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Which OS should I upgrade to?? (coming from Mojave)

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Cheeseboard

Cheeseboard

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 1, 2022
3
0
Hello people,

I am still using Mojave on my MBP Early 2015, and since Apple has stopped the support, it's finally time to update.

Here comes my question: which OS should I upgrade to? I don't want to overburden my ageing machine lol. Also, I am using a couple of niche programs and am afraid they might not work on Monterey yet.

Anyways, I'd love to hear your opinions!
 
what niche programs? any additional Apple or other hardware you (like/ want to continue to) use?
 
Slartibart said:
what niche programs? any additional Apple or other hardware you (like/ want to continue to) use?
Click to expand...
A couple of small research programs with a pretty limited number of users. No other hardware besides my macbook
 
Cheeseboard said:
A couple of small research programs with a pretty limited number of users. No other hardware besides my macbook
Click to expand...
Is any of them 32 bit-only and e.g. you do not have the source code to recompile? you can check by
  1. Click the Apple icon in the top left corner of your screen.
  2. Select About This Mac.
  3. Click System Report.
  4. Scroll down to the Software section in the left sidebar and select Legacy Software in the sidebar. All legacy software is 32-bit.
  5. If you don’t see Legacy Software in the sidebar, select Applications in the sidebar, then check the list of apps on the right. The column labeled “64-Bit (Intel)” shows “No” for apps that are 32-bit.

1643886473409.jpeg


You’ll need to update 32-bit apps or find a replacement before you upgrade to macOS Catalina (10.15) or above.
 
I’m going to say Monterey. It’s running slickly on a couple of 2015-2019 iMac 21.5”s I have. Even feels like they are faster on 12 than on Catalina and Big Sur.
 
Catalina is not bad, just boring and accessing software is annoying
while there are some changes were a learning curve is needed.
If you use an iPad, Monterey will soon feature "universal side loading car' were the display can be shared.
 
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Check that you don't have any 32 bit apps. As suggested before.

Also check your printer's and other external devices manufacturer's support pages. To see which macOS versions are supported. As many printers got dropped over the last few years.

If everything checks out. Go to Monterey. That way you'll have the longest OS use life. Before you have to upgrade again. Otherwise, upgrade to the latest OS supported by your software and devices. Until such time as you can replace them.
 
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If you're not sure about which way to go, you could do this:
- get a cheap 128gb (or 256gb) SATA SSD
- put it into a USB3 enclosure
- install the OS with which you want to experiment
- run it that way until you KNOW that it will work with your existing software.

... and once you know such things, THEN it's time to do the upgrade on your internal drive.
 
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I recommend Big Sur.

Monterey, imho, is not yet ready for primetime.

Catalina will not be supported with Security Updates starting in the Fall when the next macOS comes out, so you'd need to upgrade again then (only the three most current macOSes are updated with Security Updates). If you upgrade to Big Sur now, you're "safe" until Fall of 2023, at which time Monterey should be fully mature. Even aside from that, I can't think of any reason to run Catalina instead of Big Sur.

As someone already mentioned, running it on an external SSD to make sure all is well is a good idea. While most apps/peripherals will run the same between Catalina and Big Sur, some definitely do not. I found out my Brother printer/scanner works normally on Catalina but I need special software for Big Sur, one for printing and one for scanning, which some kind soul was gracious enough to create and I was lucky enough to find.

Good luck with your choice and remember to backup before upgrading (and all the time).
 
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...what do you guys think; will the next OS run on the 2015 Macbook or is Monterrey the end of the line...?
 
Chrisp1234 said:
...what do you guys think; will the next OS run on the 2015 Macbook or is Monterrey the end of the line...?
Click to expand...
Looking at history, Monterey will probably be the last for the 2015 MBP, but there's an outside chance it gets one more supported release.
 
Chrisp1234 said:
...what do you guys think; will the next OS run on the 2015 Macbook or is Monterrey the end of the line...?
Click to expand...
If you're asking about the 2015 15" MBP, I think there's a good chance the next macOS will be supported, as that 2015 MBP was produced unchanged through mid-2018. If you're asking about the 2015 13" MBP or the 13" MBA, production on those was stopped about a year earlier, so there is definitely less chance of them running the next macOS. The 2015 11" MBA production was stopped the year before that, so there's even less of a chance of it running the next macOS.
 
Last edited:
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If the next OS release (Mammoth?) supports it, then that will be the first ever time a MBP has been supported by 9 releases.

I mean, I hope it does, because I have that 2015 15" and like it a lot.
 
Nothing
security up-"what evers" are fake, case in point, last November saw a breech with Monterrey and safari 15

and Mojave has that great screen saver and runs all programs and can sync with every ipad device!
what a wunderbar operating system!
 
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MBAir2010 said:
Nothing
security up-"what evers" are fake, case in point, last November saw a breech with Monterrey and safari 15

and Mojave has that great screen saver and runs all programs and can sync with every ipad device!
what a wunderbar operating system!
Click to expand...
Mojave was easily my favorite recent OS. Monterey is the best since though (relatively speaking, since Cat and Sur aren’t very good imho.)
 
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Cheeseboard said:
Hello people,

I am still using Mojave on my MBP Early 2015, and since Apple has stopped the support, it's finally time to update.

Here comes my question: which OS should I upgrade to? I don't want to overburden my ageing machine lol. Also, I am using a couple of niche programs and am afraid they might not work on Monterey yet.

Anyways, I'd love to hear your opinions!
Click to expand...
Sometime ago I updated my MBP 2015 to Big Sur only because I wanted to try it .

Still using Mojave on my iMac 2017 because of few apps that will never be updated or because too expensive or need to be rented, what I personally hate.
I would suggest, if you decide, to do a backup and a clean install: I didn't mostly because it was not the main computer I'm using.

I noticed the difference after I formatted an external SSD in APFS and did a clean install: much faster than then MBP.
Be prepared on both MBP or External disk to a slow, very slow installation, it took forever and the " still 10 minutes before restart' can last much longer and touch a nerve...

Good luck!
 
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