2015 iMac question

[Fenrir19]

Hey Everyone,

I have a 27” late 2015 iMac which runs great. I know it won’t be supported by Ventura but I hate to upgrade knowing it is absolutely functional and runs great. Are there any downsides to me continuing to use it? Security update issues etc?

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[Kupo12]

Well, being unsupported comes with the inherent eventuality that you also won't get updates for and won't be able to download programs you use or might want to use in the future. Nobody can say how long that will be. Depending on what you use it for, you may be ok with this. I have been using a 2010 iMac, that still works perfectly fine after a hard drive replacement. However, about 75-80% of the programs I want to use are unsupported because of how old the OS is. Even when I try to go back to earlier releases, I'm often just out of range, as their oldest release is typically OS 14 (I'm on 13.6). The fact that Apple is moving away from intel to the M series chips means the water is even more murky as to how long you will see support for intel based iMacs.

Long story short: If it does what you need it to do, there's not much downside. Just be prepared to start seeing an increasingly longer list of unsupported updates and programs as time goes on.

 

[tstafford]

Same situation here - we have a 2015 and love it. We will continue to use it as long as it is getting security patches (~2 more years) and then be done w/ it. Total bummer there is no replacement - I'm not buying a used intel Mac.

 

[Juicy Box]

Are there any downsides to me continuing to use it?

Only if you consider saving money a downside. Why get a new Mac if you current Mac does everything you need it to do?

I have notice that many on the forum are quick to tell someone with a similar scenario as you to just buy a new Mac. Personally, I think if your current Mac is running great and does what you need it to, save that money for a new Mac down the road.

Security update issues etc?

Typically, Apple continues to provide security update for the OS and Safari for three years on any particular MacOS version, meaning that as long as you have Monterey, you will have at least two years of security updates. Big Sur should have another year. Catalina's last security update may have already past.

Another note on Apple and OS support, Apple doesn't give official notice that they are no longer supporting an OS. They usually just give one final update in the fall to the MacOS that is three years old.

After Apple stops providing security updates (probably fall 2024 for Monterey), it might be a good idea to use a different browser than Safari, such as Firefox, as Firefox gets security updates for many years after Apple stops on any particular OS.

absolutely functional and runs great.

If you were considering an AS Mac, depending on what you use your Macs for, the performance of your current Late 2015 iMac (you didn't give specs) could be about on par or even better than what is offered by a lot of the AS Macs.

For SW video encoding, I was disappointed of the lack of performance difference between the 3rd Gen i7 in my Late 2012 iMac and the M1. The M1 was faster, but not by much.

Some point out that the Late 2012 is a top of the line desktop versus an entry level AS chip, but I respond that it is an eight year difference. Compare the Late 2012 iMac to iMacs even just a few years older, and it is a night and day difference.

Actually, just compare the single and multi-core Geekbench scores of any entry level Mac from 2012 to any Mac (beside Xeon chips) from early 2009 or older and the cheapest 2012 Macs are faster.

This isn't really a complaint against Apple nor AS, just more like an industry-wide complaint about the overall lack of performance increase in chips over the past 8-10 years.

 

[jdoyle]

Im running an iMac 5k late 2015 with Big Sur. Didn't even upgrade to Monterey. Apple release security patches for older OSs for quite some time. I am holding out for a updated 27in iMac before upgrading. I love this machine. Runs great on Big Sur. And I love the display.

 

[Fenrir19]

Only if you consider saving money a downside. Why get a new Mac if you current Mac does everything you need it to do?

I have notice that many on the forum are quick to tell someone with a similar scenario as you to just buy a new Mac. Personally, I think if your current Mac is running great and does what you need it to, save that money for a new Mac down the road.



Typically, Apple continues to provide security update for the OS and Safari for three years on any particular MacOS version, meaning that as long as you have Monterey, you will have at least two years of security updates. Big Sur should have another year. Catalina's last security update may have already past.

Another note on Apple and OS support, Apple doesn't give official notice that they are no longer supporting an OS. They usually just give one final update in the fall to the MacOS that is three years old.

After Apple stops providing security updates (probably fall 2024 for Monterey), it might be a good idea to use a different browser than Safari, such as Firefox, as Firefox gets security updates for many years after Apple stops on any particular OS.


If you were considering an AS Mac, depending on what you use your Macs for, the performance of your current Late 2015 iMac (you didn't give specs) could be about on par or even better than what is offered by a lot of the AS Macs.

For SW video encoding, I was disappointed of the lack of performance difference between the 3rd Gen i7 in my Late 2012 iMac and the M1. The M1 was faster, but not by much.

Some point out that the Late 2012 is a top of the line desktop versus an entry level AS chip, but I respond that it is an eight year difference. Compare the Late 2012 iMac to iMacs even just a few years older, and it is a night and day difference.

Actually, just compare the single and multi-core Geekbench scores of any entry level Mac from 2012 to any Mac (beside Xeon chips) from early 2009 or older and the cheapest 2012 Macs are faster.

This isn't really a complaint against Apple nor AS, just more like an industry-wide complaint about the overall lack of performance increase in chips over the past 8-10 years.

Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate it. The internet is full of some bad information but this was incredibly helpful.

Thanks to everyone else as well for the feedback. It’s good to know I can use it for the foreseeable future. It’s such a great computer.

 

[tstafford]

Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate it. The internet is full of some bad information but this was incredibly helpful.

Thanks to everyone else as well for the feedback. It’s good to know I can use it for the foreseeable future. It’s such a great computer.

Agreed. We are approaching it the same way. That said, when the security patches end I will get scared and move on.

 

[Fishrrman]

My advice is simple:
As long as it works well and does what you need it to do, just keep using it.

I seriously doubt there is any danger to using the version of the OS you're using now, so long as it continues to run.

 

[pshufd]

I'm thinking about it ... My wife might start complaining about having four iMacs at home though. It's getting harder to hide them.

A little research shows that it's probably a scam. It looks like someone edited the About information. The Late 2015 iMac uses 1,867 Mhz RAM, not 1,600 Mhz RAM. The serial number is for a Late 2015 but the CPU specs are the same as a Late 2014 iMac. It's odd that the GPU line is missing too.