the code name Kodiak ) arrive in 2000 , and while it was technically a beta version , Apple still charge $ 30 for the perquisite of prove it . It still looked a lot like Mac OS 8 and had no Apple menu , but it did have a nonfunctional Apple logotype parked beat center field in the Mac menu Browning automatic rifle . In his reexamination for Ars Technica , John Siracusa wrote , “ The Macintosh is defined by its interface , and any redefinition of that must be at least as skillful as what it ’s exchange . Mac OS X Public Beta does not hand that goal . ”
OS X early days
In March 2001 , Mac OS X 10.0 ( internal code name Cheetah ) was released . It was … not great . The newfangled Aqua interface , which Steve Jobs had unveiled to quite a second of flourish , was pretty , full of translucency and trendy 3 - five hundred force . The core of Mac OS X was there , pop the question plenty for Apple and third - party developer to build on .
But that original version was terribly slow . Rebooting a Mac into Mac OS X — and in those days , nobody in their right mind was deleting their classic Mac O partition and commit full time to OS X — would result in a perfectly speedy Mac impression like it was dip in molasses .
Apple knew it , and moved quickly to remediate the state of affairs . Mac OS X 10.1 ( intragroup codification name Puma ) was the first edition that finger like it was actually ready for sidereal day - to - day workplace . On Macs with G4 processors , it was actuallyfasterthan Mac OS 9 , which was quite a affair to see . It added back support for AppleTalk and AFP waiter , which was a vast boost to compatibility in existing networks . And variant 10.1 was the first version to bleed the Modern Microsoft Office X , a huge milestone in the acceptance of Mac OS X as a valid weapons platform . Inmy Macworld reviewof OS X 10.1 , I write , “ This version combine much of OS 9 ’s functionality with a collection of improvement that make upgrading to OS X a serious possibility for even dye - in - the - wool devotees of the definitive Mac OS . ”
release in August 2002 , Mac OS X 10.2 was the first adaptation of Mac OS X to be more often than not bring up to publically by a “ giving cat ” soubriquet — it was Jaguar . Jaguar saw Apple tone down some of the biggest design stumble of the Aqua user interface , reducing transparency effects . In my Macworld inspection , I wrote , “ drop curtain - down menu , while still slenderly transparent , are much more opaque , get to them more readable . A pop - up menu in the General preference pane tilt four anti - aliasing algorithms , so you may choose the method of smoothing text that beneficial fits your reminder and , even more important , that is easiest on your eyes . ”
Cruise control
Jaguar was probably the first reading of Mac OS X that classic Mac osmium holdout adopt . It ended the earned run average of Mac OS X ’s most rapid development . After Jaguar , Apple ’s OS decade releases were a little more refined and focused , with one or two major feature additions and a muckle of smaller tweak . It was the beginning of a long cruise with what was now not justaMac OS , buttheMac bone .
Mac O X 10.3 cougar : get in the declension of 2003 , Panther integrate Apple - branded swarm storage support for the first fourth dimension , via iDisk . The Finder append a sidebar , which is a handy place to store conversant folders to this daytime , and discolour labels for file . Open and Save duologue boxes also picked up the sidebar and rent user exhibit them as icons or a list , rather than using the multi - column , NeXT - stylus browser app that was the only choice in previous versions . Readmy Macworld review article of Panther .
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger : appear in the spring of 2005 . Its streamer feature film was Spotlight , which — then as now — gave user a personal search engine for the files on their Mac for the first time . Automator also made its debut with Tiger , in the Leslie Townes Hope of bringing the joy of automation to drug user who were too overwhelmed by the idea of writing AppleScript scripts . Dashboard , a layer of JavaScript - based “ thingmajig ” full of glanceable information , also made its first appearing . Inmy Macworld editor ’s column about Tiger , I wrote , “ It ’s hard to tell apart whether [ Tiger ’s } changes are for the good or not — all you know is that they’redifferent . But then , slow , you begin to form sound judgement about the new features , to apprise minuscule contact that originally escaped your observation . ”
Time Machine made its launching in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard .
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard : Released in the fall of 2007 . Apple play up the fact that it add up 300 young features to OS X , including a simplified user interface ( good ! ) and a semitransparent carte bar ( regretful ! ) . The big new characteristic in Leopard was Time Machine , letting Mac user back up their computers by plug away in an outside hard parkway . Apple also introduce Spaces , which riffed on the existing Exposé feature article to let users to switch over between multiple workspaces . And if you ’ve ever urge the space legal profession in Finder to preview a filing cabinet , you ’ve got Leopard to thank — it introduced Quick Look . Inmy Macworld review , I wrote , “ Quick Look itself is an impressive engineering , if longtime users can retrain themselves to press space rather than double - clicking on a document to see what ’s inside . ”
Mac oxygen X 10.6 Snow Leopard : Released in the summertime of 2009 . This was famously the “ bug fix ” edition of OS X , in which Apple focused on improving stability , boosting performance , domesticate disk space , and tot reinforcement for 64 - flake processors . Nothing enunciate that your operating system has get to a comfortable , stable breaker point than a bug - mend liberation . In my Macworld review , I said that Snow Leopard was a “ no - brainer of an upgrade . ”
Middle age creeps in
osmium X 10.7 Lion : For all the comfortableness that Snow Leopard give us , 2011 ’s Lion brought the pain — inmy Macworld review , I say that Lion was “ a shock to the organisation . ” Lion broke a wad of software that had work for years in OS X , include many apps that I used to show podcasts . It took year for replacements to emerge . Lion introduced “ innate scrolling ” and trackpad gesture , new automobile - concealment scroll bars , full - CRT screen apps , the iOS - style app launcher Launchpad , a very puzzling new paradigm for automobile - deliverance and versioning , and AirDrop for quick wireless single file interchange between Macs .
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion : A surprise summertime 2012 release — people did n’t expect a unexampled Mac atomic number 76 expel only a year after the old one , when Apple seemed to have settled into a once - every - two - years pace . Inmy Macworld reviewof Mountain Lion , I thought that the new vent schedule was a signaling of “ more measured incremental updates ( with fewer bugs ) rather than cracking leaps ( with more , nastier bugs ) . ” Mountain Lion deeply integrated iCloud into OS X for the first meter . Stalwart OS hug drug apps — Address Book , iCal , and iChat — were renamed to match their iOS equivalents ( Contacts , Calendar , and Messages ) . Reminders , Notes , and Game Center also made the move from iOS to OS X.
OS X 10.9 Mavericks : Arrived in the fall of 2013 , stop the era of big Caterpillar name and putting Mac OS X on an annual tone ending bike that it continue to this Clarence Day . Owing to change in Apple ’s business exemplar and various fiscal regulation , Mavericks was the first release of OS X since version 10.1 to be yield away for free . Inmy Macworld reviewof Mavericks , I called it a “ grab bag of tweak , simplifications , advances made in lockstep with iOS , and improvement under the hood . ” Mavericks added lozenge and rag to the Finder , Reading List to Safari , iCloud Keychain for hive away countersign , an iOS - fashion Notification Center , and AirPlay mirroring .
OS X 10.10 Yosemite : In the evenfall of 2014 , Yosemite proved that Apple was n’t going to move OS X to version 11.0 without a scrap . Yosemite doubled down on iCloud Drive accompaniment , add Continuity and Handoff for more consolidation with other Apple devices , and upgrade AirDrop to bring with iPhones and iPads . Inmy Macworld review , I orient out that Yosemite place up the Mac operating system for a future with Retina displays .
OS X 10.11 El Capitan : Released in 2015 . It enclose immobilise sites in Safari , more expansive Spotlight searches , and upgrades to Mission Control admit a new Split View . Inmy Macworld reviewof El Capitan , I plant that a few apps I relied on were n’t initially compatible with El Capitan , though new app versions finally come .
macOS 10.12 Sierra : In 2016 , OS X became macOS . Sierra added Siri to the Mac . InRoman Loyola ’s Macworld review , he wrote that Siri ab initio felt “ like a luxury than a must - have , ” but plant Siri useful for deadening undertaking . Sierra also introduced Apple Watch unlock and Apple Pay , and allow the automatic syncing of your screen background and Documents folders to iCloud Drive .
macOS 10.13 High Sierra : Like Snow Leopard , it was a mostly under - the - hood update , put out in 2017 . It repose the groundwork for the future by introducing the new APFS filesystem and Metal 2 graphics framework . It was a middling wearisome update , but sometimes wearisome is good . Romanic Loyola ’s Macworld reviewof High Sierra said that it , “ lay[s ] a foundation for serious thing to come . ”
Dark Mode made its unveiling in macOS Mjojave .
macOS 10.14 Mojave : Introduced in 2018 , it featured Dark Mode , new colouration speech pattern , and a subtler user interface more suitable to Retina displays . More dramatically , four iOS apps — News , Stocks , Voice Memos , and Home — were brought over to the Mac directly from Io via an early interpretation of Apple ’s Mac Catalyst applied science . Here’sRoman Loyola ’s Macworld review .
The start of something new
But change was in the air for macOS and the Mac in ecumenical . Something was on the horizon — the sexual climax of Macs running Apple atomic number 14 .
The forerunner to the big change on the Mac wasmacOS 10.15 Catalina , released in the fall of 2019 . It finish support for 32 - scrap apps , breaking compatibility with a lot of software we ’d been using for years , if not tenner . Mac Catalyst also appeared , allowing developers to bring their iPad apps to the Mac with only minor pinch . iTunes became Music , and new TV , Podcast , and Find My apps arrive on the scene ( via Mac Catalyst ) .
Which bring us to 2020 and the terminal of the old 10.x numbering system.macOS 11 Big Surmarks a new era for macOS , with a redesigned interface that contribute to mind some of the excesses of the early Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . A new Control Center go far in the menu bar , and Mac Catalyst receive a bunch of improvements . But the biggest feature of Big Sur is sustenance for CPU build by Apple — and Macs running those processors can even head for the hills iOS App Store apps unmodified .
20 year on , macOS does n’t sense like it ’s about to lay down and die out . Instead , it find reinvigorated , as Apple charts a new course of action into an Apple Si - based future . Here ’s to many macOS edition to come .
