OSX El Capitan vs OSX Yosemite vs OSX Mavericks: which one should I use?

Question

OSX El Capitan vs OSX Yosemite vs OSX Mavericks: which one should I use?

I'm using a 15-inch mid 2012 MacBook Pro. I've been using OS X Yosemite as the operating system for the past two years but felt the need to upgrade to OS X El Capitan as OS X Yosemite doesn't seem to be synchronising my Yahoo email account and recently my notes and Safari. The Winebottler application doesn't connect to the Internet but it used to last year. I tried upgrading to OS X El Capitan and then downgrading to OS X Mavericks. While OS X El Capitan took care of all the issues(synchronised everything and Winebottler was able to connect to the Internet), it seemed to run more warmly and consumed more power on the average while OS X Mavericks seemed to provide the best battery life but caused similar problems to OS X Yosemite regarding Safari and synchronisation.

Essentially, I'd like to know why OS X El Capitan is consuming more power on the average than OS X Yosemite and OS X Mavericks? Should I use OS X El Capitan? If so, how could I reduce its power consumption to prevent a decrease in battery life? Should I use OS X Yosemite? If so, how could I fix the issues of synchronisation of Yahoo Mail, notes and Safari? Please explain these issues and advise me on how I should go about this if possible. Thanks.

MacBook Pro

Posted on Apr 28, 2020 5:51 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

362,329 points

Apr 28, 2020 7:59 PM in response to mrmagnetoman88

The only version of macOS to which you can upgrade is the last version of macOS your machine model supports. As of now, that is Catalina. You cannot upgrade to prior versions because the App Store will now permit you to download them.

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Answer 2

Apr 28, 2020 8:51 PM in response to QuickPost

Hello QuickPost,

Thanks for your reply. I disabled the new features on OS X Yosemite and OS X El Capitan of allowing Handoff and transparency, which many users said helped reduce power consumption significantly. Do you happen to know what the new features in OS X El Capitan are that could be consuming more resources, by any chance?

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Answer 3

Apr 28, 2020 8:56 PM in response to Kappy

Hi Kappy,

Thanks for your reply. Actually, it's now possible to upgrade to OS versions older than Catalina which aren't available on the App Store or ones that the user didn't download from the App Store when they were available. That's how I was able to upgrade to OS X El Capitan despite not downloading it from the App Store between November 2015 and November 2016.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206886

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Answer 4

Kappy

Level 10

362,329 points

Apr 28, 2020 9:13 PM in response to mrmagnetoman88

I stated that the App Store will not let you upgrade to a version prior to the last version of macOS supported by your computer model. That is different from what you've stated. Apple does not want us to go against Apple policies in our replies about upgrading/downgrading.

Given you seem to know about the matter, then why are you posting your query? Surely, you ought to know the answer to your question. It's what QuickPost posted.

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Answer 5

Apr 28, 2020 11:11 PM in response to Kappy

I had a rough idea of why the power consumption was higher, but was hoping to find out more about other potential features that you and other users might be familiar with so that I could perhaps manipulate those features accordingly. I was also looking to get advice on how to go about it, i.e are the benefits of OS X El Capitan worth the sacrifice of some(I'm not sure how much) battery life in the long run?

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Answer 6

QuickPost

Level 10

103,555 points

Apr 28, 2020 7:53 PM in response to mrmagnetoman88

Hello,

Newer versions of macOS contain features that may consume more system resources.

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OSX El Capitan vs OSX Yosemite vs OSX Mavericks: which one should I use?

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