On September 26th 2023, Apple released macOS Sonoma for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, after having been announced June 5th the same year. This version of macOS is named after the wine region in California’s Sonoma County, 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 a good set of new features including ones focused on productivity and creativity. It’s the final stop for the T2 2018/19 MacBook Air, as after this there are no more updates and not even OCLP can update the Mac. This is the version of macOS when the loading bar lowered to near the bottom of the screen rather than being under the Apple logo.

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There are many small changes sprinkled throughout the system in Sonoma, and minor visual cue changes from Ventura. The default wallpaper is quite distinct, and this is the first macOS that has those slow moving live wallpapers that turn into the background image.

• See: macOS Sonoma new features on Wikipedia

The lock screen is completely different now, looking alot more like iOS and iPad OS. This is where the live wallpaper usually goes into effect if you have a screensaver setup, and it can then transition into a still frame wallpaper background desktop. The power buttons are now inside a context menu.

The widgets you use are now a bit better, you can drag them anywhere on the screen and they aren’t locked down to just the notification center. A few things in the UI such as app icons, spotlight, the widget picker, etc; have been redesigned to look more like iOS – more rounded styling, etc;

Safari sees quite a few changes in Sonoma, too. You get browsing profiles, password sharing, safari web apps which even let users add the app to the dock. Messages have more precise filters, you can now quickly jump to the first unread message in a conversation, tapback has multiple icons, and iMessage stickers have a new UI.

Game mode gives more CPU/GPU power to the game, giving it more oomph and focus from the computer. New animations for lock screen, notification panel, and show desktop animation. M3 chips now have AV1 hardware decoding support, and print center is back. The text cursor is more like iOS now – bolder, smoother blinking, following the current app’s color too. Videos can now encode faster if you have an M1 Ultra / M2 Ultra.

What You Need To Know

• This is the last OS to support the 2018 or 2019 MacBook Air.
• If you have an unsupported Mac, most 2008 Macs and later can be patched. The 2007 iMac is the oldest machine that can run current versions of macOS, but requires a CPU upgrade to T9300/T9500.

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 Sonoma. 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 Pro: 2018
• MacBook Air: 2018
• iMac: 2019, iMac Pro
• Mac mini: 2018
• Mac Studio: 2022
• Mac Pro: 2019

Versions

• 14.0 (build 23A344), Darwin 23.0.0, September 26th 2023
  • Initial official release. This is the first version of Sonoma out in the open.

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• 14.1 (build 23B74), Darwin 23.1.0, October 25th 2023
  • Adds the option to favorite songs, albums, and playlists in the Apple Music app, and viewing the AppleCare+ warranty status of your Mac and connected AirPods in System Settings.
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• 14.1.1 (build 23B81), Darwin 23.1.0, November 7th 2023
  • (build 23B2082) for M3 Macs, (build 23B81) security fixes.
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• 14.1.2 (build 23B92), Darwin 23.1.0, November 30th 2023
  • (build 23B2091) for M3 Macs, (build 23B92) security fixes.
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• 14.2 (build 23C64), Darwin 23.2.0, December 11th 2023
  • Adds an enhanced autofill function for PDF files, and new features for the Messages and Weather applications.
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• 14.2.1 (build 23C71), Darwin 23.2.0, December 19th 2023
  • Fixes problems with screen sharing, and includes security updates.
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• 14.3 (build 23D56), Darwin 23.3.0, January 24th 2024
  • Adds collaborative playlists in the Apple Music app, and viewing AppleCare and warranty status of devices signed in through Apple ID in System Settings.
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• 14.3.1 (build 23D60), Darwin 23.3.0, February 8th 2024
  • Fixes a problem with text unexpectedly duplicating or overlapping while typing.
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• 14.4 (build 23E214), Darwin 23.4.0, March 7th 2024
  • Adds new emoji and searchable text support to the Podcasts app. Also includes bug fixes and security updates.
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• 14.4.1 (build 23E224), Darwin 23.4.0, March 25th 2024
  • Bug fixes for USB hubs, audio plug-ins, and apps with Java; and includes security updates.
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• 14.5 (build 23F79), Darwin 23.5.0, May 13th 2024
  • Apple News+ is updated with a new Quartiles daily puzzle and scoreboard of player stats. Also includes bug fixes and security updates.
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• 14.6 (build 23G80), Darwin 23.6.0, July 29th 2024
  • Bug fixes and added dual external display support for 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 ship. Also includes security updates.
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• 14.6.1 (build 23G93), Darwin 23.6.0, August 7th 2024
  • Fixes an issue that prevented enabling or disabling Advanced Data Protection.
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• All of the remaining versions of macOS Sonoma were security updates, and did not provide any new features/functionality.
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• 14.7 (build 23H124), Darwin 23.7.0, September 16th 2024
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• 14.7.1 (build 23H222), Darwin 23.7.0, October 28th 2024
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• 14.7.2 (build 23H311), Darwin 23.7.0, December 11th 2024
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• 14.7.3 (build 23H417), Darwin 23.7.0, January 27th 2025
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• 14.7.4 (build 23H420), Darwin 23.7.0, February 10th 2025