On October 25th 2021, Apple released macOS Monterey for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, after having been announced June 7th the same year. This version of macOS is named after the Monterey Bay, continuing the theme of California named locations started way back in 2013 with Mavericks. This version drops support for many Macs, and is officially the last macOS that can run under 4 GB of RAM.

This was the last version of macOS which didn’t require AVX 2.0 in the CPU instruction set, a requirement introduced in macOS Ventura. It’s the first version released after Apple Silicon Macs were announced and released, and the last version of macOS to officially support any Mac with any sort of OEM Nvidia GPU that a Mac shipped with.

(Above: Screenshot from iMac 7,1 running Monterey via OCLP)

• See: macOS Monterey new features on Wikipedia

In continuation of yearly updates as opposed to major-minor release cycles, Monterey shipped with a number of small changes and some new features – this kind of description can be mirrored in every release since when describing what actually changed. It sounds like they did the same types of changes every year but you have to look at what actually changed. macOS also makes some improvements that benefit the user, making Monterey an appealing update to install over Big Sur.

Macs gain the shortcuts app and TestFlight app. Monterey gains support fo the Apple Music voice plan, portrait mode and noise cancellation for FaceTime/some apps, new toolbar features in finder and preview, have a live memoji/animoji on the lockscreen, you will now get a yellow dot indicator in the menu bar if camera or mic is on, and now there’s live text which lets you copy/paste/translate text from photos/screenshot/safari/quick look.

There’s a new passwords manager which is morphed into it’s own passwords app in later versions of macOS. There’s new on-device machine learning, Siri now has near unlimited dictation duration, a better low power mode for light workflows, redesigned compact safari interface, Facetime improvements, you can now factory reset the Mac from the System Prefs app, Visual lookup helps you find different objects in photos, and time machine now excludes more file systems out of it’s backups!

Provisions were added to introduce expanded protections for children, applying cryptography to detect and limit CSAM material by scanning the user’s iCloud photos. You can now change the mouse pointer colors, you now get tips notifications, Python 2.7 is now removed as well as the ability to use Quartz Compositor filters and plugins for photo booth. Games is now an auto-populated folder in the launchpad whenever you download one, you now get support for Promotion (2021 Pro ‘Books), and there’s a new API for creating 3D models using images. Notes, maps and messages all get a bunch of new features, too.

What You Need To Know

• This is the last version of macOS to support many 2015 Macs and the 2013 Mac Pro.
• Last version of macOS without AVX 2.0 code (which affect AMD Polaris drivers too)
• First version of macOS to ship on any Mac Studio
• Finder can still download driver updates so you can sync to newer devices.

System Requirements

There is a comprehensive list available on Apple’s website, but it is also available below. Below is a list of the oldest models supported by Ventura. Although no RAM amount is specified as a requirement, we recommend you run with at least 16 GB of RAM instead of 8 GB for smooth operation. 8 GB will get you by and get the computer to boot the OS. It is also strongly recommended to avoid running this OS off of a hard drive as it would be quite slow – if your Mac shipped with a hard drive and it is at all possible to swap for an SSD, do it.

• MacBook: Early 2016
• MacBook Pro: Early 2015
• MacBook Air: Early 2015
• iMac: Late 2015, iMac Pro
• Mac mini: Late 2014
• Mac Studio: 2022
• Mac Pro: Late 2013

Versions

• 12.0 (build 21A344), Darwin 21.0.1, October 25th 2021
  • Pre-installed on early Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max-based MacBook Pros. SharePlay and Universal Control not yet functional.
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• 12.0.1 (build 21A559), Darwin 21.1.0, October 25th 2021
  • Initial official release. This is the first version of Monterey out in the open.
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• 12.1 (build 21C52), Darwin 21.2.0, December 13th 2021
  • Adds support for the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT GPU and re-enables SharePlay.
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• 12.2 (build 21D49), Darwin 21.3.0, January 26th 2022
  • Addresses scrolling issues in Safari on MacBook Pros with M1 Pro or Max processors and 120 Hz displays.
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• 12.2.1 (build 21D62), Darwin 21.3.0, February 10th 2022
  • Addresses a battery drain issue when using Bluetooth.
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• 12.3 (build 21E230), Darwin 21.4.0, March 14th 2022
  • First public release of Universal Control. Apple Pay and StoreKit are updated. Python 2.7 support is dropped.
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• 12.3.1 (build 21E256), Darwin 21.4.0, March 31st 2022
  • Addresses performance issues with GPU cards in external PCIe enclosures.
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• 12.4 (build 21F79), Darwin 21.5.0, May 16th 2022
  • Bug fixes, including refinements to Universal Control.
  • (build 21F2081), June 14th, 2022: Security/bug fixes.
  • (build 21F2092), June 16th 2022: Adds support for Macs with Apple M2 chips.
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• 12.5 (build 21G72), Darwin 21.6.0, July 20th 2022
  • Bug fixes. The TV app adds the option to pause, rewind, or restart a live sports game in progress.
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• Every release from here on out is a security fix.
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• 12.5.1 (build 21G83), Darwin 21.6.0, August 17th 2022
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• 12.6 (build 21G115), Darwin 21.6.0, September 12th 2022
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• 12.6.1 (build 21G217), Darwin 21.6.0, October 24th 2022
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• 12.6.2 (build 21G320), Darwin 21.6.0, December 13th 2022
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• 12.6.3 (build 21G419), Darwin 21.6.0, January 23rd 2023
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• 12.6.4 (build 21G526), Darwin 21.6.0, March 27th 2023
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• 12.6.5 (build 21G531), Darwin 21.6.0, April 10th 2023
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• 12.6.6 (build 21G646), Darwin 21.6.0, May 18th 2023
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• 12.6.7 (build 21G651), Darwin 21.6.0, June 21st 2023
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• 12.6.8 (build 21G725), Darwin 21.6.0, July 24th 2023
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• 12.6.9 (build 21G726), Darwin 21.6.0, September 11th 2023
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• 12.7 (build 21G816), Darwin 21.6.0, September 21st 2023
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• 12.7.1 (build 21G920), Darwin 21.6.0, October 25th 2023
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• 12.7.2 (build 21G1974), Darwin 21.6.0, December 11th 2023
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• 12.7.3 (build 21H1015), Darwin 21.6.0, January 22nd 2024
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• 12.7.4 (build 21H1123), Darwin 21.6.0, March 7th 2024
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• 12.7.5 (build 21H1222), Darwin 21.6.0, May 13th 2024
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• 12.7.6 (build 21H1320), Darwin 21.6.0, July 29th 2024

Unsupported Macs

OpenCore is a boot loader used to inject and patch data in memory, instead of on disk. This allows for a near-native experience on unsupported Macs, and allows macOS Monterey to be installed on Macs which otherwise couldn’t run it. There are some caveats to running an OS on an unsupported Mac, but the team of people over at OCLP are hard at work to make sure everything runs smoothly! There are some things you should know before you decide whether or not Monterey OCLP is right for you: See OpenCore website. for Monterey.

• You will need a USB hub with USB 2.0 for the following Macs and older, as USB 1.1 support was removed in Ventura:
  • iMac10,x and older
  • Macmini4,1 and older
  • MacBook7,1 and older
  • MacBookAir3,1 and older
  • MacPro5,1 and older
  • Xserve 3,1 and older
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• There are legacy Metal and non-metal graphics drivers in OCLP and this will determine in part your user experience.
  • See: Legacy Metal (Intel HD 4000 and later)
  • See: Non Metal (Most 2008-2011 Macs)