This Year’s Crop of OS Upgrades Scheduled for 16 September 2024
Although Apple did not mention release dates for its upcoming operating systems during its Glowtime event, it quietly added those dates to the associated Web pages for its core operating systems. We now know we can expect macOS 15 Sequoia, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, and visionOS 2 to ship on 16 September 2024, although the company was quite clear that Apple Intelligence features won’t appear until the first software update sometime in October. We assume that tvOS 18 and HomePod Software 18 will ship simultaneously.
For everything but macOS 15 Sequoia, I advise waiting briefly to ensure nothing unexpected hits the news. Then, upgrade when you have some time to explore the new features. With Sequoia, I urge more caution, particularly for production Macs, until you’re confident the software you rely on is compatible. Regardless, make sure you have a backup before upgrading. For full details and help with upgrading from my friends at Take Control, read Take Control of Sequoia by Joe Kissell and Take Control of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 by Josh Centers.
“With Sequoia, I urge more caution”
Amen, brother… ;-)
What models will this stuff run on?
See the Apple website for a complete list of Macs, iPhones, iPads and Watches the updates will run on.
All those OS updates released on the same day… Yeah, I’m thinking we’re going to see a mountain of posts from people who can’t download them, or they get corrupted or hung up somehow on day one — particularly on sites with large user-bases like MacRumors, etc.
I can’t imagine why Apple chose not to stagger these updates, even if only by a few days each.
Good observation based on past performance.
Who knows? Perhaps Apple has quietly beefed up its cloud services and download servers in anticipation of the exponential increase in demand that’s going to follow the Apple Intelligence release sometime next month, and they’re choosing to stress-test it now.
(Nah!)
To be honest, I’m just a bit weary. Despite reading about, thinking about, and playing with these updates, it all comes to a head when I contemplate upgrading my production devices, and I lose the willpower. It’s great fun when there’s no risk and you don’t have to dedicate real time and effort to it, but once it becomes a project all by itself, suddenly it loses appeal.
No doubt, I’ll find the time, and probably the upgrades will go swimmingly, with only a day or so spent poking about to see what’s new. I hope Apple publishes a “What’s New” document, as they did last time, in PDF format so I can work from that to configure any new behaviour I may have missed.
I am reminded of the distinction between the devices I enjoy as objects of fun and pleasure, and the devices I use for keeping me in touch with the world, and of the desperate need for the latter to be working well. The biggest changes are as usual on iOS, but arguably it’s the little incremental changes I care about and that make the biggest difference, especially in the screen reader, VoiceOver. I would be happiest with less revolutionary change, especially during the winter months when I’m winding down for the holiday season when I’ll be doing most of this work.
Anyway, yeah, probably this is all just a whinge so I’ll stop here …
The Take Control books for major OS releases provide excellent summaries of the changes.
Yes, I’ve got those and look forward to reading them. A treat all by themselves.