Apple Makes OS X Lion and Mountain Lion Free to Download

[MacRumors]

Apple recently dropped the $19.99 fee for OS X Lion and Mountain Lion, making the older Mac updates free to download, reports Macworld.

Apple has kept OS X 10.7 Lion and OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion available for customers who have machines limited to the older software, but until recently, Apple was charging $19.99 to get download codes for the updates.

As of last week, these updates no longer require a fee, and can be downloaded from the OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion support documents on Apple's website.

Mac OS X Lion is compatible with Macs that have an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor, a minimum of 2GB RAM, and 7GB storage space.

Mac OS X Mountain Lion is compatible with the following Macs:

• iMac (Mid 2007-2020)
• MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
• Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
• Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
• Xserve (Early 2009)

Macs that shipped with Mac OS X Mavericks or later are not compatible with the installer, however.

The $19.99 fee dates back to when Apple used to charge for Mac updates. Apple began making Mac updates free with the launch of OS X 10.9 Mavericks, which also marked the shift from big cat names to California landmark names.

Mavericks was free to download, and Apple has not charged for Mac software since then outside of the legacy Lion and Mountain Lion updates. Apple also used to have OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard available for a fee, but it is no longer purchasable.

Article Link: Apple Makes OS X Lion and Mountain Lion Free to Download

 

[Amazing Iceman]

About time. It seems they ignored this for a very long time!

 

[adcx64]

Great news knowing I won't have to pirate it 10 years from now when those Macs become retro enough for me to have fun with.

 

[bsamcash]

YES!!! I've been waiting for this!

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Just another money grabbing move from Apple! (you KNOW someone’s going to spin it that way
Forcing people to buy old Macs in order to use the FREE software. We’re ONTO you, Apple!

 

[justperry]

Should have all OS X/macOS versions available for download.

 

[glsillygili]

Where is the Mavericks installer though? I can find every version on their website from Lion except mavericks.

 

[Mac_tech]

Should have all OS X/macOS versions available for download.

Agreed for those with an older Mac. I actually have flash drives with every version of macOS since Snow Leopard.

I’m not sure if the install will work due to the certificate having expired but did recreate some of the newer versions in case I need to use it.

 

[rpmurray]

Good to see Apple is still supporting the older OSes.

 

[pray2crom]

My 15" 2012 macbook pro came with mountain lion....I am on catilina now. I wonder if going back would be better. I would be getting nvidia cuda support back and better text fonts since my mac isn't a retina.

 

[mcfrazieriv]

Wait... you had to pay for these for the last decade meanwhile the newer macOS variants were free?

 

[ZMacintosh]

I know they still sell $29 Snow Leopard DVDs, about that one for free

 

[sdwaltz]

Anndddddd now I have a reason to grab a SSD and bring my White Polycarbonate 2008 Macbook back from the dead.

 

[ZipZilla]

Should have downloads for every OS so people can use old computers.

At least Snow Leopard

 

[Mousse]

I know they still sell $29 Snow Leopard DVDs, about that one for free

Last paragraph in the article.

Apple also used to have OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard available for a fee, but it is no longer purchasable.

Boo...hiss... this was the only old version of OSX I'm interested in putting on my white MacBook (shipped with Tiger).

 

[Apple_Robert]

I think Apple should do this for all the old OS. Glad they made a move with Lion and Mountain Lion.

 

[brunerd]

And just the other day I was lamenting the fact I didn't have a proper installer for 10.7...
OMG - Naming conventions Apple, plz!

And if you think opening the DMG will clarify? No.

Also.... they didn't bother to renew the certs on them... well... "you get what you pay for"! 😆

 

[iapplelove]

Just another money grabbing move from Apple! (you KNOW someone’s going to spin it that way
Forcing people to buy old Macs in order to use the FREE software. We’re ONTO you, Apple!

‘This was the end game, if the money grabbing move. After 20 years of making money off software that should be free, make it free when no one needs it anymore.

 

[heystu]

"Apple also used to have OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard available for a fee, but it is no longer purchasable."

Thankfully for those of us in the UK we can still grab a copy for 20 quid from CEX...

 

[PC_tech]

About time. It seems they ignored this for a very long time!

About time? Ignored? Not that they had to do this 🙄🙄

 

[coolfactor]

Wait... you had to pay for these for the last decade meanwhile the newer macOS variants were free?

This thread is chock full of "gimme for free!" thinking.

Current OSs are not "free". You get them "for free" with a device purchase, so that revenue is what helps to finance the current and future OS development.

There is no revenue supporting older OS's. Why should Apple have to pay for staff, support and bandwidth without getting a single dollar? Apple is a business, not a charity.

 

[T Coma]

excellent

This is the first OS release in years that will work on my imac.

 

[PhillyGuy72]

"Apple also used to have OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard available for a fee, but it is no longer purchasable."

Thankfully for those of us in the UK we can still grab a copy for 20 quid from CEX...

View attachment 1800126

Still have my Snow Leopard install discs that came with this iMac (yes I still use my mid 2010, ports galore in the back still connect to old DV camcorder, other outputs to media)

I loved that OS!

 

[staypuftforums]

My 15" 2012 macbook pro came with mountain lion....I am on catilina now. I wonder if going back would be better. I would be getting nvidia cuda support back and better text fonts since my mac isn't a retina.

I believe High Sierra was the last version to support subpixel antialiasing. And I believe that still gets security updates, unlike Mountain Lion.

*edit* I was wrong. Looks like security updates ended January 2021.

 

[macguy2021]

Cue the Snow Leopard lover tears! Kidding, kinda. I think the fact it's no longer being made is not really a problem.

I've used Macs since Mac OS 8. Snow Leopard was no more special than some other versions. I think it's part nostalgia and part feeling like the SJ era of Apple is the only good Apple and that the TC era of Apple isn't as good. I respect Steve dearly for what he did and for saving Apple, but the modern Apple of the last 10 years is easily my favorite.

Lion and Mountain Lion becoming generally available is great for those running older Macs. Personally I always use the most recent OS version available and always update day one. I find intentional planned obsolescence brought on by updates to be a myth. I like features and it's to be expected those features will run slower if you have an aging device.