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What is the best OS for Macbook Air (early 2015)

What will be the best OS update for Macbook Air (Early 2015) model?

I haven't updated it for a while that it's currently 10.12, but I start to see that certain apps require higher software for it to work.

Will Big Sur too much? or would Catalina be enough?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.12

Posted on Mar 3, 2021 2:51 PM

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Posted on Mar 3, 2021 3:42 PM

Get more information about your computer choose Apple menu  > 'About This Mac' in the upper left corner of any window, then "More Info..." or "System Report". Copy and paste the information here, but omit the serial number and UUIDs (if present). Please also include the year which may not be provided in this information. More about this in "About System Information [Profiler] on your Mac" - https://support.apple.com/HT203001


Click on this link to read how to get different versions of macOS - https://support.apple.com/HT211683

- This article also has links to system requirements for each OS version which you should check against your exact computer model. Note some of the model identifier articles are outdated. For any model produced in the last 5 years or so you should use the system requirements links for each OS version instead. This web site also has a reliable presentation of model and OS version compatibility: https://eshop.macsales.com/guides/Mac_OS_X_Compatibility

- Make sure you have more RAM than what is noted as "minimum" for any particular system or your computer may run slowly.

- You may find you need to use Safari to get links for High Sierra and later using the Mac App Store application to open a functioning page.

- Sierra, El Capitan, and Yosemite download as a .pkg. Click on this to have a converted version placed in your Applications folder as an "Install OS..." application. Run the installer and follow the directions.

- Upgrades may take some time (up to an hour or more) to install, with restarts and blank screens.


Back up your data in case something goes wrong --> Back up your Mac with Time Machine - https://support.apple.com/HT201250 or use a cloning tool.

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Mar 3, 2021 3:42 PM in response to hye12

Get more information about your computer choose Apple menu  > 'About This Mac' in the upper left corner of any window, then "More Info..." or "System Report". Copy and paste the information here, but omit the serial number and UUIDs (if present). Please also include the year which may not be provided in this information. More about this in "About System Information [Profiler] on your Mac" - https://support.apple.com/HT203001


Click on this link to read how to get different versions of macOS - https://support.apple.com/HT211683

- This article also has links to system requirements for each OS version which you should check against your exact computer model. Note some of the model identifier articles are outdated. For any model produced in the last 5 years or so you should use the system requirements links for each OS version instead. This web site also has a reliable presentation of model and OS version compatibility: https://eshop.macsales.com/guides/Mac_OS_X_Compatibility

- Make sure you have more RAM than what is noted as "minimum" for any particular system or your computer may run slowly.

- You may find you need to use Safari to get links for High Sierra and later using the Mac App Store application to open a functioning page.

- Sierra, El Capitan, and Yosemite download as a .pkg. Click on this to have a converted version placed in your Applications folder as an "Install OS..." application. Run the installer and follow the directions.

- Upgrades may take some time (up to an hour or more) to install, with restarts and blank screens.


Back up your data in case something goes wrong --> Back up your Mac with Time Machine - https://support.apple.com/HT201250 or use a cloning tool.

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Mar 3, 2021 3:09 PM in response to hye12

Best is like asking what is the best pie or cake.


One big issue is your software. If you go to Catalina or higher, any 32 bit software won't work. Check if your old apps will still work with with the OS you want to install - https://roaringapps.com/apps This is particularly critical if you are upgrading to Catalina or newer, as older 32 bit apps will no longer work. For those, try this 32 bit application scanner application --> https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/


The other issue may be RAM. I am not sure about your model but I suspect it comes from the generation where RAM cannot be upgraded. If you bought it with 4GB RAM then that will be it and it will be unhappy with newer OS versions, the higher you go the worse it will be. Apple will say you need a "minimum" but that is often way understated for realtime application. For pretty much anything with El Capitan or higher you need at least 8GB and maybe more if you're talking Catalina or Big Sur.



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Mar 3, 2021 3:17 PM in response to Limnos

Thanks so much for detailed info! I will check if there's any apps that have 32 bit software.

If RAM is the same thing as memory, I see that mine has 8 GB.

Also, I tried to look up how to upgrade to Catalina, but I only see one for Big Sur. If possible, can you help me how to upgrade it to Catalina, not Big Sur (because I don't have enough space to update it to Big Sur)

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Mar 3, 2021 3:48 PM in response to Limnos

These are what I got from System Report


 Model Name: MacBook Air

 Model Identifier: MacBookAir7,2

 Processor Name: Intel Core i5

 Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz

 Number of Processors: 1

 Total Number of Cores: 2

 L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

 L3 Cache: 3 MB

 Memory: 8 GB

 Boot ROM Version: 188.0.0.0.0

 SMC Version (system): 2.27f2


and Year is Early 2015.

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What is the best OS for Macbook Air (early 2015)

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