macOS continues its annual new release cycle - and it can often be a dizzying array of software versions to choose between for running a reliable DAW system.
So we wanted to review the current state of affairs in order to offer some insight as to where it makes sense to focus.
macOS Sequoia
macOS Sequoia running on a MacBook Pro
macOS 15 Sequoia was released in September, being the latest version of Apple's annual OS upgrades for the Mac platform.
The big headline feature was the introduction of Apple Intelligence, offering machine learning tools to assist with writing, image generation and an improved Siri assistant.
These features are of limited applicability for a DAW system - so is there anything of benefit from the new OS for audio professionals?
Although Apple do not publish a complete list of bug fixes and improvements for its OS releases, macOS Sequoia is slightly snappier than its predecessor. It also has a noticeable improvement in its handling of disk ejections (not blocking them with a background process - though this is still not 100% perfect) and handling of internal NVMe SSDs. These points alone could be worth the cost of admission if your workflow is regularly interrupted by issues here.
A Sonnet PCIe card hosting four NVMe drive
…However, Apple unfortunately giveth with one hand, and taketh away with the other: although macOS Sequoia fixes the issues preventing internal NVMe SSDs from mounting, it breaks the handling of Thunderbolt-connected SATA drives - specifically for the 2019 Mac Pro. As of the time of writing (with macOS 15.1.1 being the current release), users of the 2019 Mac Pro should not upgrade to macOS Sequoia if they use, for example, the OWC Thunderbay drive enclosure.
OWC Thunderbay 4 Mini Thunderbolt Drive Enclosure
Otherwise, in my personal experience, macOS Sequoia has few negative points against it so far: although macOS 15.0 suffered from some significant networking issues, macOS 15.1 has been remarkably stable - the main regression I reliably encounter is that my 1Password password manager autofill in Safari regularly stops working... but then resolves itself a few hours later.
Surveying the list of audio manufacturers' support for macOS Sequoia, there are very few which have explicitly stated that there are problems with their software or hardware under macOS Sequoia compared with the previous release, macOS 14 Sonoma. However there are also very few which have explicitly qualified macOS Sequoia - many note that they are still testing the new OS.
One notable surprise is Pro Tools which, although often lagging in supporting a new macOS release by some months, is already noted that macOS Sequoia is supported with Pro Tools 2024.10 - though many of the caveats which applied to Pro Tools' support of macOS Sonoma also apply to macOS Sequoia.
macOS Sequoia new features
So - should you be running macOS Sequoia now?
Hmmm probably not yet... It's still very early days for the new release, and many of the more nuanced bugs probably haven't yet been thoroughly encountered and investigated - so, as is so often the case, we'd urge caution in favour of solutions with the benefit of a proven history.
If not macOS Sequoia, then there is a spread of recommendations to make, depending on your circumstances:
You might want to run macOS 14 Sonoma:
The latest release of Logic Pro - version 11.1 - requires macOS Sonoma as a minimum. If Logic is important to you, you might want to bear that in mind...
Or you might want to run macOS 13 Ventura:
Bugs in Apple's handling of internal NVMe SSDs prevent them from reliably mounting on macOS Sonoma (sometimes booting into Safe Mode first can be help with this) - in which case, using the slightly older macOS 13 Ventura will be a safer bet;
Security updates for macOS 13 Ventura will be still issued until (probably) September 2025 - so it will continue to receive the benefits of prompt security fixes;
The latest release of Steinberg Cubase - version 14 - requires macOS Ventura as a minimum;
But you probably don't want to run anything older than macOS 12 Monterey:
Although Apple are no longer issuing security updates for macOS Monterey and older, the last update for macOS Monterey was only released a few months ago;
Major developers - including Avid and Native Instruments - have already dropped support for OS versions earlier than macOS Monterey.
Beyond these points, we regularly read commentary where someone declares such-and-such an OS release to be the best thing since sliced bread / the worst calamity to befall mankind. However in our experience, as long as the required software and hardware is supported on the OS release, the stability of the system largely depends on the thoroughness with which a system has been upgraded.
As always, we’d encourage readers not to enter into an OS upgrade process too lightly. Whilst they can go smoothly, we still sometimes see failed upgrades which can put a system into a non-working state - not something that’s particularly welcome mid-project.
At the very least, we recommend having a full backup of a system - ideally a bootable one - and being prepared for the long haul: upgrading the OS is typically about 10% of the work required - you should also ensure that all applications, utilities, plug-ins and drivers are also upgraded to be compatible with the new OS installation.
If this is daunting to you, then please have a look at the Support and Maintenance page - we’re well-versed in ensuring these transitions run as smoothly as possible!