A fresh start is not a challenge in the Mac universe. Quite the opposite, getting a macOS upgrade every September marks a surge of new features and functionality enhancements—all coming right your Mac’s way.
- Mac Os Catalina Upgrade Cost
- Install Mac Os Catalina App
- Upgrade To Os X Catalina
- Mac Os Catalina App Store
- Why Upgrade To Os Catalina
Mac mini; Mac OS X Technologies; Mac OS X v10.3 and earlier; Mac OS X v10.7 Lion; Mac Pro; MacBook; MacBook Air; MacBook Pro; macOS Catalina; macOS High Sierra; macOS Mojave; macOS Sierra Search; MainStage 3; Motion 5; Music on iOS; Music on Mac; OS X El Capitan; OS X Mavericks; OS X Yosemite; Other Pro Audio; Other Pro Video; Photos for iOS. Jun 23, 2020 macOS Catalina updates improve the stability, performance, or compatibility of your Mac and are recommended for all Catalina users. To get these updates, choose System Preferences from the Apple menu, then click Software Update. Learn more about updating the software on your Mac. Mar 24, 2020 Apple has released the fourth major update to the sixteenth version of MacOS. Should you upgrade your Mac, iMac, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro to MacOS Catalina 10.15.4?
Apple introduced the perks of macOS 10.15 at the 2019 WWDC, and lots of features have been tested and discussed since then. A dual monitor available with the Sidecar feature, the Photos app update, and a brand-new iTunes made the show this year. Lots of features migrate from iOS, the others appear for the first time. If you’re wondering why Catalina is worth an upgrade, check the full list of killing features here.
Traditionally, there are two stages at which you can try macOS Catalina before it’s officially released. Starting June, there’s a developer beta available, and about a month later—a public one.
Ready to dive in? Give us a second to get you ready.
Take all your apps to macOS Catalina
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A few things before you switch to Catalina
Your to-do list for the upcoming upgrade:
Ensure your device is compatible. As usual, there’s a limited number of Apple devices that support macOS 10.15. It’s not too different from what we had last year, but take a look anyway. Sometimes the reason why you can’t upgrade lies on the surface:
- MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
- MacBook (2015 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
- Mac Pro (2013 or newer)
- Mac mini (2012 or newer)
- iMac (2012 or newer)
- iMac Pro (all models)
- Say goodbye to 32-bit apps. Mojave was the first macOS to stop admitting 32-bit apps to the App Store and the last to support them. In Catalina, you’ll have to limit your Mac to 64-bit applications only. Once you install macOS 10.15, you’ll be warned about 32-bit apps not working on your Mac any longer. CleanMyMac X will help you quickly filter applications by 32-bit and get rid of them:
- Backup valuable data. When we’re too excited, we tend to rush things. Remember though, that a new macOS means a new start—wiping away the past. To keep your data safe, create a backup before upgrading. You can use Apple’s in-built Time Machine or more advanced tools like Get Backup Pro if you want a bootable backup.
- Clean up your Mac. You need to free up some space for your new macOS. Even if you have enough, running a cleanup is a nice way to start a clutter-free life in Catalina. From redundant apps to caches and leftovers, you can remove any unnecessary items with CleanMyMac X.
How to install a developer beta of macOS Catalina
Downloading and installing macOS Catalina developer beta is an easy deal if you have a Developer account. Here’s how it works:
- Go to developer.apple.com and click Account in the top menu bar.
- Sign in with your account credentials.
- Select Downloads > Install Profile.
- Find and launch the installer in your Downloads folder.
- Open the PKG file and agree to the installation.
- If required, verify the account by entering your system password or with Touch ID.
- Find the update in System Preferences.
- Click Upgrade Now to install the beta.
Test macOS 10.15 on a partition
If you’re not ready to give up Mojave just yet, you can install Catalina on a partition. Basically, it allows to split your disk into two parts, so that your computer can run two operating systems at the same time.
To install Catalina on a partition, go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility. Your disk will be the first on the list under “Internal.” Select the disc and navigate to Partition tab. Click the plus button to split your disk, name your partition, and customize the size if needed. Click Apply and you’re ready to drive. Or, rather, double drive.
Clean install macOS Catalina on Mac
If you’re determined to give your Mac a new life, run a clean install of Catalina. In contrast to a regular install which puts macOS on top of your startup disk content, a clean installation cleans everything up. Risky as it sounds, a clean install enables a healthier life for your macOS. Just make sure you don’t lose anything in the shuffle:
- Create a safe bootable backup of your disk with Get Backup Pro.
- Connect a clean and reformatted external hard drive or a USB stick.
- On the disk, create a bootable installer.
- Erase your startup disk with Disk Utility and boot from the new one.
- When installing macOS Catalina, choose your new disk as the install location.
If you decide to go with a regular install, note that all the clutter from your disk will be transferred to the new operating system. So we recommend to make use of CleanMyMac X smart scanning before you upgrade.
Download and install Catalina Public Beta
A developer beta opens up an early access to all the features. The problem is it’s not free. To get your hands on Catalina with a developer account, you have to pay a yearly fee of $99. Therefore, you might want to wait for Apple to make it public.
Arriving in July, a public beta of Catalina is available at beta.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/. Once there, it takes a couple of steps to upgrade:
- Log in with your Apple ID.
- Navigate to Enroll your Mac section and click on “Download the macOS Public Beta Access Utility.”
- Once downloaded, run the installer.
- Open System Preferences. You’ll find the public beta update under Software Update (macOS Catalina beta).
- Click Upgrade now to download the installer. Go through the installation if you want to put beta on your current Mac, or quit to create a bootable USB install drive first.
The pitfalls of Catalina beta
To put it shortly, it’s buggy. Just like any other macOS beta, Catalina can slow down your Mac, freeze, or hinder the work of some apps. It’s ok.
There are a couple of things you can fix, though:
- If you have issues with Sidecar: Ensure your iPad runs on the new iPadOS beta. The feature won’t work on iPadOS 12.
- If an app doesn’t open: Hope you remember, 32-bit apps are dead in Catalina. So if some of your software doesn’t work on the new macOS because of 32-bit architecture, look for alternatives.
- If iCloud doesn’t work properly: Try to close and reopen a document, or download files manually if iCloud Drive fails to load them.
Once you notice imperfections, help to fix them. Beta users can report bugs through Apple’s in-built Feedback Assistant app.
Hopefully, Catalina is worth an upgrade for you. If not, you can downgrade anytime to continue your journey with Mojave. If an operating system doesn’t solve some of your tasks, let Setapp cover the needs. It’s a curated collection of Mac apps that helps you with screenshots, PDF editing, file management, and tons of other jobs—150 at the very least.
macOS Catalina updates improve the stability, performance, or compatibility of your Mac and are recommended for all Catalina users. To get these updates, choose System Preferences from the Apple menu , then click Software Update. Learn more about updating the software on your Mac.
For details about the security content of these updates, see Apple Security Updates.
- macOS 10.15
macOS Catalina 10.15.6
macOS Catalina 10.15.6 introduces local news in your Today feed in Apple News and improves the security and reliability of your Mac.
Apple News
- Local news in your Today feed provides extensive coverage of San Francisco, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Houston, and New York City
- More stories available from local news providers with a subscription to Apple News+
- Your daily newsletter from Apple News can now be personalized with stories that reflect your interests
This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements.
- Adds a new option to optimize video streaming on HDR-compatible Mac notebooks for improved battery life
- Fixes an issue where the computer name may change after installing a software update
- Resolves an issue where certain USB mouse and trackpads may lose connection
Enterprise content:
- When using the built-in keyboard with a non-U.S. keyboard layout on some Mac models, passwords with certain characters are no longer rejected at the Mac login window
- Allows command-line tools that don't use CFNetwork, such as
curl(1), to continue connecting to TLS servers that use certificates issued by the recently expired AddTrust External CA Root - Major new releases of macOS can be hidden when using the
softwareupdate(8)command with the--ignoreflag, if the Mac is enrolled in Apple School Manager, Apple Business Manager, or a user-approved MDM.
This change also affects macOS Mojave and macOS High Sierra after installing Security Update 2020-004.
Some features may not be available for all regions, or on all Apple devices.
macOS Catalina 10.15.5
macOS Catalina 10.15.5 introduces battery health management in the Energy Saver settings for notebooks, a new option to disable automatic prominence in Group FaceTime calls, and controls to fine-tune the built-in calibration of your Pro Display XDR. The update also improves the stability, reliability, and security of your Mac.
Battery Health Management
- Battery health management to help maximize battery lifespan for Mac notebooks
- Energy Saver preference pane now displays battery condition and recommends if the battery needs to be serviced
- Option to disable battery health management
For more information, please visit https://support.apple.com/kb/HT211094
FaceTime Prominence Preference
- New option to control automatic prominence on Group FaceTime calls, so video tiles do not change size when a participant speaks
Calibration Fine-Tuning for Pro Display XDR
- Controls to fine-tune the built-in calibration of your Pro Display XDR by adjusting the white point and luminance for a precise match to
your own display-calibration target
This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements:
- Fixes an issue that may prevent Reminders from sending notifications for recurring reminders
- Addresses an issue that may prevent password entry on the login screen
- Fixes an issue where System Preferences would continue to show a notification badge even after installing an update
- Resolves an issue where the built-in camera may not be detected when trying to use it after using a video conferencing app
- Addresses an issue for Mac computers with the Apple T2 Security Chip where internal speakers may not appear as a sound output device in Sound preferences
- Fixes a stability issue with uploading and downloading media files from iCloud Photo Library while your Mac is asleep
- Resolves a stability issue when transferring large amounts of data to RAID volumes
- Fixes an issue where the Reduced Motion Accessibility preference did not reduce the speed of animations in a Group FaceTime call
Enterprise content:
- Improves performance on certain Mac models when enabling hardware acceleration in GPU-intensive apps such as those used for video conferencing
- Addresses an issue where Microsoft Exchange accounts were unable to sign in during account setup when using Conditional Access
- Apple Push Notification Service traffic now uses a web proxy when specified in a PAC file via the Proxies payload
- Resolves an issue that prevented some displays connected to MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) from waking from sleep when the Mac wakes
- Major new releases of macOS are no longer hidden when using the
softwareupdate(8)command with the--ignoreflag
This change also affects macOS Mojave and macOS High Sierra after installing Security Update 2020-003.
macOS Catalina 10.15.4
macOS Catalina 10.15.4 introduces iCloud Drive folder sharing, Screen Time communication limits, Apple Music time-synced lyrics view, and more. The update also improves the stability, reliability, and security of your Mac.
Finder
- iCloud Drive folder sharing from Finder
- Controls to limit access only to people you explicitly invite, or to grant access to anyone with the folder link
- Permissions to choose who can make changes and upload files, and who can only view and download files
Screen Time
- Communication limits for controlling who your children can communicate with and be contacted by throughout the day and during downtime
- Playback control of music videos for your children
Music
- Time-synced lyrics view for Apple Music, including the ability to jump to your favorite part of a song by clicking a line in lyrics view
Safari
- Option to import Chrome passwords into your iCloud Keychain for easy AutoFill of your passwords in Safari and across all your devices
- Controls for duplicating a tab and for closing all tabs to the right of the current tab
- HDR playback support on compatible computers for Netflix content
Mac Os Catalina Upgrade Cost
App Store with Apple Arcade
- Universal Purchase support enables the use of a singular purchase of a participating app across iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV
Pro Display XDR
- Customized reference modes that you can tailor to specific workflow needs by selecting from several color gamut, white point, luminance, and transfer function options
Accessibility
- Head pointer preference for moving a cursor on the screen based on the precise movements of your head
This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements:
- High Dynamic Range output to HDR10-compatible third-party displays and TVs connected with DisplayPort or HDMI
- OAuth authentication support with Outlook.com accounts for improved security
- CalDav migration support when upgrading to iCloud reminders on a secondary device
- Addresses an issue where text copied between apps may appear invisible when Dark Mode is active
- Resolves an issue in Safari where a CAPTCHA tile may display incorrectly
- Fixes an issue where you may receive notifications for updated or completed reminders
- Fixes an issue with screen brightness for the LG UltraFine 5K display after waking from sleep
Enterprise content:
- Apple Push Notification Service traffic now uses a web proxy when specified in a PAC file
- Resolves an issue where updating the login keychain password after resetting a user password would cause a new keychain to be created
- After enabling ”Search directory services for certificates” in Keychain Access preferences, searching by email address in Keychain Access or Mail now locates a user certificate stored in directory services
- When setting the DisableFDEAutoLogin key in com.apple.loginwindow, you can now sync your FileVault password with the Active Directory user password after updating the user password
- Reinstates the ability to update or restore iOS, iPadOS, or tvOS devices by dragging .ipsw files to the device in an Apple Configurator 2 window
- Addresses an issue where sending the EraseDevice MDM command might not cause the device to be erased
- When logging in as an Active Directory user after using deferred FileVault enablement, the user is now prompted for their password to enable FileVault
Some features may not be available for all regions, or on all Apple devices.
macOS Catalina 10.15.3
Install Mac Os Catalina App
The macOS Catalina 10.15.3 update improves the stability, reliability, and security of your Mac, and is recommended for all users.
- Optimizes gamma handling of low gray levels on Pro Display XDR for SDR workflows when using macOS
- Improves multi-stream video editing performance for HEVC and H.264-encoded 4K video on the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
macOS Catalina 10.15.2
The macOS Catalina 10.15.2 update improves the stability, reliability and performance of your Mac and is recommended for all users.
This update adds the following features:
Apple News
- New layout for Apple News+ stories from The Wall Street Journal and other leading newspapers
Stocks
- Get links to related stories or more stories from the same publication at the end of an article
- “Breaking” and “Developing” labels for Top Stories
- Stories from Apple News are now available in Canada in English and French
This update includes the following bug fixes:
Music
- Restores the column browser view for managing the music library
- Resolves an issue that may prevent album artwork from appearing
- Fixes an issue that may reset music equalizer settings during playback
iTunes Remote
- Adds support for using an iPhone or iPad to remotely control the Music and TV apps on a Mac
Photos
- Resolves an issue that may cause some AVI and MP4 files to appear as unsupported
- Fixes an issue that prevents newly created folders from appearing in Albums view
- Addresses an issue where manually sorted images in an album may be printed or exported out of order
- Fixes an issue that prevents the zoom-to-crop tool from working in a print preview
- Addresses an issue that may cause Mail preferences to open with a blank window
- Resolves an issue that may prevent using undo from retrieving deleted mail
Other
- Improves the reliability of syncing books and audiobooks to your iPad or iPhone through the Finder
- Fixes an issue where reminders may be out of order in the Today smart list in the Reminders app
- Resolves an issue that may cause slow typing performance in the Notes app
Enterprise content
- Fixes an issue where the user password might not be accepted at the login window after upgrading a Mac with an Apple T2 Security Chip to macOS Catalina
- Improves compatibility with video conferencing apps on MacBook Pro models introduced in 2018
- Users logged in as a standard user can now install apps from the App Store
macOS Catalina 10.15.1
The macOS Catalina 10.15.1 update includes updated and additional emoji, support for AirPods Pro, HomeKit Secure Video, HomeKit-enabled routers, and new Siri privacy settings, as well as bug fixes and improvements.
Emoji
Upgrade To Os X Catalina
- Over 70 new or updated emoji, including animals, food, activities, new accessibility emoji, gender-neutral emoji, and skin tones selection for couple emoji
AirPods support
- AirPods Pro support
Home app
- HomeKit Secure Video enables you to privately capture, store, and view encrypted video from your security cameras and features people, animal, and vehicle detection
- HomeKit enabled routers let you control how your HomeKit accessories communicate over the internet or in your home
- Adds support for AirPlay 2-enabled speakers in scenes and automations
Siri
- Privacy settings to control whether or not to help improve Siri and Dictation by allowing Apple to store audio of your Siri and Dictation interactions
- Option to delete your Siri and Dictation history from Siri Settings
This update also includes the following bug fixes and improvements:
- Restores the ability to view file names in the All Photos view in Photos
- Restores the ability to filter by favorites, photos, videos, edited, and keywords in Days view in Photos
- Fixes an issue where Messages would only send a single notification when the option to repeat alerts was enabled
- Resolves an issue that caused Contacts to launch to the previously opened contact instead of the contact list
- Adds a two-finger swipe gesture for back navigation in Apple News
- Resolves issues that may occur in the Music app when displaying playlists inside folders and newly added songs in the Songs list
- Improves reliability of migrating iTunes library databases into the Music, Podcasts, and TV apps
- Fixes an issue where downloaded titles were not visible in the Downloads folder in the TV app
Mac Os Catalina App Store
Enterprise content
- When using the built-in keyboard with a non-U.S. keyboard layout, passwords with certain characters are no longer rejected at the Mac login window
- When sign in with Apple ID is not allowed by a configuration profile, the Sign In button in System Preferences is now dimmed