- Mac OS X v10.6.6 or later to install via the Mac App Store (v10.6.8 recommended) 7 GB of available disk space. To install OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.9 Mavericks (free upgrade, but currently unavailable) or OS X 10.10 Yosemite (currently available free upgrade) you need one of these Macs.
- Dec 21, 2012 IMHO, upgrading older Intel Mac hardware (Core Solo/Duo- and Core 2 Duo-based Macs) to Snow Leopard shouldn't even be a question. Snow Leopard is the OS that all older Intel hardware should be running, not just due to third-party software compatibility issues, but because the vast majority of software now requires 10.6.x as a baseline, and most now require 10.7.x.
- The 10.5.8 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard versions 10.5 to 10.5.7 and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac, as well as specific fixes for: compatibility and reliability issues when joining AirPort networks.
When you upgrade to macOS Mojave, you’ll get a host of new features inspired by its most powerful users but designed for everyone. Stay better focused on your work in Dark Mode. Automatically organize files using Stacks. Take more kinds of screenshots with less effort. Try four handy new built-in apps, and discover even more in the redesigned Mac App Store. Now you can get more out of every click. Best of all, upgrading is free and easy.
Chances are, your Mac can run macOS Mojave.
Mac computers with Metal-capable graphics processors (GPUs) can be upgraded to macOS Mojave.
To upgrade from OSX 10.5.8 (Leopard) to 10.6 (Snow Leopard), you’ll need a Snow Leopard install disk/usb drive or an installer on an external disk drive. Dec 19, 2011 up grade from 10.5.8 to 10.6. Most will not be able to up grade because there unit will not work with the new 10.7 system from apple. The processor is not compatible with upgrades. They do not tell you up front only after you buy the up grade and it will not work do they tell you. Shame on Apple.
Make sure you’re ready to upgrade.
Before you upgrade, we recommend that you back up your Mac. Then, if your Mac is running OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 or later, you can upgrade directly to macOS Mojave.
Upgrading is free. And easier than you think.
Visit the macOS Mojave page on the App Store. Click the download button and follow the onscreen instructions to begin your upgrade. If you don’t have broadband access, you can upgrade your Mac at any Apple Store.
- OS X 10.8 or later
- 2GB of memory
- 12.5GB of available storage (OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 or later)*
- Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
- Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.
Have an older version of OS X? Learn how to upgrade
Upgrading from OS X Snow Leopard or Lion
If you’re running Snow Leopard (10.6.8) or Lion (10.7) and your Mac supports macOS Mojave, you will need to upgrade to El Capitan (10.11) first. Click here for instructions.
For details about your Mac model, click the Apple icon at the top left of your screen and choose About This Mac. These Mac models are compatible with macOS Mojave:
- MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
- iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013; Mid 2010 and Mid 2012 models with recommended Metal-capable graphics cards)
Siri
Requires a broadband Internet connection and microphone (built-in or external).
Hey Siri
Supported by the following Mac models:
- MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (2018)
- iMac Pro (2017)
Dictation and Voice Memos
Requires a microphone (built-in or external).
Spotlight Suggestions
Requires a broadband Internet connection.
Gestures
Requires a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad, Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse.
Force Touch gestures require a Force Touch trackpad.
VoiceOver gestures require a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad, or Magic Trackpad.
Photo Booth
Requires a FaceTime or iSight camera (built-in or external), or USB video class (UVC) camera.
FaceTime
Audio calls require a microphone (built-in or external) and broadband Internet connection.
Video calls require a built-in FaceTime camera, an iSight camera (built-in or external), or a USB video class (UVC) camera; and broadband Internet connection.
Continuity Camera, Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and Universal Clipboard
Supported by the following Mac models:
- MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
- MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
- Mac mini (2012 or newer)
- iMac (2012 or newer)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013)
Continuity Camera requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 12 or later.
Handoff requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 8 or later.
Instant Hotspot requires an iPhone or iPad with cellular connectivity with a Lightning connector and iOS 8.1 or later. Requires Personal Hotspot service through your carrier.
Auto Unlock
Supported by Mac models introduced in mid 2013 or later.
Requires an Apple Watch with watchOS 3 or later and an iPhone 5 or later.
Apple Pay on the Web
Supported by the following Mac models:
- MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
- MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
- Mac mini (2012 or newer)
- iMac (2012 or newer)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013)
Requires MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, iPhone 6 or later with iOS 10 or later, or an Apple Watch with watchOS 3 or later.
Phone Calling
Requires an iPhone with iOS 8 or later and an activated carrier plan.
SMS
Requires an iPhone with iOS 8.1 or later and an activated carrier plan.
Home
![Upgrade mac os x 10.5 8 to 10.7 Upgrade mac os x 10.5 8 to 10.7](/uploads/1/2/5/0/125031898/807052570.jpg)
Requires iPhone with iOS 12 or later and a configured Home app.
AirDrop
AirDrop between Mac computers and iOS devices is supported by the following Mac models:
- MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
- MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
- Mac mini (2012 or newer)
- iMac (2012 or newer)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013)
AirDrop to iOS devices requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 7 or later.
AirPlay
AirPlay Mirroring requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later). Supported by the following Mac models:
- MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
- iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013)
AirPlay for web video requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later).
Peer-to-peer AirPlay requires a Mac (2012 or later) and an Apple TV (3rd generation rev A, model A1469 or later) with Apple TV software 7.0 or later.
Time Machine
Requires an external storage device (sold separately).
Power Nap
Supported by the following Mac models:
- MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
- MacBook Pro with Retina display (Mid 2012 or newer)
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
- iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013)
Boot Camp
Allows Boot Camp installations of Windows 10 on supported Mac models.
Exchange Support
Requires Microsoft Office 365, Exchange 2016, Exchange 2013, or Exchange Server 2010. Installing the latest Service Packs is recommended.
App Store
Available only to persons age 13 or older in the U.S. and many other countries and regions.
- Apple Books
- Apple News
- App Store
- Automator
- Calculator
- Calendar
- Chess
- Contacts
- Dashboard
- Dictionary
- DVD Player
- FaceTime
- Font Book
- Home
- Image Capture
- iTunes
- Launchpad
- Maps
- Messages
- Mission Control
- Notes
- Photo Booth
- Photos
- Preview
- QuickTime Player
- Reminders
- Safari
- Siri
- Stickies
- Stocks
- System Preferences
- TextEdit
- Time Machine
- Voice Memos
- Activity Monitor
- AirPort Utility
- Audio MIDI Setup
- Bluetooth File Exchange
- Boot Camp Assistant
- ColorSync Utility
- Console
- Digital Color Meter
- Disk Utility
- Grapher
- Keychain Access
- Migration Assistant
- Screenshot
- Script Editor
- System Information
- Terminal
- VoiceOver Utility
- Arabic
- Catalan
- Croatian
- Simplified Chinese
- Traditional Chinese
- Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
- Czech
- Danish
- Dutch
- English
- English (Australia)
- English (United Kingdom)
- Finnish
- French
- French (Canada)
- German
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Hungarian
- Indonesian
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Malay
- Norwegian
- Polish
- Brazilian Portuguese
- Portuguese
- Romanian
- Russian
- Slovak
- Spanish
- Spanish (Latin America)
- Swedish
- Thai
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Vietnamese
The classic OS X 10.12, or rather macOS upgrade, introduced tons of features anyone would still want on their Mac. Why? Because, it's well-tested and secure. Now we'll take a quick look at the legendary macOS Sierra upgrade. (In case you want to upgrade your Mac to macOS 10.13 High Sierra, check out this guide.)
First and foremost, it brought Siri to your Mac. This is great news for everyone who’s already used to her help on iOS. Then, there’s Watch unlocking for Mac, there’s one-click Apple Pay, tabs in apps, and cross-device copypasting. Just to name a few.
So, if you were on the fence about upgrading to Sierra, and in fact, any newer OS, go right ahead. Your Mac deserves a refreshment.
LEARN MORE: macOS High Sierra 10.13 - The New Features That Matter
How to upgrade macOS: Sierra 10.12 compatibility list
As with the previous versions, macOS Sierra is available for a limited list of Mac models.
Here are the models of Macs that are compatible with macOS 10.12 and can upgrade to Sierra:
Here are the models of Macs that are compatible with macOS 10.12 and can upgrade to Sierra:
MacBook Pro | MacBook Air | Mac mini |
Mid 2010 or newer | Late 2010 or newer | Mid 2010 or newer |
Mac Pro® | MacBook | iMac |
Mid 2010 or newer | Late 2009 or newer | Late 2009 or newer |
Does order matter when you upgrade macOS?
If your current operating system is OS X Lion (10.7), you can skip a few versions, and upgrade directly to macOS High Sierra. To upgrade to Sierra from, say, Mavericks, you’ll have to consequently upgrade to Yosemite and then to El Capitan first.
Check Your macOS for Sierra Compatibility
These OS versions can upgrade to Sierra:
- OS X Mountain Lion v10.8
- OS X Mavericks v10.9
- OS X Yosemite v10.10
- OS X El Capitan v10.11
Here’s how to find out which OS version you’re running now:
- Click Apple icon in the top left corner.
- Choose About this Mac.
- There you have it, in capital letters.
Memory (RAM): 2 GB (preferably 4 GB)
Sierra is pretty lightweight, so you only need 2 GB of RAM to upgrade. Cool, eh?
Sierra is pretty lightweight, so you only need 2 GB of RAM to upgrade. Cool, eh?
Disk space: 8 GB of free space on drive.
In the same About this Mac menu select 'Storage' tab. In front of the multi-colored bar, you will see the phrase, 'X.XX GB free out of XX.XX GB.' If you don't have at least 8 GB of free space, you should delete some old files.
In the same About this Mac menu select 'Storage' tab. In front of the multi-colored bar, you will see the phrase, 'X.XX GB free out of XX.XX GB.' If you don't have at least 8 GB of free space, you should delete some old files.
Before you update macOS, don’t forget to:
Mac Os 10.8 Update Free
Clean up your Mac
This is essential if you want a fast and effortless update, and glitchless work of your new macOS. And it’s also pretty easy. To give your Mac a cleanup, you need to get rid of system junk, uninstall extra apps, and clean some old caches. If that sounds like a lot of work, you can get a Mac cleaner like CleanMyMac for the job.
How to update your Mac: Clean it up first
- Launch it.
- Hit Scan to find all the extra files you can delete.
- Press Run.
As you can see, I have 8.56 GB worth of caches, obsolete language files, broken downloads. You'll feel great getting rid of them.
That will give your Mac a basic system cleanup, but CleanMyMac is going to come in handy after the update as well. It monitors your Mac’s health, helps you speed up the system and remove unnecessary apps (Trashing doesn’t fully uninstall apps, by the way).
That will give your Mac a basic system cleanup, but CleanMyMac is going to come in handy after the update as well. It monitors your Mac’s health, helps you speed up the system and remove unnecessary apps (Trashing doesn’t fully uninstall apps, by the way).
Back up your Mac
This is basic common sense before any Mac software update you’d like to undertake. Why? Well, because sometimes updates happen less smoothly than you’d like them to. To make sure you have all your information and files saved up neatly, you need a backup. To back up your Mac, you need to activate Time Machine.
- Open your Applications folder.
- Choose Time Machine.
- 'Select Backup Disk…'
Note: You may need to first choose to 'Set Up Time Machine.' - Choose where you'd like to store your backup.
- Both an external drive or an Airport Time Capsule fit.
![Upgrade Mac Os 10.5.8 Upgrade Mac Os 10.5.8](/uploads/1/2/5/0/125031898/873980211.jpg)
- Switch the toggle on the left, from 'OFF' to 'ON.' Right beneath the name of your storage device, you'll see 'Oldest backup,' 'Latest backup,' and 'Next backup' — Your backup will begin within 5 minutes. To speed it up, click the arrow clock icon next to the Date & Time at the top-right of the menu bar and select 'Back Up Now.'
How to download macOS Sierra (or newer macOS) and install it
MacOS Sierra is available since September 20, 2016. If you’re thinking “That’s cool, but how do I update my Mac to it?”, no worries, it’s quite simple.
To download any new macOS and install it you’ll need to do the next:
- Open App Store.
- Click Updates tab in the top menu.
- You’ll see Software Update — macOS Sierra or newer OS
- Click Update.
- Wait for macOS download and installation.
- Your Mac will restart when it’s done.
- Now you have a new OS
We hope this guide has been of use, and don’t forget to clean up your Mac and back it up before you get the classic macOS! Cheers.