Would you recommend upgrading from OS Mojave to OS Big Sur on a Macbook Pro (Retina, 15 inch, mid-2014)? (With a back up, of course). And is there any point, given Big Sur isn't supported?
Thank you. I know this is a retro situation ....
MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.12
Servant of Cats wrote:
It is supported in the sense that it is compatible with that Mac.
Not in the sense that it is one of the "most recent three" that vendors like Microsoft and Adobe support. Apple has released applications that do not even support "the most recent three" – there was a long time when Pages, Numbers, and Keynote required Sonoma or higher. (The subscription version of Pixelmator Pro requires Tahoe.)
good point. I wasn't thinking about that. :)
Servant of Cats wrote:
It is supported in the sense that it is compatible with that Mac.
Not in the sense that it is one of the "most recent three" that vendors like Microsoft and Adobe support. Apple has released applications that do not even support "the most recent three" – there was a long time when Pages, Numbers, and Keynote required Sonoma or higher. (The subscription version of Pixelmator Pro requires Tahoe.)
good point. I wasn't thinking about that. :)
jeffreythefrog wrote:
23williamS wrote:
And is there any point, given Big Sur isn't supported?
actually, on that Mac, Big Sur IS supported.
It is supported in the sense that it is compatible with that Mac.
Not in the sense that it is one of the "most recent three" that vendors like Microsoft and Adobe support. Apple has released applications that do not even support "the most recent three" – there was a long time when Pages, Numbers, and Keynote required Sonoma or higher. (The subscription version of Pixelmator Pro requires Tahoe.)
Yes, I would recommend upgrading to Big Sur if for no other reason than to know that I have used the hardware to its greatest potential under macOS.
There were some major architectural changes made with the release of macOS 10.15 Catalina, and Big Sur stepped forward with what I would call the modernization of the OS.
Upgrading to Big Sur will mean that your older 32-bit apps & drivers will no longer work. They must also be updated or replaced. You can use the free utility Go64 app from St. Claire Software to check which of your current apps would be affected.
The upgrade would open the door to more modern and secure internet apps and connections and let you eke out a wee bit more productive use.
Of course you know that Mac is twelve (!) years old now and long regarded as obsolete, so it has a short span of usefulness before it.
Several of our veteran friends in the Community would recommend ditching macOS altogether on that hardware and suggest installing a flavor of Linux, specifically Linux Mint. Linux could give the computer new life beyond what is available under the limitations of macOS.
The advantage of updating is that you will be able to run current versions of
and you may get some security fixes, as well.
Also, I believe that Apple just recently put out updates for Catalina and for Big Sur so that iMessages and FaceTime will still work after January 2027. I don't know if Mojave will be getting a similar update.
The big disadvantage is that all of your 32-bit applications will break.
23williamS wrote:
And is there any point, given Big Sur isn't supported?
actually, on that Mac, Big Sur IS supported.
Upgrade mid-2014 MacBook Pro to unsupported Big Sur?
