There isn’t much we know about Apple’s next operating system except for the fact that we won’t have the annoying issues with OS X. No, I’m not talking about the spinning Beach-Ball (which is thankfully diminishing in influence in each iteration of OS X). I’m talking about how the debate over whether it was “OS xxxx” or “OS ten” went on for a while there.
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When OS 9, or Classic as it came to be known, was at end-of-life it was clear that it was…at end-of-life. The operating system which began its humble origins inside the original Mac just couldn’t keep up with the plethora of advances that followed whether it was faster processors, color, and more and more complex applications it was clear OS 9 needed to be replaced.
We aren’t anywhere near any such conversation when it comes to OS X. In terms of the ability to handle any complex application or hardware interactions thrown at it OS X can handle itself just fine, thank you very much.
But it is very hard to imagine that this will be the last operating system Apple will ever release. So what would you want from a next generation operating system? You can comment at the end of this piece, but here are some of my thoughts.
![Out Out](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0F7WWBJoQMk/maxresdefault.jpg)
1. A New Finder Paradigm.
Or maybe no finder at all. For better or worse the way we interact with our Macs of today is very similar to the way we interacted with the original Macintosh in 1984. We click file folders, drag documents, etc. But since then the amount of files we work with has grown exponentially the finder isn’t keeping up. But no one has come up with anything better. That isn’t to say there isn’t anything better, there is. If Apple doesn’t reinvent the desktop paradigm someone will. It’s inevitable. It could be based on the principles of search, which state that is quicker to type something in to find it than go through folders. Or it could extend the desktop metaphor beyond files and folders.
Or maybe no finder at all. For better or worse the way we interact with our Macs of today is very similar to the way we interacted with the original Macintosh in 1984. We click file folders, drag documents, etc. But since then the amount of files we work with has grown exponentially the finder isn’t keeping up. But no one has come up with anything better. That isn’t to say there isn’t anything better, there is. If Apple doesn’t reinvent the desktop paradigm someone will. It’s inevitable. It could be based on the principles of search, which state that is quicker to type something in to find it than go through folders. Or it could extend the desktop metaphor beyond files and folders.
2. Speed
Up until Leopard OS X ran slower than OS 9, at least the Finder did. That’s right if you ran OS 9 on the fastest G4 you could find it would run faster than Tiger, no matter how fast the processor. Leopard finally smashed that barrier but not by much. As the files we work on our larger and the applications we open them even larger we need an operating system that can keep up.
Up until Leopard OS X ran slower than OS 9, at least the Finder did. That’s right if you ran OS 9 on the fastest G4 you could find it would run faster than Tiger, no matter how fast the processor. Leopard finally smashed that barrier but not by much. As the files we work on our larger and the applications we open them even larger we need an operating system that can keep up.
3. New Interaction models
Looking at the iPhone and imagining multi-touch is nothing new. Microsoft copied it went and did that with Surface. The current mouse and keyboard interaction model is the primary way we all enter data on our machines. Its hard for us to imagine anything else, until we use an iPhone. Suddenly flicking pages with a finger feels like the most natural thing in the world. And indeed it is. Since Apple was the first to use multi-touch in a widely-shipping application it would seem natural that it would extend this experience to an operating system. Another oft-repeated comparison, The Minority Report comes to mind. Just like Apple revolutionized the way we interacted with machines with the original Mac it could do the same with OS 11.
Looking at the iPhone and imagining multi-touch is nothing new. Microsoft copied it went and did that with Surface. The current mouse and keyboard interaction model is the primary way we all enter data on our machines. Its hard for us to imagine anything else, until we use an iPhone. Suddenly flicking pages with a finger feels like the most natural thing in the world. And indeed it is. Since Apple was the first to use multi-touch in a widely-shipping application it would seem natural that it would extend this experience to an operating system. Another oft-repeated comparison, The Minority Report comes to mind. Just like Apple revolutionized the way we interacted with machines with the original Mac it could do the same with OS 11.
![Mac Mac](https://9to5mac.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/06/iphone10year-2.jpg?quality=82&strip=all)
4. User-Generated Applications
Many of us remember the original HyperCard application fondly. Built into the spirit of the original Mac was the premise that building custom applications (albeit simple ones) should be something any user can do. Right now creating a custom workflow or application still requires a computer science degree. Yes AppleScript and, in particular, Automator allow users to do some pretty nifty things but they aren’t applications. OS 11 should allow users to create true drag-and-drop applications.
Many of us remember the original HyperCard application fondly. Built into the spirit of the original Mac was the premise that building custom applications (albeit simple ones) should be something any user can do. Right now creating a custom workflow or application still requires a computer science degree. Yes AppleScript and, in particular, Automator allow users to do some pretty nifty things but they aren’t applications. OS 11 should allow users to create true drag-and-drop applications.
No doubt there are many more interesting ideas and possibilities for OS 11 than I have outlined here. What would you like to see from Apple’s new operating system?
Updated and republished for macOS 10.15.7; skip it unless you really really care about all the macOS releases. Originally published on November 14th, 2005. Simple cad program for mac free.
Below the break is a table showing all major releases of macOS (previously Mac OS X) from the public beta through the latest public version, which is macOS 10.15.7, as of September 23rd, 2020—the 138th release in total.
Note: Click the ⓘ symbol to read Apple's release notes for a given update.
The following was culled from Apple's support downloads page, and as such, some of the dates may be off just a bit. If you know for certain that something is incorrect, please let me know and I'll get it fixed. (Scroll to see all entries.)
Date | Version | Comments | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Sep 23 | 42 | 10.15.7 | 2.86 GB | ⓘ |
Aug 12 | 28 | 10.15.6 SU1 | 3.22GB GB | ⓘ | |
Jul 15 | 44 | 10.15.6 | 3.35 GB | ⓘ | |
Jun 1 | 6 | 10.15.5 SU1 | 1.59 GB | ⓘ | |
May 26 | 48 | 10.15.5 | 3.37 GB | ⓘ | |
Apr 8 | 15 | 10.15.4 SU1 | 1.38 GB | ⓘ | |
Mar 24 | 56 | 10.15.4 | 3.0 GB | ⓘ | |
Jan 28 | 49 | 10.15.3 | 3.0 GB | ⓘ | |
2019 | Dec 10 | 42 | 10.15.2 | 3.0 GB | ⓘ |
Oct 29 | 14 | 10.15.1 | 4.5 GB | ⓘ | |
Oct 15 | 8 | 10.15 SU1 | 985 MB | No info page | |
Oct 7 | 11 | 10.15 | 4.9 GB | ⓘCatalina - You need more permission! | |
Sep 26 | 31 | 10.14.6 SU3 | 1.32 GB | ⓘ | |
Aug 26 | 25 | 10.14.6 SU2 | 1.25 GB | ⓘ | |
Aug 1 | 10 | 10.14.6 SU1 | 949 MB | ⓘ | |
Jul 22 | 70 | 10.14.6 | 2.7 GB | ⓘ | |
May 13 | 49 | 10.14.5 | 2.5 GB | ⓘ | |
Mar 25 | 62 | 10.14.4 | 2.8 GB | ⓘ | |
Jan 22 | 48 | 10.14.3 | 2.0 GB | ⓘ | |
2018 | Dec 5 | 28 | 10.14.2 | 2.5 GB | ⓘ |
Nov 7 | 8 | 10.14.1 SU1 | 1.3 GB | ⓘ For 2018 MacBook Air | |
Oct 30 | 36 | 10.14.1 | 3.3 GB | ⓘ | |
Sep 24 | 27 | 10.14 | 5.2 GB | ⓘ Mojave - You need permission! | |
Aug 28 | 38 | 10.13.6 SU2 | 1.32 GB | ⓘ For 2018 Touch Bar MBP…again | |
Jul 24 | 15 | 10.13.6 SU1 | 1.31 GB | ⓘ For 2018 Touch Bar MBP | |
Jul 9 | 38 | 10.13.6 | 1.32 GB | ⓘ AirPlay 2 | |
Jun 1 | 64 | 10.13.5 | 2.12 GB | ⓘ Messages in iCloud | |
Mar 29 | 37 | 10.13.4 | 2.36 GB | ⓘ Sortable Safari bookmarks!! | |
Feb 20 | 28 | 10.13.3 SU | 40.4 MB | ⓘ Indian character/Messages crash fix | |
Jan 23 | 33 | 10.13.3 | 1.97 GB | ⓘ | |
Jan 8 | 33 | 10.13.2 SU | 633.6 MB | ⓘ Spectre and Meltdown fixes | |
2017 | Dec 6 | 36 | 10.13.2 | 2.08 GB | ⓘ |
Oct 31 | 26 | 10.13.1 | 1.47 GB | ⓘ | |
Oct 5 | 10 | 10.13 SU | 915 MB | ⓘ Addresses two security issues | |
Sep 25 | 68 | 10.13 | 4.8 GB | ⓘ High Sierra - Higher in the mountains? | |
Jul 19 | 65 | 10.12.6 | 1.98 GB | ⓘ | |
May 15 | 49 | 10.12.5 | 1.57 GB | ⓘ | |
Mar 27 | 63 | 10.12.4 | 1.56 GB | ⓘ Night Shift | |
Jan 23 | 41 | 10.12.3 | 1.05 GB | ⓘ | |
2016 | Dec 13 | 50 | 10.12.2 | 1.94 GB | ⓘ |
Oct 24 | 34 | 10.12.1 | 1.36 GB | ⓘ | |
Sep 20 | 64 | 10.12 | 4.77 GB | ⓘ Sierra - Still in the mountains. | |
Jul 18 | 63 | 10.11.6 | 759 MB | ⓘ | |
May 16 | 57 | 10.11.5 | 759 MB | ⓘ | |
Mar 20 | 61 | 10.11.4 | 1.58 GB | ⓘ | |
Jan 19 | 41 | 10.11.3 | 662 MB | ⓘ | |
2015 | Dec 9 | 49 | 10.11.2 | 1.4 GB | ⓘ |
Oct 21 | 21 | 10.11.1 | 1.19 GB | ⓘ | |
Sep 30 | 48 | 10.11 | 6.08 GB | ⓘ El Capitan - Go climb something! | |
Aug 13 | 44 | 10.10.5 | 1.02 GB | ⓘ | |
Jun 30 | 75 | 10.10.4 | 1.09 GB | ⓘ | |
Apr 16 | 8 | 10.10.3 SU | 1.8 MB | ⓘ Supplemental Update | |
Apr 8 | 71 | 10.10.3 | 1.52 GB | ⓘ Includes Photos app | |
Jan 27 | 71 | 10.10.2 | 544 MB | ⓘ | |
2014 | Nov 17 | 32 | 10.10.1 | 311 MB | ⓘ |
Oct 16 | 29 | 10.10 | 5.2 GB | ⓘ Yosemite - No surfers here. | |
Sep 17 | 79 | 10.9.5 | 139 MB | ⓘ | |
Jun 30 | 46 | 10.9.4 | 283 MB | ⓘ | |
May 15 | 79 | 10.9.3 | 461 MB | ⓘ | |
Feb 25 | 71 | 10.9.2 | 460 MB | ⓘ | |
2013 | Dec 16 | 55 | 10.9.1 | 243.4 MB | ⓘ |
Oct 22 | 19 | 10.9 | 5.3 GB | ⓘ Mavericks - All out of big cats! | |
Oct 3 | 21 | 10.8.5 SU | 19.6 MB | ⓘ Supplemental Update | |
Sep 12 | 100 | 10.8.5 | 273.7 MB | ⓘ | |
Jun 4 | 82 | 10.8.4 | 152.0 MB | ⓘ | |
Mar 14 | 161 | 10.8.3 | 249.0 MB | ⓘ | |
2012 | Oct 4 | 15 | 10.8.2 SU | 26.7 MB | ⓘ Supplemental Update |
Sep 19 | 27 | 10.8.2 | 665.5 MB | ⓘ | |
Aug 23 | 29 | 10.8.1 | 24.2 MB | ⓘ | |
Jul 25 | 77 | 10.8 | 4.1 GB | ⓘ Mountain Lion - App Store only | |
Oct 4 | 15 | 10.7.5 SU | 2.0 MB | ⓘ Supplemental Update | |
Sep 19 | 133 | 10.7.5 | 1.1 GB | ⓘ Released w/ 10.8.2 | |
May 9 | 98 | 10.7.4 | 692.7 MB | ⓘ | |
Feb 1 | 112 | 10.7.3 | 1.3 GB | ⓘ Only combo updater available | |
2011 | Oct 12 | 56 | 10.7.2 | 768.8 MB | ⓘ Now iCloud enabled |
Aug 17 | 29 | 10.7.1 | 79.3 MB | ⓘ | |
Jul 19 | 26 | 10.7 | 4.1 GB | ⓘ Lion - App Store only (USB stick later) | |
Jun 23 | 94 | 10.6.8 | 453.6 MB | ⓘ App Store readied for Lion | |
Mar 21 | 74 | 10.6.7 | 475 MB | ⓘ | |
Jan 6 | 57 | 10.6.6 | 143.6 MB | ⓘ Can you say 'App Store?' | |
2010 | Nov 10 | 148 | 10.6.5 | 644.5 MB | ⓘ |
Jun 15 | 78 | 10.6.4 | 607.2 MB | ⓘ | |
Mar 29 | 140 | 10.6.3 | 719.2 MB | ⓘ | |
2009 | Nov 9 | 60 | 10.6.2 | 473 MB | ⓘ |
Sep 10 | 13 | 10.6.1 | 71.5 MB | ⓘ | |
Aug 28 | 23 | 10.6 | 2.31 GB | ⓘ Snow Leopard - First Intel-only release | |
Aug 5 | 85 | 10.5.8 | 274 MB | ⓘ | |
May 12 | 148 | 10.5.7 | 442 MB | ⓘ | |
2008 | Dec 15 | 91 | 10.5.6 | 372 MB | ⓘ |
Sep 15 | 77 | 10.5.5 | 316 MB | ⓘ | |
Jun 30 | 33 | 10.5.4 | 88 MB | ⓘ | |
May 28 | 107 | 10.5.3 | 420 MB | ⓘ | |
Feb 11 | 88 | 10.5.2 | 343 MB | ⓘ Combo updater only | |
2007 | Nov 15 | 20 | 10.5.1 | 110 MB | ⓘ |
Oct 26 | 128 | 10.5 | 2.15 GB | ⓘ Leopard - First universal binary release | |
Nov 14 | 147 | 10.4.11 | 128 MB | ⓘ This '10' goes to '11' | |
Jun 20 | 99 | 10.4.10 | 72 MB | ⓘ | |
Mar 13 | 165 | 10.4.9 | 160 MB | ⓘ | |
2006 | Sep 29 | 94 | 10.4.8 | 206 MB | ⓘ |
Jun 27 | 85 | 10.4.7 | 133 MB | ⓘ | |
Apr 3 | 48 | 10.4.6 | 163 MB | ⓘ | |
Feb 14 | 35 | 10.4.5 | 16 MB | ⓘ | |
Jan 10 | 71 | 10.4.4 | 55 MB | ⓘ First Intel-capable release | |
2005 | Oct 31 | 111 | 10.4.3 | 97 MB | ⓘ |
Jul 12 | 57 | 10.4.2 | 44 MB | ⓘ | |
May 16 | 17 | 10.4.1 | 37 MB | ⓘ | |
Apr 29 | 14 | 10.4 | 1.78 GB | ⓘ Tiger | |
Apr 15 | 65 | 10.3.9 | 51.3 MB | ⓘ | |
Feb 9 | 56 | 10.3.8 | 26.6 MB | ⓘ | |
2004 | Dec 15 | 40 | 10.3.7 | 97 MB | ⓘ Combo updater only |
Nov 5 | 88 | 10.3.6 | 34 MB | ⓘ | |
Aug 9 | 75 | 10.3.5 | ??? | ⓘ | |
May 26 | 72 | 10.3.4 | 79 MB | ⓘ Combo updater only | |
Mar 15 | 89 | 10.3.3 | 70 MB | ⓘ Combo updater only | |
2003 | Dec 17 | 37 | 10.3.2 | 36.9 MB | ⓘ |
Nov 10 | 17 | 10.3.1 | 1.5 MB | ⓘ | |
Oct 24 | 21 | 10.3 | 1.54 GB | ⓘ Panther | |
Oct 3 | 57 | 10.2.8 | 40 MB | ⓘ | |
Sep 22 | 139 | 10.2.7 | ??? | Only for certain G5s/G4s | |
May 6 | 26 | 10.2.6 | 26 MB | ⓘ | |
Apr 10 | 56 | 10.2.5 | 81.9 MB | ⓘ | |
Feb 13 | 56 | 10.2.4 | 76 MB | ⓘ | |
2002 | Dec 19 | 38 | 10.2.3 | 51 MB | ⓘ |
Nov 11 | 54 | 10.2.2 | 24.4 MB | ⓘ | |
Sep 18 | 26 | 10.2.1 | 16.3 MB | ⓘ Update not available? | |
Aug 23 | 79 | 10.2 | 1.03 GB | ⓘ Jaguar | |
Jun 5 | 47 | 10.1.5 | 45.1 MB | ⓘ Combo updater only | |
Apr 19 | 57 | 10.1.4 | 1.7 MB | ⓘ | |
Feb 21 | 62 | 10.1.3 | 16 MB | ⓘ | |
2001 | Dec 21 | 37 | 10.1.2 | 29.2 MB | ⓘ |
Nov 14 | 50 | 10.1.1 | 13.8 MB | ⓘ | |
Sep 25 | 95 | 10.1 | 989 MB | ⓘ Puma | |
Jun 22 | 44 | 10.0.4 | 12 MB | ⓘ | |
May 9 | 8 | 10.0.3 | 15 MB | ⓘ | |
May 1 | 15 | 10.0.2 | 15 MB | Released but replaced (see comments) | |
Apr 16 | 23 | 10.0.1 | 4 MB | ⓘ | |
Mar 24 | 192 | 10.0 | 659 MB | ⓘ Cheetah | |
2000 | Sep 13 | -- | 10.0β | 676 MB | ⓘ Public Beta |
When Does The Next Mac Os Come Out
Note: The Days column reflects the number of days between releases.
Some entries may appear out of chronological order (i.e. 10.5 is shown on Oct 26, but above Nov 14 for 10.4.11). This is to keep the version numbers in the proper order, even when an older OS received an update after a major new release came out. This has happened a few times over the years.
Some random notes, updated from the original post:
- Starting with the Public Beta and up through macOS 10.15.7, there have been 138 macOS releases, both major and minor. This figure includes the one odd macOS X release: 10.2.7. This version was only for the then-new PowerMac G5 and the flat panel iMac G4, and was never generally released.
- As of September 23rd, 2020 (macOS 10.15.7's release date), it's been 7,315 days since the Public Beta was released. So on average, we've seen some sort of update every 53.0 days.
- The shortest time period between any two releases is six days, which is how quickly the 10.15.5 Supplemental Update 1 came out after the 10.15.5 release.
- The longest time period between any two minor releases is 165 days, which was how long we waited for the 10.4.9 update. (Tecnically, it's actually the 192 day interval between the Mac OS X Public Beta and version 10.0, but I'm counting from the official 10.0 release.)
- The smallest update was 10.3.1, at only 1.5MB. The largest (non-combo, non-main OS release) update was 10.15.1 at 5.3GB.
- The '???' entry for Size on a given release indicates I was unable to find the size. Feel free to contact me if you can help replace any of the '???' entries.
And now, gratuitous graphics…
Releases by version number
When Is Mac Os 11 Coming Out
Releases by year
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A special 'thank you!' goes to Mr. Ziebell (for providing some size values on very-old minor updates), and to Benton Quest (for providing size info on all the major releases up through Snow Leopard). See Benton's comment below if you want a nicely detailed history of those early releases.