Which is your preferred macOS?

[Fishrrman]

"I am asking this because I am probably going to have to get a newer (or new) MacBook Pro soon, and I want to get a sense of which OS is the most hassle-free."

Be aware that if you buy a new one, it's most likely going to come with Ventura, and you won't be able to install and run anything earlier than that.

The "first release" 2021 MacBook Pro 14" and 16" came with Monterey, which is very smooth and stable. I have it on mine and so far have no desire to upgrade to Ventura (or anything beyond what's there now).

 

[floral]

It seems that Ventura is the latest macOS, but that doesn't mean it is the best.

Out of the more modern Mac operating systems, which is your favorite, and why?

I am asking this because I am probably going to have to get a newer (or new) MacBook Pro soon, and I want to get a sense of which OS is the most hassle-free.

I don't use macOS, but based purely on looks, I'd take Mountain Lion. It's a nice compromise between the sleek flat future and the charming skeuomorphist past. I really like it.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I also decided to post here, because someone told me that macOS is heading toward iOS, and I don't like that idea at all. So I figured I would see if Ventura is now like using an iPhone or if it still feels like a traditional computer operating system.

The person who told you that was Steve Jobs, and he told you all the way back in October 2010.
Yes, macOS has become a lot more like iOS… Over the past 13 years.
But even Ventura is still far far far away from actual iOS, it’s still macOS, it still looks like macOS, it still sounds like macOS, it’s still macOS.
The differences between Big Sur, Monterey and Ventura are extremely minor (the settings app is a list now instead of a grid. Fun, people totally won’t overreact to this) so your best bet would be to just… Stick with the latest.

 

[lysingur]

Big Sur

• Compatible with all my old USB peripherals, including a USB hub from more than a decade ago, and monitors. Can't say the same about Monterey.
• A more familiar user interface than Ventura.
• Better framerates on games running OpenGL than Monterey.
• Less buggy Bootcamp than Monterey.
• Faster performance in general than Monterey. I suspect this is due to Monterey supporting AirPlay to Mac.
• The vast majority of programs still support Big Sur.

You gain no major practical features with Monterey but will take a noticeable performance hit. If you want to upgrade, go directly to Ventura or even the next iteration, which is rumoured to be generally a maintenance upgrade with no major features because Apple is dedicating its resources to its AR headset.

 

[lysingur]

The person who told you that was Steve Jobs, and he told you all the way back in October 2010.
Yes, macOS has become a lot more like iOS… Over the past 13 years.
But even Ventura is still far far far away from actual iOS, it’s still macOS, it still looks like macOS, it still sounds like macOS, it’s still macOS.
The differences between Big Sur, Monterey and Ventura are extremely minor, so your best bet would be to just… Stick with the latest.

I wouldn't say the differences between Big Sur and Ventura are minor. Stage Manager and the overhauled System Settings give Ventura a very distinct feel.

 

[Asbow]

10.6, 10.8 and 10.4 for me. macOS releases now are more like annual service packs.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I wouldn't say the differences between Big Sur and Ventura are minor. Stage Manager and the overhauled System Settings give Ventura a very distinct feel.

Stage manager is totally and completely off by default and basically hidden.
So… not really.
For the 99% of people who leave stage manager off, window management works exactly the same as it has for years.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

What issues? Because there is a ton of help that we can give on these forums if you wanted to extend its life a little longer. I think it's better to use something you're familiar and happy with for as long as possible.
What year is your MBP?

Well, I'm pretty sure that I have a bad logic board, and the display was damaged, so it's pretty much over for this MBP.

I will start another thread on that topic to get advice. I appreciate every responding so far - although I wish I had gotten a better answer about how power on/off works in my first thread: Migrating everything from an old laptop

 

[Ambrosia7177]

Given Apple's new policy, of only guaranteeing support for the current OS, you'll want as new a one as you can afford so you have the longest usage out of it. I absolutely would suggest an M1, as intel support is likely to fall off sometime in the next few years.

Almost feels like Microsoft's perpetual upgrade/subscription model.

Capitalism at it's best!

Monterey broke the USB subsystem, so a lot of older USB hubs no longer work properly, and Ventura hasn't fixed that.

Yet another thread topic!

But other than that, Ventura has been remarkably solid. Not snow-leopard solid, but pretty darn good. Again though, even Monterey isn't guaranteed to get security patches, and there are definitely ones that have not been backported to both it, and Big Sur.

It sounds like if I buy a new Mac I am basicallys tuck with whatever OS is out at the time, so I guess worrying is not negotiable.

Aside from the OS, the M1 machines blow away the recent intel ones, both in terms of performance and battery life, but also design and usability. Unless you have intel specific workloads like virtual machines, there's no reason to hesitate on getting one. I used to chase performance and upgrade every year or two, but now? My M1 is so darn fast and usable, that I don't see much reason to upgrade before and M3 or M4. Certainly not an M2.

And yet another thread I will start sometime soon!

 

[Ambrosia7177]

Also the last MacOS that lasted more than a year before being replaced. I think the one-year OS update cycle has caused a lot of this chaos.
I miss the simplicity of earlier releases. I'd honestly pay money again if the OS updates were worth it.

I just bought $K DOwnloader a few weeks ago, and I have gotten prompts the last 3 days in a row asking if I want to update the software?

I find changing OS's and computers to be very disruptive in my life. While I appreciate bug fixes and security patches, less is more in my world.

 

[v0lume4]

Snow Leopard. My first macOS (then called OS X) experience. The Aqua GUI. Absolutely beautiful.

Really doesn’t answer your question OP because good luck getting that OS now. Sorry. 😄

 

[appltech]

Heeey

Mavericks -- first available to everyone, handle well on HDD and Fusion Drive.

El Capitain (early update, 1 or 2 but not higher) -- more sensible or how to describe, + option to login using AppleID password (Yosemite maybe also supported that) + has Network Tools, compared to recent ones (app shortcut still present but not for you)

High Sierra -- can pal with APFS after tinker, without odd data written issues, etc. When released it was headache, but latest available is ideal on not tough systems, where APFS support (to communicate with newer Macs) is necessary.

Monterey -- loved it because of sound quality boost over headphones port. And that purple wallpaper, and almost latest customization and common features. Still with some bugs, to Spotlight, can't use because of crazy data written values after some time.

And I personally don't like new Ventura UI, as that windows multitasking, I mean, c'mon, more sense for me would be to engage it with Dock panel or create separate centre for that. And there no support for subpixels (either in Monterey), and some protocols, my homie server refuse to connect with Ventura
Even iOS 7 was ambiguous for me, somehow I caught up the breeze there.
But not with Ventura, noo.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

The person who told you that was Steve Jobs, and he told you all the way back in October 2010.
Yes, macOS has become a lot more like iOS… Over the past 13 years.
But even Ventura is still far far far away from actual iOS, it’s still macOS, it still looks like macOS, it still sounds like macOS, it’s still macOS.
The differences between Big Sur, Monterey and Ventura are extremely minor (the settings app is a list now instead of a grid. Fun, people totally won’t overreact to this) so your best bet would be to just… Stick with the latest.

I hope you are correct. I have an iPhone but won't use it for really anything because I can't understand not having a "hard-drive" and a "file manager" and everything being wrapped up in the application itself. I'm using to going into Windows Explorer or Finder and double-clicking on a file and there is my file, whether it be a resume or music or movie or a photo.

That is a whole other topic, but I just figured to mention it since I am several OS's behind the latest.

 

[Zaren]

7.5.5.

I'm old.

 

[theMarble]

handle well on HDD and Fusion Drive

In my experience (across a 2006 17", 2010 13" and 2011 13"), Mavericks ran surprisingly bad on a spinner. Snow Leopard was the last that could comfortably be run on a spinner.

Fusion Drive were still fine enough until APFS came around, that was when an SSD became an unofficial requirement. Crazy that Apple were still selling that god awful 2017 iMac with the 5400rpm drive as late as 2021.

Imagine if someone was upgrading from an older MacBook Air, thinking that this would be a good upgrade, yet when they turn it on, they realise that their older Mac was so much faster.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I hope you are correct. I have an iPhone but won't use it for really anything because I can't understand not having a "hard-drive" and a "file manager" and everything being wrapped up in the application itself. I'm using to going into Windows Explorer or Finder and double-clicking on a file and there is my file, whether it be a resume or music or movie or a photo.

That is a whole other topic, but I just figured to mention it since I am several OS's behind the latest.

Finder still works exactly as it always has in macOS.
Really the only thing that’s changed is the system settings app, which… It’s just a Settings app, and you’ve now got dedicated weather and clock apps.
That’s…… About it when it comes to general use, coming from Big Sur to Ventura you probably won’t notice much of a difference.
As someone said up thread, macOS updates these days are more like service packs than actual operating system rethinks.
An interface here or there gets refreshed, new standards are introduced, old standards are deprecated, but Normal day-to-day use is pretty much the same.

 

[johannnn]

1. Tiger
2. Snow Leopard

 

[aespana]

I have a lot of love for High Sierra since is the one that runs very well on my Macbook 12" 2017. Mojave is also very fast and have the dark mode.

Big Sur for the "updated OSs". Good perfomance and better software compability. Monterrey is good but i feel it slow compared to Big Sur but that wallpaper is really nice.

Ventura is just horrible for me

 

[Ambrosia7177]

I'm amazed at all of the response.

Equally surprised that so many people voted for Snow Leopard and Mojave - I think thos got the most votes keeping track in my heaad.

Well, I hope I can buy a brand new MacBook pro in a few months, and I guess it will be on to Ventura for me - unless I can't buy a Mac until this fall.

 

[Stevenyo]

It seems that Ventura is the latest macOS, but that doesn't mean it is the best.

Out of the more modern Mac operating systems, which is your favorite, and why?

I am asking this because I am probably going to have to get a newer (or new) MacBook Pro soon, and I want to get a sense of which OS is the most hassle-free.

10.6 Always. But I haven't used it on a daily basis for years of course. Just think that the Mac has really been on the downhill since Lion with the app store and things like that. Snow leopard was the last version of the operating system that was desgined to be a computer operating system, not a delivery method for services and content revenue. It was the last MacOS developed by a computer company rather than a mobile phone company. It still feels modern and has most/all features you actually want. Basically snow leopard with updates for drivers, security, and the like could (should?) still be the Mac experience. Almost all changes since 10.6 have been changes for the sake of change, changes to make the OS monitizeable, or changes to make the Mac more locked down like an iPhone.

 

[thebart]

Almost feels like Microsoft's perpetual upgrade/subscription model.

!

Windows upgrade cycle is pretty long. For good reason. Businesses are slow too upgrade

Windows XP: 2003
Vista: 07
7: 09
8: 12
10: 15
11: 21

Vista and were not well received, hence the relatively short life

 

[BellSystem]

I prefer Mac OS X Server 1.2 lol. There was still hope then. The current version is a dumpster fire.

 

[winxmac]

Windows upgrade cycle is pretty long. For good reason. Businesses are slow too upgrade

Windows XP: 2003
Vista: 07
7: 09
8: 12
10: 15
11: 21

Vista and were not well received, hence the relatively short life

Year of Release to Public
2001 - Windows XP
2007 - Windows Vista
2009 - Windows 7
2012 - Windows 8
2013 - Windows 8.1
2015 - Windows 10
2021 - Windows 11

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Remember, if it's a brand-new Mac, the ONLY OS you're going to be able to run at this point is (almost certainly) Ventura.

Some Macs (currently) sold new or Apple-refurbished) can run Monterey (such as an Apple-refurbished 2021 MacBook Pro 14" or 16").

 

[theMarble]

Remember, if it's a brand-new Mac, the ONLY OS you're going to be able to run at this point is (almost certainly) Ventura.

Some Macs (currently) sold new or Apple-refurbished) can run Monterey (such as an Apple-refurbished 2021 MacBook Pro 14" or 16").

You can check either Mactracker or Everymac. If X model shipped with Ventura, then it can't run Monterey, but if it originally came with an older version, then you should be able to install that.