Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

M3 MacBook Pro Ships With macOS Ventura, Can't Yet Be Updated to macOS Sonoma Over the Air

First time I hear a brand new, top of the line product from Apple comes with an outdated OS. If there's no update to it I bet it wasn't supposed to happen. Hopefully a clean install of Sonoma updates whatever firmwares it has to update to function correctly.
 
  • Love
Reactions: tonyr6
Fuzzball84 said:
It was manufactured before Sonoma was released 😂

There will be a point in manufacturing where new devices will ship with the latest OS. They probably decide that based on software stability and functionality on the device. Maybe it was easier to shop a custom version of Ventura instead of a custom version of unreleased or just released Sonoma. It in no way damages this product. I’m sure an update is coming soon.

First world problem indeed
Click to expand...
You're right that this doesn't damage the product. But what it does damage is the experience of smooth integration.

Apple's fame is partly built on smooth and integrated experiences. This current issue with latest Macs not shipped with a current OS family is an issue. And I'm not even talking about needing to ship with the latest version. It just needs to be in the same macOS family because there are issues with difference in UI and features between Ventura and Sonoma.

(edited for clarity)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: gilby101 and Morod
t0pher said:
The naming convention sucks.
Click to expand...
No kidding. Having Base/Pro/Max would be so simple. iPhone/iPhone Pro/iPhone Max. MacBook/MacBook Pro/MacBook Max.

Leave the MacBook Air naming alone as a lower-priced alternative (maybe the same processor as MB but lower-spec'ed elsewhere).
 
I would suspect that they started making them quite some time ago but the rate of production is very very slow. They waited until they had enough numbers for a release, then put them on the market. I also suspect that they wanted to keep all the early production the same, so they did not update the OS on the later parts of the run.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bumblebritches5
Here's what probably happened. Apple begins production its products months in advance to meet supply at launch. The final release candidate/gold master of the OS the product ships with usually isn't ready until a few weeks before the product launch. So the machines are built and flashed with the most recent version of whatever stable OS is available at the time, and are re-flashed with the new OS gold master image once it's ready. This likely happens with iPhones and iPads too; Apple starts making iPhones in early summer for a fall launch.

Clearly someone in the factory/warehouse forgot to flash a large batch of M3 Macs and they accidentally shipped out with Ventura instead of Sonoma. Apple's upgrade servers aren't programmed to recognize the M3/Ventura combination as eligible for the Sonoma upgrade (because such a shipping combination is not supposed to happen) so it's returning an error message.

A big mistake? Yes, someone at the warehouse is probably getting fired. But Apple should be able to fix it in short order by updating the upgrade servers to acknowledge the hardware/software combination.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: VivienM, mlayer, bumblebritches5 and 1 other person
bradman83 said:
Clearly someone in the factory/warehouse forgot to flash a large batch of M3 Macs and they accidentally shipped out with Ventura instead of Sonoma.
Click to expand...
It's not a large batch of M3 Macs - it's all MBP M3 (regular, not pro / max). I don't think someone forgot to flash
 
ttyRazor said:
Is this one of the things they’re shipping by boat now? Because that’s the only thing that makes any sense at all. And that still doesn’t explain why it’s not able to update, unless there’s just some weird CDN delays.
Click to expand...
We have a winner.
 
bradman83 said:
Clearly someone in the factory/warehouse forgot to flash a large batch of M3 Macs and they accidentally shipped out with Ventura instead of Sonoma. Apple's upgrade servers aren't programmed to recognize the M3/Ventura combination as eligible for the Sonoma upgrade (because such a shipping combination is not supposed to happen) so it's returning an error message.
Click to expand...
You don't really have to make up a story in a way there's someone responsible and there's any problem at all.
 
Wow, how embarrassing. I hope Apple is working to update the build to allow updates quickly. I’m an “Apple Guy” as much as the next person around here, but this is just...
 
  • Haha
Reactions: eropko
So this makes u think whether M3 was going to launch in the MacBook Air line up at WWDC… and likely Apple decided to run M2 in the Air line up last minute.
 
  • Like
Reactions: roundski
Anyone know if the MBP M3 Pros are shipping with Sonoma or a version of Ventura you can actually upgrade?
 
Fuzzball84 said:
I doubt it’s a “problem”.

Most software will run fine on Ventura… and I’m sure an update is coming soon.

I guess there is a reason for it.

First world problem indeed!!
Click to expand...

In the past new devices that launched after September events were always equipped with the latest OS. This is equivalent of iPhone 15 coming with iOS 16 and iPhone 15 Pro with iOS 17.
 
Last edited:
Makes one wonder just how last minute the decision to launch the M3 models was made.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back