Hi All,
A fair assessment, or a Journo with an axe to grind?
Hope you can advise!
Best wishes,
Martin
https://eclecticlight.co/2021/09/22/how-long-does-apple-support-macos/
My key out takes from the article are below.
.
.
Of the eight major versions of macOS, only six received a whole years’ full maintenance, with the median and average being around 45-46 weeks. This is because the last minor update is usually about one month before the first release of the next major version. We’re all well aware that the last minor update to each major version of macOS doesn’t bring closure: it’s common for the last update to leave serious bugs which are only fixed in the next major release. In some cases, this may be due to requirements for more extensive changes in macOS.
One potential example of this was the Time Machine / DAS bug in Sierra, which was reported several months before the last minor update to Sierra but remained uncorrected until the first release of High Sierra. However, there are other bug fixes which could have been implemented earlier but appear to have been deliberately held over to the next major version. An example of that was adding volume version databases to Time Machine’s exclusion list, a bug left unfixed in Catalina, and only corrected in Big Sur.
.
.
Over a period of eight years, Apple has followed what most believe to be its policy on macOS support: major versions enjoy full support for the year that they are the current release, then receive approximately two years of security updates. What is strangest of all – or would be for any other company – is that Apple never tells its customers when a minor update is the last before entering the security update period, nor when a major version of macOS is receiving its last security update.
.
.
For the sake of clarity, allow me to explain how macOS support currently works. Each year, around the autumn/fall, Apple releases a major new version of macOS. For the next year or so, until the following major version is released, Apple provides a series of 5-7 minor updates which contain a mixture of regular bug and security fixes. When the next major version is released, that previous version is normally supported for around two more years, during which it generally doesn’t get any regular bug fixes, but gets security updates which address many of the more significant vulnerabilities which are found in it. After that period of two years of security update support, Apple then normally provides no further updates to that version of macOS. From then on, the only support it receives are periodic updates to its security tools such as XProtect and MRT, which continue for as long as they remain compatible with that version of macOS. Currently, that extends back to El Capitan, if not before.
.
.
A fair assessment, or a Journo with an axe to grind?
Hope you can advise!
Best wishes,
Martin
https://eclecticlight.co/2021/09/22/how-long-does-apple-support-macos/
My key out takes from the article are below.
.
.
Of the eight major versions of macOS, only six received a whole years’ full maintenance, with the median and average being around 45-46 weeks. This is because the last minor update is usually about one month before the first release of the next major version. We’re all well aware that the last minor update to each major version of macOS doesn’t bring closure: it’s common for the last update to leave serious bugs which are only fixed in the next major release. In some cases, this may be due to requirements for more extensive changes in macOS.
One potential example of this was the Time Machine / DAS bug in Sierra, which was reported several months before the last minor update to Sierra but remained uncorrected until the first release of High Sierra. However, there are other bug fixes which could have been implemented earlier but appear to have been deliberately held over to the next major version. An example of that was adding volume version databases to Time Machine’s exclusion list, a bug left unfixed in Catalina, and only corrected in Big Sur.
.
.
Over a period of eight years, Apple has followed what most believe to be its policy on macOS support: major versions enjoy full support for the year that they are the current release, then receive approximately two years of security updates. What is strangest of all – or would be for any other company – is that Apple never tells its customers when a minor update is the last before entering the security update period, nor when a major version of macOS is receiving its last security update.
.
.
For the sake of clarity, allow me to explain how macOS support currently works. Each year, around the autumn/fall, Apple releases a major new version of macOS. For the next year or so, until the following major version is released, Apple provides a series of 5-7 minor updates which contain a mixture of regular bug and security fixes. When the next major version is released, that previous version is normally supported for around two more years, during which it generally doesn’t get any regular bug fixes, but gets security updates which address many of the more significant vulnerabilities which are found in it. After that period of two years of security update support, Apple then normally provides no further updates to that version of macOS. From then on, the only support it receives are periodic updates to its security tools such as XProtect and MRT, which continue for as long as they remain compatible with that version of macOS. Currently, that extends back to El Capitan, if not before.
.
.