On October 24th 2022, Apple released macOS Ventura for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, after having been announced June 6th the same year. This version of macOS is named after the city of Ventura in CA, continuing the theme of California named locations. Up close and thematically, this is very much the macOS we have grown familiar with since Big Sur.

This version of macOS has major changes to it’s code which now starts to require AVX 2, and has a couple new productivity features. It’s the final version of macOS supporting the 12 inch MacBook or 21.5″ 2017 iMac, however since those don’t have T2 security chips, they can still be patched with OCLP (see bottom of article).

(Above: A 2013 iMac patched with OCLP running macOS Ventura.)

Much like many recent OS updates, this one carries a slew of small updates and changes. There is a new system feature called stage manager, and this is when macOS finally gets the weather and clock app we know and love from iOS, which have the same functionality as their iOS counterparts.

• See: macOS Ventura new features on Wikipedia

AVX2 has been introduced into much of the OS code including in the Polaris drivers for AMD GPUs, making it trickier to patch for older systems in OCLP. Mail adds sends later and undo, has improvements to seach, search organization and formatting. Spotlight has better results. Safari now has shared group tabs, passkeys, a redesigned sidebar, and AVIF support.

You can edit and unsend messages in messages now. You can now start a call on one device and finish it on another with FaceTime handoff. You can now use your iPhone wirelessly as a front facing camera in continuity camera, with some iPhones supporting desk view. This is the macOS version where the system preferences is renamed to “system settings”, and the “about this mac” window is changed back to a vertical window like in the olden days.

The photos app lets multiple members of iCloud family sharing to add/edit/delete photos in the same photo library, game center dashboard is new, new font book UI, maps has support now for routes with multiple stops, Siri matches iOS 14 design, you can now favorite an artist and get notifications from them in Apple Music, and print dialogs have been redesigned.

You can now play ambient background sounds as a feature within accessibility in settings. New wallpapers, screensavers, a disk utility bug was fixed, updates to Apple’s Virtualization framework, video live text, and now Apple moves onto Metal 3 for their GPU API.

iCloud has some enhancements, and there are alot of security enhancements in macOS Ventura, too. Network utility was removed, help files related to dial-up modems have been removed, and schedule shutdown/restart/boot have been removed from the GUI but can still be done in terminal.

What You Need To Know

• This is when macOS started requiring AVX 2.0, a move similar to the macOS Sierra SE 4.1 requirement. Although OCLP can patch for this, proceed with caution. You may have trouble on configurations like a 2007 iMac running a mini PCIe eGPU and Polaris.
• This is the last stop for Macs with a T1 security chip. Fortunately, OCLP can get around this and keep these older Macs able to run newer OSes.

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: 2017
• MacBook Pro: 2017
• MacBook Air: 2018
• iMac: 2017, iMac Pro
• Mac mini: 2018
• Mac Studio: All
• Mac Pro: 2019

Versions

• 13.0 (build 22A380), Darwin 22.1.0, October 24th 2022
  • Initial official release. This is the first version of Ventura out in the open.
  • (build 22A8380) is an alternate build.

  .

• 13.0.1 (build 22A400), Darwin 22.1.0, November 9th 2022
  • Bug Fixes, security updates.
    .
• 13.1 (build 22C65), Darwin 22.2.0, December 13th 2022
  • The Freeform app is introduced to macOS.
    .
• 13.2 (build 22D49), Darwin 22.3.0, January 23rd 2023
  • Support for Apple M2 Pro, M2 Max, and Security Keys for Apple ID.
    .
• 13.2.1 (build 22D68), Darwin 22.3.0, February 13th 2023
  • Bug Fixes, security updates.
    .
• 13.3 (build 22E252), Darwin 22.4.0, March 27th 2023
  • Updates to Podcasts app and support for new Unicode 15 emojis.
    .
• 13.3.1 (build 22E261), Darwin 22.4.0, April 7th 2023
  • Bug Fixes, security updates.
    .
• 13.4 (build 22F66), Darwin 22.5.0, May 18th 2023
  • Bug Fixes, security updates.
    .
• 13.4.1 (build 22F82), Darwin 22.5.0, June 21st 2023
  • Bug Fixes, security updates.
    .
• 13.5 (build 22G74), Darwin 22.6.0, July 24th 2023
  • Bug Fixes, security updates.
    .
• 13.5.1 (build 22G90), Darwin 22.6.0, August 17th 2023
  • Fixes an issue in System Settings that prevents location permissions from appearing.
    .
• 13.5.2 (build 22G91), Darwin 22.6.0, September 7th 2023
  • Security updates.
    .
• 13.6 (build 22G120), Darwin 22.6.0, September 21st 2023
  • Security updates.
    .
• 13.6.1 (build 22G313), Darwin 22.6.0, October 25th 2023
  • Security updates.
    .
• 13.6.2 (build 22G320), Darwin 22.6.0, November 7th 2023
  • Security updates.
    .
• 13.6.3 (build 22G436), Darwin 22.6.0, December 11th 2023
  • Security updates.
    .
• 13.6.4 (build 22G513), Darwin 22.6.0, January 22nd 2024
  • Security updates.
    .
• 13.6.5 (build 22G621), Darwin 22.6.0, March 7th 2024
  • Security updates.
    .
• 13.6.6 (build 22G630), Darwin 22.6.0, March 25th 2024
  • Security updates.
    .
• 13.6.7 (build 22G720), Darwin 22.6.0, May 13th 2024
  • Security updates.
    .
• 13.6.8 (build 22G820), Darwin 22.6.0, July 29th 2024
  • Security updates.
    .
• 13.6.9 (build 22G830), Darwin 22.6.0, August 7th 2024
  • Fixes an issue that prevented enabling or disabling Advanced Data Protection.
    .
• 13.7 (build 22H123), Darwin 22.6.0, September 16th 2024
  • Security updates.
    .
• 13.7.1 (build 22H221), Darwin 22.6.0, October 28th 2024
  • Security updates.
    .
• 13.7.2 (build 22H313), Darwin 22.6.0, December 11th 2024
  • Security updates.
    .
• 13.7.3 (build 22H417), Darwin 22.6.0, January 27th 2025
  • Security updates.
    .
• 13.7.4 (build 22H412), Darwin 22.6.0, February 10th 2025
  • Security updates.