macOS 15: What You Need to Know Right Now

If you’re curious about the next version of macOS, we’ll take you through everything you need to know right now about Apple’s upcoming macOS 15 update for Mac.

While we’ve heard quite a bit about iOS 18 for iPhone, we haven’t heard a whole lot about macOS 15 for Mac. And the lack of early information is probably why we’ve received so many questions about the operating system from friends, family, and readers.

We have many, many, years of experience covering Apple’s software so we can put together an early look at what to expect from macOS 15 and its release.

If you’ve owned a Mac for a long time, you may know some of this already. If you haven’t, or you’re simply looking to set proper expectations, here’s what you need to know right now.

Which Macs Will Get macOS 15?

Which Macs will get Apple’s macOS 15 update? This is the most popular question we’ve received from Mac users and here’s what we can tell you.

Apple won’t confirm a full list of macOS 15-eligible Mac devices until WWDC 24 in June. That being said, you can expect most macOS Sonoma-powered devices to get the upgrade.

Macs typically get major software upgrades for five or six years before they get left behind. This means we could see some models get left behind on macOS Sonoma.

If this pattern continues in 2024, we may see Mac models from 2018 and previous years stay put on older software. That doesn’t mean support will end though.

Any devices left behind on macOS Sonoma will continue to get new upgrades with security patches throughout 2024 and beyond.

Below is a list of Macs that should get upgraded to macOS 15. Given their age, none of these devices are in danger of missing the upgrade.

macOS 15 Eligible Mac Models

• MacBook Pro 2019 and later
• MacBook Air 2019 and later
• iMac 2019 and later
• Mac Pro 2019 and later
• Mac Studio
• Mac mini 2020 and later

We typically catch wind of Apple’s plans before WWDC so we’ll let you know if we hear anything credible about support for specific Mac models.

macOS 15 Name

We don’t know what Apple will wind up calling macOS 15, but the company typically uses California landmarks. That trend should continue in 2024.

Apple has trademarked several names for macOS updates and we may see the company pull from this list of unused names for macOS 15’s name.

Here’s a list of potential macOS 15 names, courtesy of Parker Orlani:

• Diablo
• Condor
• Tiburon
• Farallon
• Miramar
• Rincon
• Pacific
• Redwood
• Shasta
• Grizzly
• Skyline
• Redtail
• Sequoia
• Mammoth

There’s a good chance Apple uses one of these names for macOS 15.

macOS 15 Beta

You can expect Apple to confirm macOS 15 at WWDC 2024. WWDC 24 kicks off on June 10th and it will stretch until June 14th.

Apple typically pushes the first beta to developers on the first day of WWDC which means you can expect the first macOS 15 beta to roll out on June 10th.

Unless Apple changes things up, there will be two versions of the macOS 15 beta: A developer beta and a public beta for users registered for the Beta Software Program.

The developer beta usually arrives a few weeks before the public beta. In the past, Apple’s launched public betas in July so that’s what you should expect right now.

macOS 15 Release Date & Time

The macOS 15 beta will run for several months. We can’t predict how many versions of the beta we’ll see, but we should see six or more releases come before Apple pushes the final version of the beta, known as the Golden Master (GM).

Apple releases new macOS operating systems in the fall and we’ve seen the company push software in September, October, and even November.

macOS Sonoma arrived in late September and we may see Apple use similar timing for the macOS 15 release date.

Apple should confirm the macOS 15 release date during Apple’s fall event for the upcoming iPhone 16.

We expect the iPhone 16 to arrive on Friday, September 20th or Friday, September 27th. If this happens, you can expect macOS 15 to roll out on September 16th/17th or September 23rd/24th.

macOS 15 Features

Again, we haven’t heard much about Apple’s plans for macOS 15 features. Most of the software rumors we’ve seen in 2024 are related to iOS 18 for iPhone.

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman believes we could see iOS 18 feature design changes, but he’s not expecting a major redesign for macOS.

Gurman says that while work on a redesign has begun behind the scenes, Apple’s in the early stages and it probably won’t be ready until 2025 or 2026.

The last major macOS redesign came back in 2020 with macOS Big Sur.

As for macOS 15’s features, we could see Apple bring AI upgrades to the operating system. iOS 18 will reportedly feature numerous AI upgrades for Siri, Spotlight, and first-party apps like Messages, Pages, and Keynote.

In an earning’s call covering the company’s Q1 2024, Apple CEO Tim Cook essentially confirmed the company’s big plans for AI.

Cook says the company continues “to spend a tremendous amount of time and effort” on artificial intelligence and the company’s “excited to share the details of our ongoing work in that space later this year.”

Apple’s press release for its new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air is littered with references to AI which clearly isn’t a coincidence.

Code reviewed by MacRumors suggests Apple’s planning to bring the Apple Watch’s topographic maps to Macs in macOS 15.

Topographic maps, which are primarily used while in the outdoors, include things like contour lines, elevation, and trails.