Apple unveiled macOS Sierra during the keynote presentation at its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, and for the past few years new versions haven't left any Macs behind. That changes with the operating system formerly known and OS X, so read on to see if your Mac is up to snuff.
macOS Sierra adds lots of new features, but drops support for several Mac models
macOS Sierra introduces new features like Siri for the Mac, clipboards that can be shared with your other Apple devices, Apple Pay for the Web, auto login via Apple Watch, Desktop and Documents folder access from other devices, picture-in-picture videos, and more.
If you're Mac was made prior to 2009, you won't be upgrading to macOS Sierra. This is the first Mac operating system update since OS X Mountain Lion from 2012 that drops support for older models.
Here's the list of Macs that do support macOS Sierra:
- MacBook (late 2009 and later)
- iMac (late 2009 and later)
- MacBook Air (2010 and later)
- MacBook Pro (2010 and later)
- Mac Mini (2010 and later)
- Mac Pro (2010 and later)
That's a fairly short compatibility list compared to previous Mac operating system upgrades. That said, it isn't too surprising to see older models drop off the support list considering many more modern features such as Continuity and Metal graphics weren't supported.
Still, Apple is supporting six year old Macs on macOS Sierra, so that's not too shabby.