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macOS Sequoia (macOS 15) Q&A
Update Published September 16, 2024
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Which Macs are compatible with macOS Sequoia (macOS 15)? What are the system requirements? What are the major new features? Do all features work with all supported Macs?
Apple initially previewed macOS Sequoia -- also called macOS 15 -- on June 10, 2024. A public beta was released on July 15, 2024 and the "final" consumer version was released on September 16, 2024.
Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (macOS Sequoia)
Just like previous versions of the macOS for many years now, macOS Sequoia is free and only officially available to install via Apple's own App Store.
New macOS Sequoia Features
Apple's formal press release for macOS Sequoia boasts that the operating system "takes productivity and intelligence on Mac to new heights" essentially shifting the company's previous focus for the last few versions of the macOS from enhancing productivity and creativity to address the explosion of interest in artificial intelligence.
In more detail, Apple explains that macOS Sequoia:
[Brings] entirely new ways of working and transformative intelligence features to Mac. macOS Sequoia is full of exciting new capabilities, including iPhone Mirroring, which expands Continuity by enabling full access to and control of iPhone directly from macOS. Safari gets another big update with the new Highlights feature for effortless information discovery on webpages while browsing. The new Passwords app makes it even easier to access passwords and organize credentials all in one place. Gaming advances with a more immersive experience, as well as a breadth of new titles, including Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Frostpunk 2, and more.
macOS Sequoia also introduces Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system for Mac, iPhone, and iPad that combines the power of generative models with personal context to deliver intelligence that’s incredibly useful and relevant.
The most substantial addition, without a doubt, is Apple Intelligence, which integrates largely ChatGPT-based functionality into the operating system to generate text and images and implement actions across applications.
The other promoted new features are minor, but being able to access and use an iPhone from a Mac (iPhone Mirroring) can come in handy as can improvements to Safari, window organization, video conferencing, and more.
As Apple notes in the company press release, Apple Intelligence as well as Live audio transcription is limited only to Apple Silicon Macs (M1 and newer processors). Although other regions and languages inevitably will be supported in the future, this initial release of Apple Inteligence also requires Siri and the Mac language to be set to US English.
In fine print elsewhere is that Apple has dropped support for a couple of fairly recent MacBook Air entirely and there is one series of iMac models that does not support iPhone Mirroring, either.
System Requirements
In marketing copy and technical documentation, Apple specifies that macOS Sequoia is compatible with these Macs:
- MacBook Air (2020 and later)
- MacBook Pro (2018 and later)
- iMac (2019 and later)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac Pro (2019 and later)
- Mac Studio (2022 and later)
- Mac mini (2018 and later)
Accordingly, compared to the previous version of the macOS -- macOS Sonoma (macOS 14) -- macOS Sequoia (macOS 15) only drops support entirely for these MacBook Air models released in 2018 and 2019:
Identification Help
If you're not sure if your Mac will run macOS Sequoia (macOS 15), each of the supported computers can be identified by the above "subfamily" designations in addition to the Model Identifier in software. More details about specific identifiers are provided in EveryMac.com's extensive Mac Identification section.
To locate the Model Identifier, select "About This Mac" under the Apple Menu on your computer and click the "System Report" button.
EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup feature also can pinpoint these Macs by a variety of other identifiers.
macOS Sequoia (macOS 15) Supported Systems
Specifically, the following Macs, available at the time the operating system was unveiled, are compatible with macOS Sequoia:
Sequoia Supported Mac |
Subfamily |
Model ID |
Retina 4K, 21.5-Inch, 2019 |
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Retina 4K, 21.5-Inch, 2019 |
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Retina 4K, 21.5-Inch, 2019 |
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Retina 5K, 27-Inch, 2019 |
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Retina 5K, 27-Inch, 2019 |
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Retina 5K, 27-Inch, 2019 |
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Retina 5K, 27-Inch, 2019 |
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Retina 5K, 27-Inch, 2020 |
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Retina 5K, 27-Inch, 2020 |
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Retina 5K, 27-Inch, 2020 |
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Retina 5K, 27-Inch, 2020 |
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Retina 5K, 27-Inch, 2020 |
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Retina 5K, 27-Inch, 2020 |
||
iMac (24", M1 2021) |
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iMac (24", M1 2021) |
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iMac (24", M3 2023) |
||
iMac (24", M3 2023) |
||
iMac Pro, Late 2017 |
||
iMac Pro, Late 2017 |
||
iMac Pro, Late 2017 |
||
iMac Pro, Late 2017 |
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2018 |
||
2018 |
||
2018 |
||
M1, 2020 |
||
M2, 2023 |
||
M2 Pro, 2023 |
||
M2 Pro, 2023 |
||
2019 |
||
2019 |
||
2019 |
||
2019 |
||
2019 |
||
2019 |
||
2019 |
||
2019 |
||
2019 |
||
2019 |
||
Mac Pro (2023) |
||
Mac Pro (2023) |
||
Mac Pro (2023) |
||
Mac Pro (2023) |
||
M1 Max, 2022 |
||
M1 Max, 2022 |
||
M1 Ultra, 2022 |
||
M1 Ultra, 2022 |
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M2 Max, 2023 |
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M2 Max, 2023 |
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M2 Ultra, 2023 |
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M2 Ultra, 2023 |
||
2020** |
||
2020** |
||
2020** |
||
M1, 2020 |
||
M1, 2020 |
||
M2, 2022 |
||
M2, 2022 |
||
15-inch, M2, 2023 |
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13-Inch, M3, 2024 |
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13-Inch, M3, 2024 |
||
15-Inch, M3, 2024 |
||
Mid-2018 13" (Touch Bar)* |
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Mid-2018 13" (Touch Bar)* |
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Mid-2018 15" (Touch Bar) |
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Mid-2018 15" (Touch Bar) |
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Mid-2018 15" (Touch Bar) |
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Mid-2018 15" (Touch Bar) |
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Mid-2018 15" (Touch Bar) |
||
2019 13" (Touch Bar)* |
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2019 13" (Touch Bar)* |
||
2019 15" (Touch Bar)* |
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2019 15" (Touch Bar)* |
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2019 15" (Touch Bar)* |
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2019 15" (Touch Bar)* |
||
2019 15" (Touch Bar)* |
||
2019 13" (Touch Bar, 2 TB 3)* |
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2019 13" (Touch Bar, 2 TB 3)* |
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2019 16" |
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2019 16" |
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2019 16" |
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2020 13" (2 TB 3) |
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2020 13" (2 TB 3) |
||
2020 13" (4 TB 3) |
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2020 13" (4 TB 3) |
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2019 16" |
||
2019 16" |
||
2019 16" |
||
13-Inch, M1, 2020 |
||
14-Inch, M1 Pro, 2021 |
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14-Inch, M1 Pro, 2021 |
||
14-Inch, M1 Pro, 2021 |
||
14-Inch, M1 Max, 2021 |
||
14-Inch, M1 Max, 2021 |
||
16-Inch, M1 Pro, 2021 |
||
16-Inch, M1 Max, 2021 |
||
16-Inch, M1 Max, 2021 |
||
13-Inch, M2, 2022 |
||
14-Inch, M2 Pro, 2023 |
||
14-Inch, M2 Pro, 2023 |
||
14-Inch, M2 Max, 2023 |
||
14-Inch, M2 Max, 2023 |
||
16-Inch, M2 Pro, 2023 |
||
16-Inch, M2 Max, 2023 |
||
16-Inch, M2 Max, 2023 |
||
14-Inch, M3, Late 2023 |
||
14-Inch, M3 Pro, Late 2023 |
||
14-Inch, M3 Pro, Late 2023 |
||
14-Inch, M3 Max, Late 2023 |
||
14-Inch, M3 Max, Late 2023 |
||
16-Inch, M3 Pro, Late 2023 |
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16-Inch, M3 Max, Late 2023 |
||
16-Inch, M3 Max, Late 2023 |
If your Mac isn't listed above, it isn't compatible with macOS Sequoia (macOS 15).
macOS Sequoia (macOS 15) Advanced Feature Compatibility
All of the above Macs support macOS Sequoia, but only those with Apple Silicon processors support Apple Intelligence and Live audio transcription:
Apple Silicon Sequoia Mac |
Subfamily |
Model ID |
iMac (24", M1 2021) |
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iMac (24", M1 2021) |
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iMac (24", M3 2023) |
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iMac (24", M3 2023) |
||
M1, 2020 |
||
M2, 2023 |
||
M2 Pro, 2023 |
||
M2 Pro, 2023 |
||
Mac Pro (2023) |
||
Mac Pro (2023) |
||
Mac Pro (2023) |
||
Mac Pro (2023) |
||
M1 Max, 2022 |
||
M1 Max, 2022 |
||
M1 Ultra, 2022 |
||
M1 Ultra, 2022 |
||
M2 Max, 2023 |
||
M2 Max, 2023 |
||
M2 Ultra, 2023 |
||
M2 Ultra, 2023 |
||
M1, 2020 |
||
M1, 2020 |
||
M2, 2022 |
||
M2, 2022 |
||
15-inch, M2, 2023 |
||
13-Inch, M3, 2024 |
||
13-Inch, M3, 2024 |
||
15-Inch, M3, 2024 |
||
13-Inch, M1, 2020 |
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14-Inch, M1 Pro, 2021 |
||
14-Inch, M1 Pro, 2021 |
||
14-Inch, M1 Pro, 2021 |
||
14-Inch, M1 Max, 2021 |
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14-Inch, M1 Max, 2021 |
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16-Inch, M1 Pro, 2021 |
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16-Inch, M1 Max, 2021 |
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16-Inch, M1 Max, 2021 |
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13-Inch, M2, 2022 |
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14-Inch, M2 Pro, 2023 |
||
14-Inch, M2 Pro, 2023 |
||
14-Inch, M2 Max, 2023 |
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14-Inch, M2 Max, 2023 |
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16-Inch, M2 Pro, 2023 |
||
16-Inch, M2 Max, 2023 |
||
16-Inch, M2 Max, 2023 |
||
14-Inch, M3, Late 2023 |
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14-Inch, M3 Pro, Late 2023 |
||
14-Inch, M3 Pro, Late 2023 |
||
14-Inch, M3 Max, Late 2023 |
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14-Inch, M3 Max, Late 2023 |
||
16-Inch, M3 Pro, Late 2023 |
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16-Inch, M3 Max, Late 2023 |
||
16-Inch, M3 Max, Late 2023 |
To reiterate, if your Mac doesn't have an Apple processor -- from the M1, M2, M3, or M4 family -- it doesn't support the Apple Intelligence or Live audio transcription features.
Because these models lack a T2 security chip, the 2019 iMac line does not support iPhone Mirroring, either:
2019 iMac Models |
Subfamily |
Model ID |
Retina 4K, 21.5-Inch, 2019 |
||
Retina 4K, 21.5-Inch, 2019 |
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Retina 4K, 21.5-Inch, 2019 |
||
Retina 5K, 27-Inch, 2019 |
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Retina 5K, 27-Inch, 2019 |
||
Retina 5K, 27-Inch, 2019 |
||
Retina 5K, 27-Inch, 2019 |
macOS Sequoia Summary
Ultimately, macOS Sequoia brings a number of useful productivity enhancements to the macOS, although the most substantial addition -- Apple Intelligence -- is limited only to the latest Macs. Whether or not Apple Intelligence lives up to its promise remains to be seen.
As always, EveryMac.com recommends that for those with "mission critical" computers, it is wise to skip any public beta entirely and wait for at least two or three "bug fix" releases after the "final" version before upgrading to any new operating system.
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