MacOS Sequoia

Source modelClosed, with open source componentsLatest preview15.0 beta^[1] (24A5264n)^[2] (June 10, 2024; 13 days ago (2024-06-10)) [±]Update methodSoftware UpdatePlatformsx86-64, ARM64Kernel typeHybrid (XNU)LicenseProprietary software with open-source components and content licensed with APSLPreceded bymacOS SonomaOfficial websitewww.apple.com/macos/macos-sequoia-preview/TaglineSharp as a Mac.^[3]Support statusIn developer beta. Drops support for all MacBook Airs released in 2018 and 2019.

macOS Sequoia (version 15) is the upcoming major release of Apple's macOS operating system. The successor to macOS Sonoma, it was announced at WWDC 2024 on June 10, 2024.^[4] It is named after Sequoia National Park, which is located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.^[5]

The first developer beta was released on June 10, 2024.^[6] The public beta is expected to be released in July 2024.^[7]

Development

Announcement

macOS Sequoia was announced by senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10, 2024.^[4]

Features

macOS Sequoia includes a number of new features and improvements, mainly focused on productivity:

• iPhone Mirroring, a feature to mirror and interact with content from an iPhone as a macOS window, has been introduced.^[4]
• 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.^[4]
• In System Settings, individual menus have been rearranged and slightly redesigned for quick access to frequently used menus.
• Safari has been revamped, including revamped reader mode (now called Reader), faster page load times, a new start page, 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, allowing developers to more easily port Windows games to macOS.^[4]
• Apple Intelligence will be available on all Apple silicon Macs and will include 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, a feature similar to Microsoft Windows' window snapping feature, has been introduced.
• The Tips app is now a standalone app, has a new UI and includes many new tips for individual apps such as Freeform, Pages, Keynote, Notes, and Apple TV.

Supported hardware

macOS Sequoia supports all Macs with Apple silicon and those with Intel's Xeon-W and 8th-generation Coffee Lake chips or later. 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 chip. macOS Sequoia is the first version of macOS to drop support for a Mac with a T2 chip.

The following devices are compatible with macOS Sequoia:^[3]

• 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)

Release history

The first developer beta of macOS Sequoia was released on June 10, 2024. Like with macOS Sonoma, the Sequoia developer beta is available to anyone with a free 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 beta	24A5264	June 10, 2024	24.0.0 xnu-11215.0.31.511.2~1 Thu May 30 21:28:42 PDT 2024

See Apple's official release notes.

References