MacOS

macOS
	macOS Sequoia, the latest release of macOS
Developer	Apple
Written in	C; C++; Objective-C; Swift; assembly language;
OS family	Mac; Unix;
Working state	Current
Source model	Proprietary (with open source components)
Initial release	March 24, 2001; 23 years ago
Latest release	15.1.1 (November 19, 2024; 5 days ago) [±]
Latest preview	15.2 beta 4 (November 20, 2024; 4 days ago) [±] ,
Available in	47 languages
	List of languages Bahasa Melayu - Malay; Català - Catalan; Čeština - Czech; Dansk - Danish; Deutsch - German; English (Australia) - English (Australia); English (Canada) - English (Canada); English (India) - English (India); English (Ireland) - English (Ireland); English (New Zealand) - English (New Zealand); English (Singapore) - English (Singapore); English (South Africa) - English (South Africa); English (United Kingdom) - English (United Kingdom); English (United States) - English (United States); Español (España) - Spanish (Spain); Español (Estados Unidos) - Spanish (United States); Español (Latinoamérica) - Spanish (Latin America); Español (México) - Spanish (Mexico); Français (Canada) - French (Canada); Français (France) - French (France); Hrvatski - Croatian; Indonesia - Indonesian; Italiano - Italian; Magyar - Hungarian; Nederlands - Dutch; Norsk bokmål - Norwegian Bokmål; Polski - Polish; Português (Brasil) - Portuguese (Brazil); Português (Portugal) - Portuguese (Portugal); Română - Romanian; Slovenčina - Slovak; Suomi - Finnish; Svenska - Swedish; Tiếng Việt - Vietnamese; Türkçe - Turkish; Ελληνικά - Greek; Русский - Russian; Українська - Ukrainian; עברית - Hebrew; العربية - Arabic; हिन्दी - Hindi; ไทย - Thai; 한국어 - Korean; 日本語 - Japanese; 简体中文 - Simplified Chinese; 繁體中文（台灣） - Traditional Chinese (Taiwan); 繁體中文（香港） - Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong);
Platforms	Apple silicon (ARM64): ARMv9-A (15.0–); ARMv8-A (11.0–); Intel (x86): x86-64 (10.4.7–); IA-32 (10.4.4–10.6.8); PowerPC: 64-bit (10.4–10.5.8); 32-bit (10.0–10.5.8);
Kernel type	Hybrid (XNU)
Default; user interface	Aqua (graphical)
License	Commercial software, proprietary software
Preceded by	Classic Mac OS, NeXTSTEP
Official website	apple.com/macos
Support status
	Supported

macOS, originally Mac OS X, previously shortened as OS X, is an operating system developed and marketed by Apple since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and laptop computers, it is the second most widely used desktop OS, after Microsoft Windows and ahead of all Linux distributions, including ChromeOS and SteamOS. As of 2024^[update], the most recent release of macOS is macOS 15 Sequoia, the 21st major version of macOS.^[6]

Mac OS X succeeded classic Mac OS, the primary Macintosh operating system from 1984 to 2001. Its underlying architecture came from NeXT's NeXTSTEP, as a result of Apple's acquisition of NeXT, which also brought Steve Jobs back to Apple. The first desktop version, Mac OS X 10.0, was released on March 24, 2001. All macOS releases are UNIX 03 certified.^[7]^[8] The derivatives of macOS are Apple's other operating systems: iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and audioOS. macOS has supported three major processor architectures: originally PowerPC-based Macs in 1999; Intel Core-based Macs from 2006; and self-designed 64-bit Arm Apple M series Macs since 2020.^[9]

A prominent part of macOS's original brand identity was the use of Roman numeral X, pronounced "ten", as well as code naming each release after species of big cats, and later, places within California.^[10] Apple shortened the name to "OS X" in 2011 and then changed it to "macOS" in 2016 to align with the branding of Apple's other operating systems.^[11] After sixteen distinct versions of macOS 10, macOS Big Sur was presented as version 11 in 2020, and every subsequent version has also incremented the major version number, similarly to classic Mac OS and iOS, but is still named after places within California.

^ "What Is the I/O Kit?". IOKit Fundamentals. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2018. Apple considered several programming languages for the I/O Kit and chose a restricted subset of C++.
^ "What's New in Swift". Apple Developer (Video). June 14, 2016. At 2:40. Archived from the original on August 4, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
^ Clover, Juli (November 19, 2024). "Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 With Security Fixes". MacRumors. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
^ Clover, Juli (November 20, 2024). "Apple Releases Fourth Betas of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration [Update: Public Betas Available]". MacRumors. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
^ "macOS Feature Availability". System Language. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ "Apple Launches macOS Sequoia With iPhone Mirroring, Passwords App, Window Tiling Updates and More". MacRumors. September 16, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
^
*"Mac OS X Version 10.6 on Intel-based Macintosh computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- "Apple technology brief on UNIX" (PDF). Apple. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2008.
- "Mac OS X Version 10.8 on Intel-based Macintosh computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- "OS X Version 10.9 on Intel-based Macintosh computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- "OS X version 10.10 Yosemite on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- "OS X version 10.11 El Capitan on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
- "macOS version 10.12 Sierra on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
- "macOS version 10.13 High Sierra on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
- "macOS version 10.14 Mojave on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
- "macOS version 10.15 Catalina on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- "macOS version 11.0 Big Sur on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- "macOS version 11.0 Big Sur on Apple silicon-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- "macOS version 12.0 Monterey on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021.
- "macOS version 12.0 Monterey on Apple silicon-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021.
- "macOS version 13.0 Ventura on Apple Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on December 31, 2022.
- "macOS version 13.0 Ventura on Apple silicon-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on December 31, 2022.
- "macOS version 14.0 Sonoma on Apple Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
- "macOS version 14.0 Sonoma on Apple silicon-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
^ "Re: was OS X version 10.7 Lion UNIX 03 certified?". austin-group-l (Mailing list). Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
^ Evans, Jonny (June 22, 2020). "WWDC 2020: Yes, Apple is dumping Intel, gently". Computerworld. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
^ Ha, Anthony (June 10, 2013). "Apple Has A New, California-Based Naming Scheme For OS X, Starting With OS X Mavericks". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
^ Mastroianni, Brian (June 13, 2016). "Apple unveils iOS 10, macOS, and more at WWDC 2016". CBS News. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023. Perhaps one of the announcements that stood out the most was a slight name change. The desktop operating system Mac OS X will now be called macOS to better match with the way the company's other operating systems are named.

[1] "What Is the I/O Kit?". IOKit Fundamentals. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2018. Apple considered several programming languages for the I/O Kit and chose a restricted subset of C++.

[2] "What's New in Swift". Apple Developer (Video). June 14, 2016. At 2:40. Archived from the original on August 4, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.

[3] Clover, Juli (November 19, 2024). "Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 With Security Fixes". MacRumors. Retrieved November 19, 2024.

[4] Clover, Juli (November 20, 2024). "Apple Releases Fourth Betas of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration [Update: Public Betas Available]". MacRumors. Retrieved November 20, 2024.

[5] "macOS Feature Availability". System Language. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[6] "Apple Launches macOS Sequoia With iPhone Mirroring, Passwords App, Window Tiling Updates and More". MacRumors. September 16, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.

[7] *"Mac OS X Version 10.6 on Intel-based Macintosh computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
"Apple technology brief on UNIX" (PDF). Apple. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2008.

"Mac OS X Version 10.8 on Intel-based Macintosh computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

"OS X Version 10.9 on Intel-based Macintosh computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

"OS X version 10.10 Yosemite on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

"OS X version 10.11 El Capitan on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.

"macOS version 10.12 Sierra on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.

"macOS version 10.13 High Sierra on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.

"macOS version 10.14 Mojave on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2018.

"macOS version 10.15 Catalina on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2018.

"macOS version 11.0 Big Sur on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2020.

"macOS version 11.0 Big Sur on Apple silicon-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2020.

"macOS version 12.0 Monterey on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021.

"macOS version 12.0 Monterey on Apple silicon-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021.

"macOS version 13.0 Ventura on Apple Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on December 31, 2022.

"macOS version 13.0 Ventura on Apple silicon-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on December 31, 2022.

"macOS version 14.0 Sonoma on Apple Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.

"macOS version 14.0 Sonoma on Apple silicon-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.

[8] "Apple technology brief on UNIX" (PDF). Apple. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2008.

[9] "Mac OS X Version 10.8 on Intel-based Macintosh computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[10] "OS X Version 10.9 on Intel-based Macintosh computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[11] "OS X version 10.10 Yosemite on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[12] "OS X version 10.11 El Capitan on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.

[13] "macOS version 10.12 Sierra on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.

[14] "macOS version 10.13 High Sierra on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.

[15] "macOS version 10.14 Mojave on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2018.

[16] "macOS version 10.15 Catalina on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2018.

[17] "macOS version 11.0 Big Sur on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2020.

[18] "macOS version 11.0 Big Sur on Apple silicon-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2020.

[19] "macOS version 12.0 Monterey on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021.

[20] "macOS version 12.0 Monterey on Apple silicon-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021.

[21] "macOS version 13.0 Ventura on Apple Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on December 31, 2022.

[22] "macOS version 13.0 Ventura on Apple silicon-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on December 31, 2022.

[23] "macOS version 14.0 Sonoma on Apple Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.

[24] "macOS version 14.0 Sonoma on Apple silicon-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.

[8] "Re: was OS X version 10.7 Lion UNIX 03 certified?". austin-group-l (Mailing list). Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2021.

[9] Evans, Jonny (June 22, 2020). "WWDC 2020: Yes, Apple is dumping Intel, gently". Computerworld. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.

[techMavericks-10] Ha, Anthony (June 10, 2013). "Apple Has A New, California-Based Naming Scheme For OS X, Starting With OS X Mavericks". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2013.

[11] Mastroianni, Brian (June 13, 2016). "Apple unveils iOS 10, macOS, and more at WWDC 2016". CBS News. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023. Perhaps one of the announcements that stood out the most was a slight name change. The desktop operating system Mac OS X will now be called macOS to better match with the way the company's other operating systems are named.

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