Right after the start of fall on October 7th 2019, Apple released macOS Catalina after having been announced June 3rd that same year at WWDC 2019. This version of macOS is named after the Santa Catalina Island, a place off the coast of Southern Cali. This the 7th version of macOS with a California themed name.
This was the final version of macOS to ship on Intel Macs only, making a ton of under-the-hood refinements over macOS Mojave as well as dropping 32-Bit app support. This is the final version of macOS under the 10.x number naming scheme – after this, the OS version number is a whole number that increases by 1 with each successive release.
macOS Catalina was also the final version to carry the iOS 7-like/flat OS theme sparked by OS X Yosemite. While many elements of skeuomorphism have been removed, bits and pieces still remain while app icons retain their classic semi-uniform but still-individualized shapes.
Although this OS was well liked for its new features, people claim it seems less stable than earlier versions of macOS. It’s even said the step-up in system wide security features are about as “in your face” as they were in Windows Vista, with users claiming it was persistent and intrusive.
- See: macOS Catalina new features on wikipedia
- See: macOS Catalina – Technical Specifications (Apple website)
. - Download: Download Security Update 2022-005 (Catalina)
- Download: macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Combo Update
Basically anything that could run macOS Mojave can also run Catalina, officially. In the context of 2025 and beyond, running an older operating system comes down to the needs of the user – installing Mojave or Catalina is more or less the same process whether it’s an officially supported Mac or if it’s a Mac able to be patched with Colin Mistr’s patchers.
Support removed for:
- 32-Bit Intel Applications
- Any software that uses the Carbon API, Quicktime 7 apps/images/audio codecs
- Apple removed 32-Bit only apps within the Mac App Store when Catalina launched
- Dashboard – it is completely removed from the system
- Backgrounds in Photo Booth
- Command-line interface GNU Emacs app
- Legacy AirDrop – the ability to connect the supported Mac to Macs on 10.7 – 10.9, and any Macs older than 2012.
- iTunes split up into multiple apps now – Music, TV, Podcasts, and Books, just like on iOS.
Changed but not removed:
- Bash login shell is replaced by Z shell “zsh”. Bash is still available as well as csh, tsch, and ksh.
- Voice Memos, notes, reminders, and Find My are slightly updated.
- Time Machine has changes under the hood
New minor additions
- Support for: Xbox One Controller, and the Playstation DualShock 4 controller.
- Authentication handling – done from Apple Watch, Fingerprint Reader or FaceID where available.
- Screen Time – Summarizes how you use macOS and the computer
- Apple SideCar – use an iPad running iPadOS 13 and up as a wireless display – mirrored & extended modes
Security Step-up
Mac Apps are now subject to a gatekeeper. Any kernel extensions, installs, apps, etc; must have a developer ID and be notarize by Apple to run on Catalina. You may bypass this and run unsigned apps through “Security & Privacy” in system settings, but it takes extra steps. Catalina also introduced the “Activation lock” feature for Macs with T2 security chips, if you had the feature enabled and you had the Mac logged into iCloud. It prevents the unauthorized erasure or use of those Macs.
macOS also now runs in a read-only volume apart from all the other data on the Mac, further bolstering the security and stability of the OS.
Kexts are now replaced with system extensions
macOS recategorizes these types of system files into 3 different types, being far more stable than the way macOS used to handle this type of system file/component; Network extensions, Security Endpoint Extensions, and Driver Extensions. Any system extension now runs outside the kernel and in the user space, and this is also the last macOS to even have support for legacy extensions.
IOKit is replaced by Driverkit
Much like how the system extensions now operate outside of the kernel and instead in the user space, so do the device drivers built in DriverKit.
What You Need To Know
- Overall if you’re installing a depreciated macOS on an unsupported Mac from the years 2008-2012 without any hardware modification or upgrades, Catalina or Mojave will be less resource intensive and more responsive than newer versions of macOS. OCLP does a great job of making the most out of an older Mac in general, especially getting a new OS functional on a Mac even with a non-Metal GPU. But if you plan to take your 2008-2012 Mac (or CPU upgraded 2007 iMac) beyond macOS Catalina, it is strongly recommended you max the computer out so it has the best chance to breathe – install an SSD, max out the RAM, and see if the Mac can take a GPU upgrade.
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 Big Sur. Although 4 GB RAM amount is specified as a requirement, we recommend you run with at least 16 GB of RAM instead of 4 GB for smooth operation. 4 GB will get you by and get the computer to boot the OS, 8 GB will be better. 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: 2015
- MacBook Pro: 2012
- MacBook Air: 2012
- iMac: Late 2012
- Mac mini: 2012
- Mac Studio: N/A
- Mac Pro: 2013
See: What’s new in the updates for macOS Catalina
- 10.15 (build 19A583) Darwin 19.0.0, October 7th, 2019
- Initial release for Catalina
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- Initial release for Catalina
- 10.15 (build 19A602) Darwin 19.0.0, October 15th, 2019
- Supplemental update
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- Supplemental update
- 10.15 (build 19A603) Darwin 19.0.0, October 21st, 2019
- Revised Supplemental update
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- Revised Supplemental update
- 10.15.1 (build 19B88) Darwin 19.0.0, October 29th, 2019
. - 10.15.2 (build 19C57) Darwin 19.2.0, December 10th, 2019
. - 10.15.2 (build 19C58) Darwin 19.2.0, December 10th, 2019
. - 10.15.3 (build 19D76) Darwin 19.3.0, January 28th, 2020
. - 10.15.4 (build 19E266) Darwin 19.4.0, March 24th, 2020
. - 10.15.4 (build 19E287) Darwin 19.4.0, April 8th, 2020
. - 10.15.5 (build 19F96) Darwin 19.5.0, May 26th, 2020
. - 10.15.5 (build 19F101) Darwin 19.5.0, June 1st, 2020
. - 10.15.6 (build 19G73) Darwin 19.6.0, July 15th, 2020
. - 10.15.6 (build 19G2021) Darwin 19.6.0, August 12th, 2020
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H2), Darwin 19.6.0, September 24, 2020
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H4), Darwin 19.6.0, October 27, 2020
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H15), Darwin 19.6.0, November 5, 2020
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H114), Darwin 19.6.0, December 14, 2020
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H512), Darwin 19.6.0, February 1, 2021
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H524), Darwin 19.6.0, February 9, 2021
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H1030), Darwin 19.6.0, April 26, 2021
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H1217), Darwin 19.6.0, May 24, 2021
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H1323), Darwin 19.6.0, July 21, 2021
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H1417), Darwin 19.6.0, September 13, 2021
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H1419), Darwin 19.6.0, September 23, 2021
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H1519), Darwin 19.6.0, October 25, 2021
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H1615), Darwin 19.6.0, December 13, 2021
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H1713), Darwin 19.6.0, January 26, 2022
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H1715), Darwin 19.6.0, February 14, 2022
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H1824), Darwin 19.6.0, March 14, 2022
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H1922), Darwin 19.6.0, May 16, 2022
. - 10.15.7 (build 19H2026), Darwin 19.6.0, July 20, 2022
Unsupported Macs
Colin Mistr’s Patcher tool is an app that allows you to install macOS Catalina on an unsupported Mac. This allows for a near-native experience on unsupported Macs which don’t meet the system requirements. There are some caveats to running an OS on an unsupported Mac, but the work done to the patcher tool over time especially proved to be a stable way to run macOS. There are some things you should know before you decide whether or not tis patcher is right for you: See Colin’s Catalina Patcher website.
