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macOS Catalina Q&A
Update Published June 25, 2020
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Which Macs are compatible with macOS Catalina (10.15)? What are the system requirements? What are the major new features? Has anything been removed from previous versions of the macOS?
Apple first previewed macOS Catalina (10.15) on June 3, 2019. It initially was released as a "public beta" on June 24, 2019 and it first shipped in its final consumer version on October 7, 2019.
Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (macOS Catalina on MacBook Pro)
Like earlier versions of the macOS for the last several years, macOS Catalina is offered free of charge and only is available formally from Apple's own App Store.
New macOS Catalina Features & Depreciation
Apple's corporate press release touts "cool new features, fresh new apps and powerful new technology for developers."
More specifically, among features for consumers, Apple boasts that:
Apple is replacing iTunes with its popular entertainment apps -- Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and the Apple TV app. The all-new Sidecar feature enables users to extend their Mac desktop by using their iPad as a second display or as a high-precision input device across creative Mac apps. New security features keep users better protected and Voice Control lets users control their Mac entirely with their voice.
For those who still use iTunes -- which definitely has become more bloated over the years with more and more functionality grafted onto the app -- having different apps for different types of media content may be welcomed. Sidecar is an Apple knockoff of functionality previously available via third-party apps, but still may be useful. Improvements in security and accessibility always are worthwhile, too.
The powerful new technology for developers -- more specifically "Project Catalyst" (formerly called Marzipan) -- makes it much easier for programmers to port an app originally made for the iOS to the Mac.
While making it easier to port iOS apps to the Mac, macOS Catalina also eliminates support for older 32-bit apps entirely, requires apps to be notarized by default, and drops the under utilized "Dashboard" function that was introduced way back with Mac OS X "Tiger" (10.4).
Making it easier to port iOS apps to the Mac may result in more apps for the Mac, but it also may mean that developers may not bother to develop Mac specific-apps going forward, either. Some older 32-bit apps likely will not be updated and effectively lost to history.
The notarization requirement should improve security. However, notarization may result in the elimination of some hobbyist freeware or shareware as well as lead to potential censorship of apps that Apple competes with or otherwise does not approve of because they might interfere with the company's profits.
Whether these app support changes will lead to strengthening the macOS or the end of the macOS entirely remains to be seen, particularly if developers are later allowed only to distribute their apps through Apple's app store (which requires developers to pay US$99 per year as well as pay a 30% cut of their revenue to Apple).
System Requirements
There has been some confusion about the system requirements for macOS Catalina because in fine print the original press release stated that the operating system was a "free software update for Macs introduced in mid-2012" or later.
Based on email received, some EveryMac.com readers interpreted this to mean that all Macs released in Mid-2012 or later are compatible with macOS Catalina, but this is not the case.
In technical documentation and elsewhere, Apple more precisely specifies that macOS Catalina runs on these Macs:
- MacBook (2015 and later)
- MacBook Air (2012 and later)
- MacBook Pro (2012 and later)
- iMac Pro (2017 and later)
- iMac (2012 and later)
- Mac mini (2012 and later)
- Mac Pro (2013 and later)
These are almost the same Macs that support the previous version of the macOS -- macOS Mojave (10.14) -- but macOS Catalina (10.15) does not support the Mid-2010 and Mid-2012 Mac Pro models. Perhaps the author of Apple's press release forgot about the Mid-2012 Mac Pro.
Identification Help
If you're not sure if your Mac will run macOS Catalina (10.15), all of the supported computers can be identified by the above "subfamily" designations as well as by the Model Identifier in software. More details about specific identifiers are provided in EveryMac.com's exhaustive Mac Identification section.
To locate the model identifier, select "About This Mac" under the Apple Menu on your computer and click the "More Info..." button. If the Mac is running OS X "Lion" (10.7) or later, click the "System Report" button after clicking "More Info..." as well.
EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup feature also can identify these models by their Serial Numbers.
macOS Catalina Supported Systems
Specifically, the following Macs are compatible with macOS Catalina:
Catalina Supported Mac |
Subfamily |
Model ID |
Late 2012 |
||
Late 2012 |
||
Late 2012 |
||
Late 2012 |
||
Late 2012 |
||
Late 2012 |
||
Early 2013 (Edu) |
||
Late 2013 |
||
Late 2013 |
||
Late 2013 |
||
Late 2013 |
||
Late 2013 |
||
Late 2013 |
||
Mid-2014 |
||
5K, Late 2014 |
||
5K, Late 2014 |
||
5K, Mid-2015 |
||
Late 2015 |
||
Late 2015 |
||
4K, Late 2015 |
||
4K, Late 2015 |
||
5K, Late 2015 |
||
5K, Late 2015 |
||
5K, Late 2015 |
||
Mid-2017 |
||
4K, Mid-2017 |
||
4K, Mid-2017 |
||
4K, Mid-2017 |
||
5K, Mid-2017 |
||
5K, Mid-2017 |
||
5K, Mid-2017 |
||
5K, Mid-2017 |
||
4K, 21.5", 2019 |
||
4K, 21.5", 2019 |
||
4K, 21.5", 2019 |
||
5K, 27", 2019 |
||
5K, 27", 2019 |
||
5K, 27", 2019 |
||
5K, 27, 2019 |
||
Late 2017 |
||
Late 2017 |
||
Late 2017 |
||
Late 2017 |
||
Early 2015 |
||
Early 2015 |
||
Early 2015 |
||
Early 2016 |
||
Early 2016 |
||
Early 2016 |
||
Mid-2017 |
||
Mid-2017 |
||
Mid-2017 |
||
Mid-2012 |
||
Mid-2012 |
||
Mid-2012/Edu** |
||
Mid-2012 |
||
Mid-2012 |
||
Mid-2013 |
||
Mid-2013 |
||
Mid-2013 |
||
Mid-2013 |
||
Early 2014 |
||
Early 2014 |
||
Early 2014 |
||
Early 2014 |
||
Early 2015 |
||
Early 2015 |
||
Early 2015 |
||
Early 2015 |
||
13", 2017** |
||
13", 2017** |
||
Late 2018** |
||
2019** |
||
Mid-2012 13" |
||
Mid-2012 13" |
||
Mid-2012 15" |
||
Mid-2012 15" |
||
Mid-2012 15" |
||
Retina Mid-2012 |
||
Retina Mid-2012 |
||
Retina Mid-2012 |
||
Retina Late 2012 |
||
Retina Late 2012 |
||
Early 2013 |
||
Early 2013 |
||
Early 2013 |
||
Early 2013 |
||
Early 2013 |
||
Late 2013 13" |
||
Late 2013 13" |
||
Late 2013 13" |
||
Late 2013 15" |
||
Late 2013 15" |
||
Late 2013 15" |
||
Late 2013 15" |
||
Late 2013 15" |
||
Mid-2014 13" |
||
Mid-2014 13" |
||
Mid-2014 13" |
||
Mid-2014 15" |
||
Mid-2014 15" |
||
Mid-2014 15" |
||
Mid-2014 15" |
||
Mid-2014 15" |
||
Early 2015 13" |
||
Early 2015 13" |
||
Early 2015 13" |
||
Mid-2015 15" |
||
Mid-2015 15" |
||
Mid-2015 15" |
||
Mid-2015 15" |
||
Mid-2015 15" |
||
Late 2016 13" |
||
Late 2016 13" |
||
Late 2016 13" |
||
Late 2016 13" |
||
Late 2016 13" |
||
Late 2016 15" |
||
Late 2016 15" |
||
Late 2016 15" |
||
Mid-2017 13" |
||
Mid-2017 13" |
||
Mid-2017 13" |
||
Mid-2017 13" |
||
Mid-2017 13" |
||
Mid-2017 15" |
||
Mid-2017 15" |
||
Mid-2017 15" |
||
Mid-2018 13" |
||
Mid-2018 13" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
2019 13" |
||
2019 13" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 13" |
||
2019 13" |
||
Late 2012 |
||
Late 2012 |
||
Late 2012 |
||
Late 2012 |
||
Late 2012 |
||
Late 2014 |
||
Late 2014 |
||
Late 2014 |
||
Late 2014 |
||
2018 |
||
2018 |
||
2018 |
||
Late 2013 |
||
Late 2013 |
||
Late 2013 |
||
Late 2013 |
If your Mac isn't listed above, and it didn't ship after macOS Catalina was released on October 7, 2019, it isn't compatible with the operating system.
macOS Catalina Features Compatibility
All of the above Macs support macOS Catalina, but in fine print, Apple notes that only some models support "4K, 4K HDR, 4K Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and HDR10 content." Apple buries Sidecar compatibility even further and it only is provided in support documents.
iMacs with 4K, Dolby & HDR10 Support
Specifically, these models "introduced in 2018 or later with 4K-resolution screens" support 4K, 4K HDR, 4K Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and HDR10:
4K Supported Mac |
Subfamily |
Model ID |
4K, 21.5", 2019 |
||
4K, 21.5", 2019 |
||
4K, 21.5", 2019 |
||
5K, 27", 2019 |
||
5K, 27", 2019 |
||
5K, 27", 2019 |
||
5K, 27, 2019 |
Notebooks with Dolby Atmos Support
These "Mac notebooks introduced in 2018 or later" support Dolby Atmos:
Dolby Atmos Supported Mac |
Subfamily |
Model ID |
Late 2018** |
||
2019** |
||
Mid-2018 13" |
||
Mid-2018 13" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
2019 13" |
||
2019 13" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 13" |
||
2019 13" |
Sidecar Support
During the macOS Catalina beta period, talented programmer-hacker Steve Troughton-Smith first discovered that the "Sidecar" feature only supports a relatively small number of recent Macs and blacklists older ones by Model Identifier. He also found an unofficial workaround that may make Sidecar function with some earlier Macs.
When the final version of macOS Catalina was released, Apple formally reported that the Sidecar feature requires one of these Macs:
- MacBook (2016 and later)
- MacBook Air (2018 and later)
- MacBook Pro (2016 and later)
- iMac Pro (2017 and later)
- iMac (27" Retina 5K Late 2015; 2016 and later)
- Mac mini (2018 and later)
- Mac Pro (2019 and later)
Accordingly, the formally supported Macs for Sidecar at the time the final version of macOS Catalina shipped are:
Sidecar Supported Mac |
Subfamily |
Model ID |
5K, Late 2015 |
||
5K, Late 2015 |
||
5K, Late 2015 |
||
Mid-2017 |
||
4K, Mid-2017 |
||
4K, Mid-2017 |
||
4K, Mid-2017 |
||
5K, Mid-2017 |
||
5K, Mid-2017 |
||
5K, Mid-2017 |
||
5K, Mid-2017 |
||
4K, 21.5", 2019 |
||
4K, 21.5", 2019 |
||
4K, 21.5", 2019 |
||
5K, 27", 2019 |
||
5K, 27", 2019 |
||
5K, 27", 2019 |
||
5K, 27, 2019 |
||
Late 2017 |
||
Late 2017 |
||
Late 2017 |
||
Late 2017 |
||
Early 2016 |
||
Early 2016 |
||
Early 2016 |
||
Mid-2017 |
||
Mid-2017 |
||
Mid-2017 |
||
Late 2018** |
||
2019** |
||
Late 2016 13" |
||
Late 2016 13" |
||
Late 2016 13" |
||
Late 2016 13" |
||
Late 2016 13" |
||
Late 2016 15" |
||
Late 2016 15" |
||
Late 2016 15" |
||
Mid-2017 13" |
||
Mid-2017 13" |
||
Mid-2017 13" |
||
Mid-2017 13" |
||
Mid-2017 13" |
||
Mid-2017 15" |
||
Mid-2017 15" |
||
Mid-2017 15" |
||
Mid-2018 13" |
||
Mid-2018 13" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
Mid-2018 15" |
||
2019 13" |
||
2019 13" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 15" |
||
2019 13" |
||
2019 13" |
||
2018 |
||
2018 |
||
2018 |
Sidecar also requires a compatible iPad. Apple reports that the feature works with the iPad 6th Gen and later, iPad mini 5th Gen and later, iPad Air 3rd Gen and later, and all iPad Pro models running iOS 13 or higher.
Of course, if you have an older Mac or an older iPad, you always can use one of the third-party apps that made it possible to use an iPad as an external display on a Mac before Apple copied the functionality and integrated it with the operating system.
macOS Catalina Summary
Ultimately, macOS Catalina brings significant improvements to entertainment, functionality, security, and accessibility. Whether adding support for ported iOS apps and requiring notarization makes the macOS stronger or weaker in the long run remains to be seen.
Before upgrading to macOS Catalina, make sure that all of your apps are 64-bit apps. When macOS Catalina was in beta, EveryMac.com recommended that for those with "mission critical" computers, it would be wise to let others do the beta testing and wait for two or three "bug fix" releases after the "final" version ships, as well.
When the final version of macOS Catalina shipped, it was particularly buggy, but after several updates, it was improved.
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