Should I install the Sequoia beta on my only Mac that I use for school or work?

[gank41]

Or, if you're like me and running a dual boot with Asahi Fedora and macOS, it's probably not a good idea to upgrade to Sequoia

 

[dsampley]

No

 

[krspkbl]

People need to stop acting like you shouldn't install a beta if you only have one device. I only have 1 Mac, 1 iPhone, and 1 Apple Watch. They are all running beta software.... the horror! 👻

They are all, in my experience, very stable. Yes, things can go wrong just like how they could also go wrong on stable but most likely you'll be fine.

If you want to install the beta then go ahead. If you're worried then make sure you have back ups made... which you should be doing anyway no matter what kind of OS you're running.

This is Apple, not a Windows PC

Been using public and developer betas on a bunch of Apple hardware from the beginning, and I only had some bugs with developer betas but never anything major. With public betas everything I tried worked like final versions.

What's the difference?

If something goes wrong using preview/stable software you should have a back up on either Mac or Windows. If I need to reset my PC I can have it up and running in no time because 1. I make regular back ups 2. It's easy to reset Windows. And yes I run previews of Windows on my PC. Like any beta software there are bugs but works great most of the time. Just don't use the dev/canary channels of course (not comparable to dev on Apple devices)

 

[Komputergod]

I've been doing the betas on my only mac (and iPhone, iPad, Watch) for years. Obviously my experience won't speak for all, but it has been just fine. And now as a student with Sequoia, there haven't been any issues. It really depends on the software you rely on. A lot of the software I need is available as a web version, and adobe has been fine. For my hobbies, DAWs and VSTs have worked, SoundSource is the only related outlier (and there are test releases in the meantime). Ultimaker, Fusion 360, DaVinci Resolve... all fine.


The early releases (and later releases) are certainly not bug free. I think if you're an enthusiast willing to troubleshoot and report issues, it adds to the adventure.

All to say there's inherent risk, which should be weighed. If you're the type of user who has to ask whether to install, that's where I'd say the default "no" makes sense. If you know what you're getting yourself into, it can be fun.

I totally agree with you! I’ve been doing the beta thing for years also and have never encountered an issue I couldn’t solve! The adventures have encouraged me to know the OS features and how they operate along with the apps and any features the OS offers and it is a thrilling journey.

It has made me a very knowledgeable user and yes, I have encountered pesky bugs. But I have contributed the info with Apple so that they could fix it and the result is a polished product! What better satisfaction is that? I recently took a very risky move in installing Sequoia on my only iMac and the process was flawless and so far no issues that I haven’t been able to solve.

Things are a bit slow here and there but it’s a recent install so I will wait until the OS settles down with background processes to make a better assessment. But I agree, if you love technology, then risk will always be a part of the journey!

 

[dmccloud]

Personally, I have just one Mac, iPhone, and iPad, but I run the betas on all of my devices. I keep all of my devices backed up, so I don't worry about data loss in case I have to do a full restore of the OS. I also have jumped in and out of the Windows Insider program on my gaming PC, but Microsoft has issues even running release version of Windows, so prerelease software on that machine is like rolling the dice even under the best circumstances.

 

[iBookmaster]

I am not a developer but, have run Developer Betas and Public Betas since they've been offered by Apple and never had any real problems. Never data loss. Only little bugs. Should you put it on your only Mac? Only you can answer that. I wouldn't have a problem doing it. The way I look at it is if Apple is confident enough to let Public Betas out to the public, the operating system is working really well. If it wasn't working that well, I don't think they would offer it to the public. So, if you install on your only Mac, the safest Beta would be the Public Betas.

 

[flowrider]

My Opinion, take it for what it's worth😶‍🌫️ I have been running Developer Betas for years. Never had a significant problem. Lots of minor incompatibilities over the years, but nothing major. Never lost any data. BUT:

Would I run Betas or be an early adapter - If I had only one storage device - I WOULD NOT‼️

My NcMP 7.1 contains 10 SSDs. Four are boot devices. One boots to the latest beta, one boots to the previous OS, one is a backup to the latest beta and carries the previous beta, and one is the backup to the previous OS SSD.

So, if something catastrophic happens - I have options👍🏻

Lou

 

[dsampley]

No