Was there a particular change in OS that caused a slow-down, or is it progressive? I just got a 2019 iMac that came with Catalina. I put Monterey on it; comparing Monterey and Catalina, Monterey may be slower. However, I don't want to install Catalina, since it loses support in a few months, so it's Big Sur or Monterey. Wondering if there's a significant difference in snappiness between those two.
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macOS 13: What We Know So Far
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Here's what I want...
Finder improvements
Finder improvements
- Remember the damn default window size and position! This has been broken for me for years! Sometimes it sticks, but it usually falls back to the factory default.
- Ability to create files and folders within nested List views through the Contextual menu.
- Updated File Info window. This has been seriously overlooked for too many years, but I've seen rumblings that they are aiming to improve the window design.
- Restore ability to store app shortcuts in window toolbars by drag-and-drop. It seems apps do have the ability to be featured in the toolbar (eg. Dropbox is there), but it's no longer possible to drag-and-drop an app onto the toolbar to create a quick shortcut.
- Command-Tabbing to switch apps used to work much more predictably, but now seems to be intercepted by other apps that are opening or raising alerts, resulting in the wrong app being selected in the switcher. I hope they are aware of this usability issue and have worked on some behavioural improvements.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Oh boy. Good luck. I got Monterey pre-installed on new Studio Ultra and feel it needs many more dot-version upgrades to reach the stability of about any of the macOS versions before BigSur. Many things work as expected but- IMO- some things just beg... BEG... for Snow Monterey for a year or two. I'll hope your usages are such that you won't run into the same kind of stuff I have.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Haven't you heard? Apparently tech buyers, granted the ability to buy apps from sources other than ONE, are all doomed to security breaches, viruses, trojans and perhaps thermonuclear devastation.
Only buying from ONE source who coincidentally takes the first big bite of revenue for themselves right off the top... even ahead of the CREATOR of the app- can save all of us Mac people who have always had the ability to buy from- oh say- those who MAKE the apps and thus give them 100% of the revenue for their creations- and/or save us from the gigantic risks in app bundles in which we might get 10 apps for a few dollars. It's much better- much SAFER- to buy each app in the bundle individually and at full price.
We should be thrilled at the reduced choice and higher prices before the bad guys completely wipe us all out due to our foolish ways of NOT exclusively getting software from only ONE source.
yikes.
I would give anything to turn off window snapping. Most inane "feature" ever. Prevents precise window placement and distracts from my workflow.
You can get great window management with SizeUp + a gaming mouse. SizeUp does window placement via programmable shortcuts. I then programmed the G4 and G5 buttons on my Logitech G502 to execute the left half-screen and right half-screen placements, respectively.
Here's a link to SizeUp; they say it works for 10.6–10.15, but I found it works fine on Monterey on a 2019 Intel iMac. If you've got an M1 there are probably equivalent programs.
Irradiated Software - SizeUp - The Missing Window Manager
SizeUp allows you to quick resize and position your windows with shortcuts
www.irradiatedsoftware.com
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TELL me about it. It always feels like Windows has grabbed the mouse away from me and I have to yank it back.
I find that it's hard to notice a significant difference in general between Catalina and Big Sur and between Big Sur and Monterey, even on slower machines. I tried Big Sur briefly with my ancient 2014 Mac mini and it was pretty much the same on Monterey at least with my business type usage. It's sometimes easier to notice a bit of a difference between older OSes and Monterey though. So I guess I'm saying the differences are probably cumulative. OTOH, Safari has actually gotten faster over time by some measures so that mitigates the differences. Also, having sufficient memory would probably reduce any noticeable changes. I think 8 GB is fine is light usage in Monterey, but 16 GB is better for somewhat heavier usage.
For a 2019 iMac I probably wouldn't notice a major speed difference between Catalina and Monterey, at least if it had 16 GB or more. Not enough to bother me anyway. I don't have a 2019, but I do have a 2017 Core i5 quad-core iMac with 24 GB RAM. While I notice some lag occasionally on my 12" MacBook, I don't notice that on my 2017 iMac. I think my 2017 iMac runs great with Monterey, whereas it's merely good on the 2017 12" Core m3 dual-core MacBook 16 GB and 2014 dual-core Core i5 Mac mini 8 GB.
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HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
"Zippy" generally requires new hardware. I doubt it is actually because the old hardware "slows down" but that the OS is prob engineered to make it seem like increasingly-aging hardware is slowing down. Conceptually, as an OS is refined, it should be more efficient... even on older hardware... not mysteriously slow down in a noticeable way.
Sure, brand new functionality that directly leans on new hardware might seem slow on older hardware without that new tech (and thus executing some kind of backup option to try to approximate the same), but "same old, same old" functionality across OS generations doesn't seem like it should suddenly seem/feel/is slower on upgrade. And yet... it does.
Perhaps it's all conspiracy theory but I wonder how many os delay loops run for older hardware only to motivate the perception that it is time for new hardware. I know. I know. Apple would never!
I type this on "latest & greatest" Studio Ultra- possibly "fastest/most powerful" Mac ever... certainly most expensive Mac I've ever purchased. And yet, I have nearly every expectation that by about M3/4, it will have those "long in tooth" descriptors flying around like crazy... much like "latest & greatest" iPhone from only a few years ago seems "long in tooth" beginning about now and more so as we get close to "new iPhone" generation for sale now.
Yes, obviously newer hardware will likely be faster than older hardware. But you have to use the new to notice the difference. Often the "long in tooth" crowd is only comparing the same hardware after an OS upgrade to the same hardware BEFORE the upgrade- no direct comparison with the new, faster hardware (yet).
If the conspiracy is actually true, I'd love to see what all this Apple tech could do with no os delays. I'd like to see full-on roar.
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For me I’d like to see photo handling across the board handled better. How about sorting by EXIF time? I’m very new to MacOS as I bought my first M1 MacBook Pro just 2 weeks ago after having had an iPad Pro for a couple of years and liking it.
That said what others have said about removing some stock apps and improving mail (as I mentioned on the iOS post) would be nice.
That said what others have said about removing some stock apps and improving mail (as I mentioned on the iOS post) would be nice.
Not to single you out, but the "Snow Leopard" era is not what this "generation" of Mac users are glorious make it out to be...in fact the Snow Leopard to Lion transitions were horrid, and Snow Leopard ran to 10.6.8. Eight.* As in 8 tries to get it right. Cue disagree votes from fanboys...
*Edited for accuracy. I originally stated .11 which was my error (11 was the total of Mac OS Tiger; 10.6.11) My statement, however, remains as my opinion.
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Am I the only one who still feels weird about macOS now getting a +1 numbering system every year? I'm used to the idea that the main number, ie X, was the huge underlying change (eg. OS9 to OS X). Now it's just the yearly number that was the number after the dot previously. I understand the idea is to follow the numbering scheme of iOS, but I just still couldn't wrap my heads around it. And I still think it's going to get a bit silly once we reach the twenties or thirties. I mean of course, can't wait for macOS 69....
Nope, it went to 10.6.8, which came out two years after its initial release. Which is exactly the point. Instead of releasing a new OS every year, they took the time they needed (a full two years) to refine it and get it right. And get it right they did.
The difference with Snow Leopard is not, as you imply, that they needed more tries to get it right. Rather, it's that it seems Apple always needs at least that amount of time (& number of tries) to fully refine a new OS, but with Snow Leopard (unlike with today's OS's), they actually took it. That, combined with the fact that SL was, to start with, a stability-focused release explains why it's missed. Well, that plus its clean emphasis on productivity.
When it was released it had a bad bug that wasn't fixed until 10.6.2. But if you want to avoid bugs, you don't install the early versions anyways.
And it was supported for 2.5 years after the final refinement (10.6.8) was released. Today you get at best a partially refined OS with the last release, and then need to switch in two years.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X_Snow_Leopard#Reception
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This! Plus:
6. Python support in Shortcuts
7. Virtualization improvements (hypervisor framework)
8. Native (non-web/JS) Music app
9. App architecture badges in the App Store (x86_64/arm64/universal)
10. Full OS + own app transition to aarch64 on ARM-based Macs! Those x86 ("Intel") system services, as well as Rosetta requirements for some Apple Compressor encoders, are just ridiculous in 2022
11. Some steps towards wider availability of iOS apps for ARM Macs. It's way too easy to opt out now, and some devs/publishers are doing that just instinctively, for no particular reason
I'd also like them to announce their plans regarding x86 support / Rosetta2 EoL and the deadline for non-universal (x86-only) App Store submissions.
Just give me a solid OS that works. I migrated from 10.6.8 to 12.3 and a new M1 MBP and there are so many problems.
I got hooked into the mac ecosystem in the 80s and 90s because of the ease of use. Things just worked. You plugged peripherals in and they worked. You didn’t have to spend time maintaining your system, it just worked, so you could get on with your work. Seriously, with all this buggy behavior, can the premium for mac still be justified? Are PCs still that much worse?
- No longer can use CCC as a bootable drive.
- External drive being used for time machine will not unmount. Can not eject disk, well after time machine has run. “disk still in use”. Have to force quit, and can still an unsettling clunk when power is turned off.
- Migration assistant wouldn’t work with old system and new system. Had to manually transfer items.
- Iphoto transfer to photos, now hundreds of video files that were 100% viewable on prior system were not transferred. Those individual files (.avi from 2006-2008) which were completely viewable on the previous system iphoto and quicktime, are now deemed unreadable by quicktime.
- Final cut pro crashes multiple times per project.
I got hooked into the mac ecosystem in the 80s and 90s because of the ease of use. Things just worked. You plugged peripherals in and they worked. You didn’t have to spend time maintaining your system, it just worked, so you could get on with your work. Seriously, with all this buggy behavior, can the premium for mac still be justified? Are PCs still that much worse?
That's actually a very good idea if you pair it with Apple OnePremier or the 2TB iCloud option. Although, if you have a slow connection, implementing it would be a huge PITA.
The Chinese government will consider it as offensive because it looks like OS Xi.
Looks like macOS Mammoth won't have any mammoth new features. Oh, the irony.
Or will continue to work but without new OS features after Apple no longer includes Intel in new OS releases. Pretty useful doorstop 😉
Just get rid of a name and simply use macOS [version number]. Those Californian names are nightmares for non-English speakers.