Getting OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion on your existing Mac
Will OS X Mountain Lion run on your Mac?
Apple has announced OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, the next step in what is a clear plan to iOS-ify the Mac.
But will your current Mac take the update? The first thing to know is that you will definitely need to have OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later because you'll need to download it via the Mac App Store.
We're not yet sure whether it's a requirement that you have OS X 10.7 Lion, though we wouldn't be too surprised.
OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard phased out support for PowerPC processors, so once again things are Intel-only. Here's the full list of Macs and OS X 10.8 compatibility:
Even the 2006 and 2007 versions of the Mac Pro won't be able to install OS X 10.8
Obviously all these details are based on the OS X 10.8 Developer Preview and may change for the full release. One thing's for sure - our G4 PowerBook is looking decidedly old now.
But will your current Mac take the update? The first thing to know is that you will definitely need to have OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later because you'll need to download it via the Mac App Store.
We're not yet sure whether it's a requirement that you have OS X 10.7 Lion, though we wouldn't be too surprised.
OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard phased out support for PowerPC processors, so once again things are Intel-only. Here's the full list of Macs and OS X 10.8 compatibility:
- MacBook Pro - you'll need to have either a 13-inch from mid-2009 on or a 2.2/2.4GHz 15-inch or a late 2007 or newer 17-inch
- MacBook - 13-inch 2008 in aluminum, early 2009 or later
- MacBook Air - it needs to be ate 2008 or newer
- Mac Mini - it needs to be early 2009 or newer
- iMac - it needs to be mid 2007 or newer
- Mac Pro - it needs to be early 2008 or newer
- Xserve - early 2009
Even the 2006 and 2007 versions of the Mac Pro won't be able to install OS X 10.8
Obviously all these details are based on the OS X 10.8 Developer Preview and may change for the full release. One thing's for sure - our G4 PowerBook is looking decidedly old now.