Upgrade to Tahoe or.... what? Not sure what to do

[hky740]

I have an M4 Mac mini with 512 GB storage and 24 GB RAM. It came installed with Sequoia when I got it last October. I have no issues with Sequoia and would be fine staying on it indefinitely, but it won't get security updates or new Safari versions past next fall. I'm torn on upgrading to Tahoe now and getting myself two more years of updates, or waiting until Golden Gate. Neither newer version offers anything new that I care about and I prefer the look of Sequoia, but the looming end of life with security updates and Safari updates are an issue.

My needs are pretty simple: browsing, streaming, office work, e-mail. Not much else. I don't use Apple AI and in fact have it disabled now.

I've also read Tahoe and Golden Gate are heavier resource wise and don't want to take a noticeable performance/RAM usage hit with either.

Any advice?

 

[bogdanw]

I have a basic Mac mini M4 with the latest Sequoia and I will be waiting for Golden Gate 27.3 or above to upgrade.
Tahoe was and remains a bad joke.

 

[hky740]

I have a basic Mac mini M4 with the latest Sequoia and I will be waiting for Golden Gate 27.3 or above to upgrade.
Tahoe was and remains a bad joke.

What is Golden Gate fixing/improving that ailed Tahoe? I've also read that Apple AI cannot be turned off in Golden Gate, a huge drawback if true.... but it can in Tahoe.

 

[DavidPS]

For browsing, streaming, office, and mail on an M4 mini with 24 GB, Tahoe is not a meaningful RAM or speed hit versus Sequoia. 26.6.2 is the current point release and Tahoe has been in maintenance mode for a while, so you are not jumping onto a half-finished 26.0.

Golden Gate is still in public beta. Waiting for it means sitting on Sequoia until next fall, when security updates and new Safari builds stop. You would still be installing a newer OS eventually. I would not run the Golden Gate beta on a daily driver just to delay Tahoe.

If the look of Sequoia is the main thing you like, Tahoe lets you tone down the glass effect in System Settings, and you can keep Apple Intelligence disabled the way you already have it. Take a Time Machine backup, install 26.6.2, and skip the 27 beta until it is actually out.

 

[SDAVE]

Wait for Golden Gate .3 or above.

Just upgrade to 15.8 Sequoia when it's out in a week or two for now.

Skip Tahoe it's just not worth it. Golden Gate is what Tahoe should have been.

 

[SDAVE]

What is Golden Gate fixing/improving that ailed Tahoe? I've also read that Apple AI cannot be turned off in Golden Gate, a huge drawback if true.... but it can in Tahoe.

Huge performance improvements, better Apple AI services, more stability and less memory leaks. Better UI and more control of Glass effect.

But I wouldn't touch GG .0 release if you're on a production machine that's coming in a week or so. .3 will come faster than expected.

If you are the kind of person that just is a casual user, you can wait for .1 at least. I've been on the GG beta for a bit on my M1 Max but I'm not using this machine for any critical work, so I'm ok with the bugs (slowdowns and overall glitchy experience). It's mostly used for watching videos, writing emails and small amounts of design work and some light gaming.

 

[Howard2k]

I’m using Tahoe on my M4 and it runs great.

Even the wrong rounding on the corners hasn’t been the catastrophe that I was led to believe it would be.

 

[SDAVE]

I’m using Tahoe on my M4 and it runs great.

Even the wrong rounding on the corners hasn’t been the catastrophe that I was led to believe it would be.

Yes latest is more stable now, but not as good as Golden Gate.

Not worth Sequoia → Tahoe → Golden Gate path for what the OP is asking tbh.

Sequoia → Golden Gate .3 is better imo.

I wish I could skip Tahoe all together too.

 

[AslashA]

and you can keep Apple Intelligence disabled the way you already have it

Starting with version 26.5 (or 26.6), even if you disable Apple Intelligence in the settings, the system still downloads content for it. And it makes no difference which region you choose. So there is little point in turning it off.
I've had Apple Intelligence disabled since a clean install, but the content still downloaded.

This did not happen before version 26.5-6.

 

[SDAVE]

Starting with version 26.5 (or 26.6), even if you disable Apple Intelligence in the settings, the system still downloads content for it. And it makes no difference which region you choose. So there is little point in turning it off.
I've had Apple Intelligence disabled since a clean install, but the content still downloaded.

View attachment 2657098

This did not happen before version 26.5-6.

This is the latest version from Golden Gate, probably prepping for an easier upgrade when GG is fully released so "Indexing" doesn't take forever. They did the same with iOS 26 latest.

As much as we fight it this 7-10GB AI "bloat" is here to stay at a system level.

 

[unkl bob]

unkl bob agrees with the present majority: Wait for GG.3 at the least. HKY740 sez: "I have no issues with Sequoia and would be fine staying on it indefinitely, but it won't get security updates or new Safari versions past next fall." I casked the wizards about my M2PRO MM being covered and copied and pasted this reply:
"Yes, the Mac mini with the M2 Pro chip is fully compatible and will be allowed to update to macOS 27 Golden Gate."
seems like we're good for a while, anyway..

 

[jdw13]

For me, with M1 macMini on Tahoe 26.6.2 {latest}, as one who has never used Apple Intellgence but System Settings/Storage/MacOS {info} claims to be using 17.24 GB for Apple Intelligence.

I have both Apple Intelligence and Siri disabled, but may have had Siri turned on by default at some point, just don't remember all since Big Sir when it was new. Always upgraded, never did fresh install.

 

[bapegg]

I was holding of and trying to avoid Tahoe. I finally gave in a few days ago and my M4 24GB/512GB is running fine and actually feels a bit snappier (subjective).

I figured why not go ahead and upgrade to Tahoe on the Mini since it has been running just fine on my Neo. I still don't care for the Apps versus Launcher. But I will get use to that.

AS far as upgrades go, I have always waited until at least .2 version. I held off longer with Tahoe on the Mini.