Would macOS Catalina work on a 4gb Late 2010 Air?

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Level 1

9 points

Would macOS Catalina work on a 4gb Late 2010 Air?

I recently acquired a refurbished MacBook Air made in late 2010. I was pleased to find it was one of the models that came with 4gb of ram and 128gb of memory. I was checking out Catalina’s requirements and it seems my MacBook should be able to handle it. I found several websites and videos that show how to upgrade an unsupported Mac to Catalina but warned it may be sluggish and some newer features may be broken.

So my question is if I would run into the same problems as my MacBook Air appears to meet the RAM requirements. I would also like to know if upgrading from High Sierra to Catalina would be worth it. Lastly, would Mojave be a possible option if Catalina is not?

MacBook Air

Posted on Dec 14, 2019 5:38 AM

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Answer 1

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macjack

Level 10

111,168 points

Dec 14, 2019 6:00 AM in response to Joasem

No, it can't. A metal graphics card is required and the MacBook Air is almost impossible to work on even professionally. Also the RAM is soldered to the motherboard and the 4GB you have will be insufficient for Catalina, despite what Apple says.

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Answer 2

Joasem Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 14, 2019 5:52 AM in response to macjack

Your response was brief and didn’t address my questions. I’m aware my MacBook Air is not officially supported. I’m asking whether or not it can run it with the issues outlined on other sites that show how to upgrade unsupported Macs to Catalina.

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Answer 3

y_p_w

Level 6

17,642 points

Dec 14, 2019 11:04 AM in response to Joasem

While I'm not really all that comfortable recommending anyone run software in violation of Apple's software licensing agreements, the biggest issue is likely to be a lack of drivers and incomplete processor instruction support with a Core 2 Duo.

As far as memory goes, I'm doing OK with 4 GB on a mid-2012 MacBook Pro with Catalina. I do intend on upgrading RAM though.

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