MacOS Sequoia explained

macOS Sequoia (version 15) is the twenty-first and current major release of Apple's macOS operating system, the successor to macOS Sonoma. It was announced at WWDC 2024 on June 10, 2024.^[1] In line with Apple's practice of naming macOS releases after landmarks in California, it is named after Sequoia National Park, located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.^[2]

The first developer beta was released on June 10, 2024.^[3] The first public beta was released on July 15, 2024.^[4] It was released on September 16, 2024.^[5]

Development

macOS Sequoia was announced by Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 10, 2024.^[1] It was announced alongside iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and watchOS 11. 8 developer betas and 6 public betas were released.

Features

macOS Sequoia introduced several new features and improvements, mainly focused on productivity:

• iPhone Mirroring, a feature to mirror and interact with content from an iPhone running iOS 18 as a macOS window, has been introduced. It is supported on all Macs except the 2019 iMac, which lacks a T2 chip. This function is not available in the European Union due to the lack of conformity to the Digital Markets Act (DMA).^[6]
• The Calculator app has been redesigned to be more similar to that of iOS and iPadOS, including rounded buttons, departing from the design that has been used since OS X Yosemite.
• Notes has been updated with the Math Notes feature, which can be used to calculate simple equations, evaluate expressions, and assign variables within the app.
• Passwords, a cross-platform password manager application, was introduced, which replaces Keychain.
• In System Settings, individual menus have been rearranged and slightly redesigned to quickly access frequently used menus.
• Safari has been revamped, including revamped reader mode (now called Reader), faster page load times, a new start page, a new option to hide a singular element on a webpage, and a brand new unified menu; these had previously been exclusive to compact mode on iOS/iPadOS.
• macOS Sequoia will release with the second iteration of Game Porting Toolkit, a Windows API compatibility layer derived from Wine and Crossover,^[7] allowing developers to more easily port Windows games to macOS.
• Apple Intelligence on all Apple silicon Macs and included artificial intelligence features such as a revamped and redesigned Siri, Writing Tools with which selected text can be proofread or have its tone changed, Smart Reply in Mail to quickly draft email responses, and a system-wide integration with ChatGPT.^[8]
• Window tiling is now automatically suggested by macOS when dragging a window to the edges of the display, similar to the Aero Snap feature included in Microsoft Windows.
• The Tips app is now an independent app from the rest of the operating system. The user interface (UI) has also been redesigned, and has replaced the previous Help system included in earlier versions of macOS. The app surfaces individual user guides for apps such as Freeform, Pages, Keynote, Notes, and Apple TV, and also surfaces user guides for any other devices a user may own, such as an iPhone, Apple Watch or Apple TV. As an independent app, it can also be pinned to the Dock.

Supported hardware

macOS Sequoia supports Macs with Apple silicon and those with Intel's Xeon W and 8th-generation Coffee Lake chips or later. A Mac with an M1 chip or later is required to use Apple Intelligence. macOS Sequoia supports every Mac that supports macOS Sonoma, with the exception of the 2018–2019 MacBook Air models with Amber Lake chips. Similar to Sonoma, the 2019 iMac is the only supported Intel Mac that lacks a T2 security chip. macOS Sequoia is the first version of macOS to drop support for a Mac with a T2 security chip.

The following devices are compatible with macOS Sequoia:^[9]

• iMac (2019 and later)
• iMac Pro (2017)
• MacBook Air (2020 and later)
• MacBook Pro (2018 and later)
• Mac Mini (2018 and later)
• Mac Pro (2019 and later)
• Mac Studio (all models)

Unofficial support

By using patch tools such as OpenCore Legacy Patcher, macOS Sequoia can be unofficially installed on earlier models that are officially unsupported. Such models date back to the 2009 Mac Mini, 2008 MacBook Pro and 2007 iMac (after a Penryn CPU upgrade).^[10]

Release history

The first developer beta of macOS Sequoia was released on June 10, 2024. As with macOS Sonoma, the Sequoia developer betas are available to anyone with an Apple Developer account, without needing a developer subscription.

Previous release

Current release

Current beta release

Security response

macOS Sequoia releases! Version! Build! Release date! Darwin version

15.0	24A335	September 16, 2024[11]	24.0.0 xnu-11215.1.10~2 Mon Aug 12 20:52:31 PDT 2024
15.0.1	24A348	October 3, 2024	24.0.0 xnu-11215.1.12~1 Tue Sep 24 23:39:07 PDT 2024
15.1	24B83	October 28, 2024	24.1.0 xnu-11215.41.3~2 Thu Oct 10 21:00:32 PDT 2024
24B2083	24.1.0 xnu-11215.41.3~3 Thu Oct 10 21:06:57 PDT 2024
15.1.1	24B91	November 19, 2024	24.1.0 xnu-11215.41.3~13 Thu Nov 14 18:15:21 PST 2024
24B2091
15.2 Beta 4	24C5089c	November 20, 2024	24.2.0 xnu-11215.61.2.501.1~1 Fri Nov 15 18:56:13 PST 2024

See Apple's official release notes, and official security update contents.

See also

• iOS 18
• iPadOS 18
• tvOS 18
• watchOS 11
• visionOS 2
• Apple Intelligence

Notes and References

1. Web site: Apple's AI plans, iOS 18, and more at WWDC 2024 . June 10, 2024 . . June 10, 2024.
2. News: Terech . Kristina . Hanson . Matt . Saxena . Muskaan . 2024-06-07 . macOS 15 Sequoia: launch date, latest news, rumors, and everything we know . 2024-06-10 . TechRadar . en.
3. Web site: 2024-06-10 . Apple Releases First Betas of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, tvOS 18, watchOS 11, and visionOS 2 . 2024-06-15 . MacRumors . en.
4. Web site: 2024-07-15 . Apple Releases First macOS Sequoia Public Beta With iPhone Mirroring and More . 2024-07-16 . MacRumors . en.
5. Web site: 2024-09-16 . Apple Launches macOS Sequoia With iPhone Mirroring, Passwords App, Window Tiling Updates and More . 2024-09-16 . MacRumors . en.
6. News: Apple may delay AI features in the EU because of its big tech law . Lawler . Richard . June 21, 2024 . September 23, 2024 . The Verge.
7. Web site: Warren . Tom . Apple's new Proton-like tool can run Windows games on a Mac . The Verge . 25 June 2024 . en . 7 June 2023.
8. Web site: Apple Intelligence Preview . 2024-06-14 . Apple . en-US.
9. Web site: macOS Sequoia Preview . 2024-06-10 . Apple . en-US.
10. OpenCore Legacy Patcher - https://github.com/dortania/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher/releases/1.0.0
11. News: macOS Sequoia 15 Release Notes .