Mac OS versions official end of life status

[timeshifter]

In the Windows world it's quite easy to know when an OS will be end of life as Microsoft makes it very clear. Apple not so much. This question has been coming up a lot for my clients recently and it's hard to find a good answer.

The best I could do last time I tried was to check Apple's software update page and see how long a particular OS had a security update.

I suppose you could compare the vintage and obsolete page here, but that's more hardware repair focused:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624

So, how do you tell which OS is still getting security updates and which one has been abandoned?

 

[trevm999]

When Chrome no longer supports it.

But actually, I think the unofficial pattern is it stops getting security updates after 3 new versions of the OS have been released, and they release a new version every year.

But they don't announce when they stop doing security updates, but you could watch this page
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT201222

You can see that 10.11, 10.12, and 10.13 were getting the updates, than 10.14 came out and now it's 10.12, 10.13, and 10.14 getting the updates,

 

[timeshifter]

So as of right now then 10.11 is end of life?

If a Mac can't run 10.12 then it's time to retire it?

And if it can only go to 10.12 today, it's only got 6 months to live when 10.15 comes out in September?

 

[pcpete]

All I know is a late model 2012 retina 15" is not vintage from a practical standpoint. Even if it has just 1.5 or 2 years left officially, it is super valuable, considering a new replacement is about $2500. Even if we charge $600 or $700 to fix it and they only get two years out of it(probably much more), it is a great bargain

 

[Markverhyden]

But actually, I think the unofficial pattern is it stops getting security updates after 3 new versions of the OS have been released, and they release a new version every year.

But they don't announce when they stop doing security updates, but you could watch this page
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT201222

You can see that 10.11, 10.12, and 10.13 were getting the updates, than 10.14 came out and now it's 10.12, 10.13, and 10.14 getting the updates,

That's what I've observed over the years. 3 versions back. Unlike M$ OS's I'm not quite as worried about OS related breaches on Apple machines. Yes, there are always PoC's but rarely do they get into the wild. And even rarer to actually have a meaningful impact. As always the biggest failure is PEBCAK.

I think most vendors will continue to support their apps in an OS that the OEM has stopped supporting. At least for a year or two. The biggest challenge is making sure to have the installers handy. Apple, in their world class customer disservice operation, makes it nearly impossible or even impossible to download older versions installers.

 

[Markverhyden]

If a Mac can't run 10.12 then it's time to retire it?

Personally I don't tell customer's it's time to move on just because Apple or M$ stop providing updates. In the case of M$ I'm a bit more adamant because drive by's can happen. I've yet to see or hear of a drive by in Apple's ecosystem. So I'll leave it up to the customer for the most part. I've several customers with 10.7 with no problems. But some are going to get moved shortly because the browsers don't support the latest security features which cause problems with sites requiring those features.

 

[timeshifter]

But some are going to get moved shortly because the browsers don't support the latest security features which cause problems with sites requiring those features.

That's probably the bigger question. When do the browsers (Chrome, Firefox) stop being updated for a particular Mac OS?

 

[SAFCasper]

So as of right now then 10.11 is end of life?

If a Mac can't run 10.12 then it's time to retire it?

And if it can only go to 10.12 today, it's only got 6 months to live when 10.15 comes out in September?

10.12 and 10.13 have identical requirements and compatibility. Basically anything that supports 10.12 will also support 10.13.

The same doesn't apply for 10.14 where they drop support for for models released in 2009,2010,2011 but meh, those models are 8-10 years old now and will still be supported on 10.13 for another 2ish years. Can't really complain at that imo.

 

[overburnz]

you could go the "unofficial" route and install the patched versions, i have mojave running in a 2009 iMac with no hicups, well... the menu color are not ok (they're all dark grey even with light theme), but you do not notice a lag in the system.
In official term you can still use a mac computer (imac ou macbook) even with older versions of mac os with virtually no problems, and sometimes with older machines it's better.
The big difference for me with mac os and windows is the stabbility of the system (mac i mean), it's lighter, and it does not has buggy has windows (yes i know sometime we do stuff that crashes the system) but with mac os that does not happen so easily.
just my 2cents

 

[Sky-Knight]

Apple uses a 2/3/4 lifecycle.

2 years for tablets / phones.
3 years for laptops.
4 years for desktops.

If you're outside of that scope, you're going to lose support by design. Honestly, I don't understand why people buy Apple knowing this stuff, and if you don't know this stuff you aren't paying attention.

 

[overburnz]

Apple uses a 2/3/4 lifecycle.

2 years for tablets / phones.
3 years for laptops.
4 years for desktops.

If you're outside of that scope, you're going to lose support by design. Honestly, I don't understand why people buy Apple knowing this stuff, and if you don't know this stuff you aren't paying attention.

So you’re saying you won’t buy Apple products because of that?!

 

[timeshifter]

Apple uses a 2/3/4 lifecycle.

2 years for tablets / phones.
3 years for laptops.
4 years for desktops.

If you're outside of that scope, you're going to lose support by design. Honestly, I don't understand why people buy Apple knowing this stuff, and if you don't know this stuff you aren't paying attention.

Respectfully disagree my friend.

6 year old laptops run the latest OS, 2x more than your numbers.

 

[hjelpio]

Apple is quite generous with their desktop OS updates imho.

I had an iPhone 5 last week that didn't want to updated. And the iPhone 5 is oooold. Seldom have any problems updating Mac OS or iOS.

 

[Sky-Knight]

So you’re saying you won’t buy Apple products because of that?!

That and because of the way they treat their support partners, or I should say the lack thereof.

@timeshifter, I used to work for a certified Apple repair center, what I just told you comes straight from the official Apple repair manuals. Products may last longer, but they are designed not to. Why else do you think the current generation Macbook Pro has RAM and SDD welded to the mainboard? The information is further backed by a contact of mine that continued to work for a 3rd party Apple Authorized Repair Center (rare things these days), up until last last year. Nothing has changed.

Apple builds disposable, expensive trash. Make money off the users of that platform if you wish, but know it's short lived because the machines you can actually service are aging, and the new ones only ever need screen repairs or junked.

 

[overburnz]

That and because of the way they treat their support partners, or I should say the lack thereof.

@timeshifter, I used to work for a certified Apple repair center, what I just told you comes straight from the official Apple repair manuals. Products may last longer, but they are designed not to. Why else do you think the current generation Macbook Pro has RAM and SDD welded to the mainboard?

Apple builds disposable, expensive trash. Make money off the users of that platform if you wish, but know it's short lived because the machines you can actually service are aging, and the new ones only ever need screen repairs or junked.

i didn't see that in any manuals i've read... and the longevity of any product, apple or others, depends on the user and the type of work he/she does with the machine, apple is not the only one with expensive machines that after 4 years are "obsolete".
if we talk about software support name one company that gives more updates than apple... Many Samsungs S8 are only now receiving Android 9 and you can bet that that's the last update they will receive, expect some security updates.
Mac OS same thing, name one laptop that will be upgradable in software for more than 3 years with no issues whatsoever? i'll help you: it starts with a "Z" and ends with an "O" and it has 4 letters....

Again in todays world we see more and more brands creating laptops, smartphones, etc to last only until they launch a new product (aka 1 year), android users are the ones that suffer the most because companies like samsung, huawei etc wont' update the older models... you're stuck in many cases with the original version of android or luckily the next version that came out but that's it.
iOS may cause, in some models, to not be the best experience but, again, you buy an iphone 5S thar came with iOS 8 and now we're in iOS 12 and it still is able to update and works just fine.

For me it's a matter of the kind of use you wan't to give to your equipment and the most common if you always whant to have the latest model and have the money for it

 

[Sky-Knight]

@overburnz, don't get me started on the phone market you're absolutely correct. However, every PC laptop and desktop I've got in service lives 10 years, the only exceptions are units that received physical damage.

The market has never had the same level of support we had for desktops / laptops on tablets / phones. Which is why I resist the push to those platforms so much. Business owners are only now starting to understand, they aren't cheaper, they aren't easier, they are just a means to force you to pay more both for the devices over time, and for the SaaS junk required to make them useful.

But as far as updates go, yes Apple devices are better on the mobile side, because they mandate it. Google should be doing the exact same thing for android... Microsoft did it themselves too. Mobile vendors have no place maintaining security updates on mobile OSs. They arne't equipped to handle it.

 

[overburnz]

you can still work with imac's from 2009 with no issues, but it will vary a lot in your line of work, in my work we use imac's from 2009 with 8GB and 16GB, and for invoices, word and our client software they work just fine, i see some companies that work with image treatment and video editing that use imac's 2011.
10 years on a laptot/desktop is for home users and small bussiness...

 

[Markverhyden]

The 2/3/4 numbers are for Apple's OEM hardware support from what I remember. Meaning if you go into an AASP, which includes their stores, you can't get the parts. Nothing to do so to speak with software.

But this touches on what I have always considered to be huge flaw with Apple and a major reason why they don't have a bigger market share. OEM parts availability.

 

[Sky-Knight]

The 2/3/4 numbers are for Apple's OEM hardware support from what I remember. Meaning if you go into an AASP, which includes their stores, you can't get the parts. Nothing to do so to speak with software.

But this touches on what I have always considered to be huge flaw with Apple and a major reason why they don't have a bigger market share. OEM parts availability.

Yes, but now that the OS is welded to the hardware and not sold separately, look to see current generation equipment having software limits happening with the OEM part window closing.

 

[phaZed]

if we talk about software support name one company that gives more updates than apple... Many Samsungs S8 are only now receiving Android 9 and you can bet that that's the last update they will receive, expect some security updates.
Mac OS same thing, name one laptop that will be upgradable in software for more than 3 years with no issues whatsoever?

All of my laptops are over 3 years old and they include Lenovo and Dell.. and pretty much 80% of my clients bring in laptops older than 3 years and they work?

Microsoft gives more updates than Apple. In fact, Apple just had 90 days to fix a severe vulnerability and failed to do so, so now the vuln is out on the web for over two weeks now.... this isn't new, Apple being extremely late or even fail to acknowledge a problem for years at a time.

As far as Android goes.. a "new OS" update usually brings features, not necessarily functionality or bug fixes. Incremental and security updates are released constantly. I have an S8+ and Verizon pushes security and other updates all the time (roughly 1 a month). The last update was on 3/4/2019. This is update 23, for a 21-month old phone... you do the math.

According to the Wikipage.. the iphone 8 has only received 16 updates... so I guess Android gets updated more than Apple? Maybe the question should be... "who updates less than Apple?"

The Samsung Galaxy 8 and 8+ started on Android 7 "Nougat", got an update less than a year ago to Android 8 "Oreo". Now the cell companies are rolling out Android 9 "Pie". That's three major OS updates in 21 months. What's the problem here?

The Galaxy S6, a 4 year old phone just got the January 2019 security updates... https://www.xda-developers.com/samsung-galaxy-s6-january-2019-security-update/

As far as the newest updates to the 5S.. what's this?

Not all features of iOS 12.1.4 are available on all Verizon Wireless iPhones. Get all the benefits of the latest iOS when you switch to or upgrade to a newer iPhone.

IOS 11 for iphone 5s was a horrible experience with bugs and performance on the 5s.


IOS 13 is rumored to drop support this summer for iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4, sixth-generation iPod touch, and all support for phones prior to iPhone 7. https://www.macrumors.com/2019/01/31/sketchy-rumor-ios-13-compatibility/

The second rumor to that is that iOS 13 isn't going to support devices with 1GB of RAM or less.

Take those how you will.