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OS X El Capitan Q&A - Updated September 29, 2015
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Which Macs are compatible with OS X El Capitan (10.11)? What are the system requirements? Which Macs support which features?
On June 8, 2015, Apple previewed OS X "El Capitan" (10.11). On September 9, 2015, Apple quietly noted that the ship date would be on September 30, 2015, and issued a formal press release the day before.
OS X "El Capitan" is named after the El Capitan mountain inside the Yosemite National Park. With this name choice, the company is subtly implying that the relationship between OS X El Capitan and OS X Yosemite (10.10) is similar to the relationship between OS X Leopard (10.5) and OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) in that the latter operating system is more of a refinement of its predecessor rather than a release packed to the brim with new features.
In the original press release, Apple uses the word "refine" no less than five times and summarizes the operating system accordingly:
Building on last year's landmark release of OS X Yosemite, El Capitan introduces enhancements to window management, built-in apps and Spotlight search, and makes everyday activities -- from launching apps to accessing email -- faster and more responsive. Metal, Apple's breakthrough graphics technology, is integrated into El Capitan, delivering system-wide performance gains and enabling games and pro apps to tap into the full power of Mac graphics processors.
Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (MacBook Running OS X
El Capitan)
System Requirements
Apple notes that OS X El Capitan runs on the following Mac categories:
- iMac (Mid-2007 or newer)
- MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, Early 2009 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
- Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
- Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
- Xserve (Early 2009)
These are the same general system requirements for the previous version of OS X -- OS X Yosemite (10.10). At least 2 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage space also are required for OS X El Capitan. Specific feature support varies, though.
Identification Help
If you're not sure if your Mac will run OS X El Capitan, all of the supported systems 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 extensive 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.
OS X El Capitan Supported Systems
Specifically, the following Macs are compatible with OS X El Capitan. However, just because a Mac runs OS X El Capitan does not mean that it is compatible with all features, most notably the new "Metal" graphics performance technology.
Supported Mac |
Subfamily |
Model ID |
Mid-2007 |
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Mid-2007 |
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Mid-2007 |
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Mid-2007 |
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Early 2008 |
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Early 2008 |
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Early 2008 |
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Early 2008 |
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Early 2009 |
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Early 2009 |
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Early 2009 |
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Early 2009 |
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Mid-2009 (Edu) |
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Mid-2009 (Edu) |
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Late 2009 |
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Late 2009 |
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Late 2009 |
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Late 2009 |
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Late 2009 |
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Late 2009 |
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Mid-2010 |
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Mid-2010 |
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Mid-2010 |
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Mid-2010 |
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Mid-2010 |
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Mid-2010 |
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Mid-2010 |
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Mid-2011 |
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Mid-2011 |
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Mid-2011 |
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Mid-2011 |
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Mid-2011 |
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Mid-2011 |
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Late 2011 (Edu) |
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Late 2012 |
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Late 2012 |
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Late 2012 |
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Late 2012 |
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Late 2012 |
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Late 2012 |
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Early 2013 (Edu) |
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Late 2013 |
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Late 2013 |
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Late 2013 |
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Late 2013 |
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Late 2013 |
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Late 2013 |
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Mid-2014 |
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Late 2014 |
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Late 2014 |
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Mid-2015 |
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Late 2008 Aluminum |
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Late 2008 Aluminum |
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Early 2009 |
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Mid-2009 |
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Late 2009 |
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Mid-2010 |
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Early 2015 |
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Early 2015 |
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Early 2015 |
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Late 2008 |
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Late 2008 |
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Mid-2009 |
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Mid-2009 |
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Late 2010 |
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Late 2010 |
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Late 2010 |
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Late 2010 |
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Mid-2011 |
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Mid-2011 |
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Mid-2011 |
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Mid-2011 |
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Mid-2011 |
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Mid-2012 |
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Mid-2012 |
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Mid-2012 |
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Mid-2012 |
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Mid-2013 |
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Mid-2013 |
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Mid-2013 |
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Mid-2013 |
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Early 2014 |
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Early 2014 |
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Early 2014 |
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Early 2014 |
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Early 2015 |
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Early 2015 |
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Early 2015 |
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Early 2015 |
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Mid/Late 2007, 2.4/2.2GHz |
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Mid/Late 2007, 2.4/2.2GHz |
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Mid/Late 2007, 2.4/2.2GHz |
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Mid/Late 2007, 2.4GHz |
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Mid/Late 2007, 2.4GHz |
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Early 2008 |
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Early 2008 |
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Early 2008 |
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Early/Late 2008 |
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Early/Late 2008 |
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Late 2008 |
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Late 2008 |
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Late 2008 |
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Early 2009 |
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Early 2009 |
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Late 2008/Early 2009 |
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Late 2008/Early 2009 |
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Mid-2009 13" |
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Mid-2009 13" |
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Mid-2009 15" |
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Mid-2009 15" |
||
Mid-2009 15" |
||
Mid-2009 15" |
||
Mid-2009 17" |
||
Mid-2009 17" |
||
Mid-2010 13" |
||
Mid-2010 13" |
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Mid-2010 15" |
||
Mid-2010 15" |
||
Mid-2010 15" |
||
Mid-2010 15" |
||
Mid-2010 17" |
||
Mid-2010 17" |
||
Mid-2010 17" |
||
Early 2011 13" |
||
Early 2011 13" |
||
Early 2011 15" |
||
Early 2011 15" |
||
Early 2011 15" |
||
Early 2011 17" |
||
Early 2011 17" |
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Late 2011 13" |
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Late 2011 13" |
||
Late 2011 15" |
||
Late 2011 15" |
||
Late 2011 15" |
||
Late 2011 17" |
||
Late 2011 17" |
||
Mid-2012 13" |
||
Mid-2012 13" |
||
Mid-2012 15" |
||
Mid-2012 15" |
||
Mid-2012 15" |
||
Retina Mid-2012 |
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Retina Mid-2012 |
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Retina Mid-2012 |
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Retina Late 2012 |
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Retina Late 2012 |
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Retina Early 2013 |
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Retina Early 2013 |
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Retina Early 2013 |
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Retina Early 2013 |
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Retina Early 2013 |
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Retina Late 2013 13" |
||
Retina Late 2013 13" |
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Retina Late 2013 13" |
||
Retina Late 2013 15" |
||
Retina Late 2013 15" |
||
Retina Late 2013 15" |
||
Retina Late 2013 15" |
||
Retina Late 2013 15" |
||
Retina Mid-2014 13" |
||
Retina Mid-2014 13" |
||
Retina Mid-2014 13" |
||
Retina Mid-2014 15" |
||
Retina Mid-2014 15" |
||
Retina Mid-2014 15" |
||
Retina Mid-2014 15" |
||
Retina Mid-2014 15" |
||
Retina Early 2015 13" |
||
Retina Early 2015 13" |
||
Retina Early 2015 13" |
||
Retina Mid-2015 15" |
||
Retina Mid-2015 15" |
||
Retina Mid-2015 15" |
||
Retina Mid-2015 15" |
||
Retina Mid-2015 15" |
||
Early 2009 |
||
Early 2009 |
||
Late 2009 |
||
Late 2009 |
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Late 2009 |
||
Late 2009 |
||
Mid-2010 |
||
Mid-2010 |
||
Mid-2010 |
||
Mid-2011 |
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Mid-2011 |
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Mid-2011 |
||
Mid-2011 |
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Late 2012 |
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Late 2012 |
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Late 2012 |
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Late 2012 |
||
Late 2012 |
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Late 2014 |
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Late 2014 |
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Late 2014 |
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Late 2014 |
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Early 2008 |
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Early 2008 |
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Early 2008 |
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Early 2008 |
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Early 2009 |
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Early 2009 |
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Early 2009 |
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Early 2009 |
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Early 2009 |
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Early 2009 |
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Mid-2010 |
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Mid-2010 |
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Mid-2010 |
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Mid-2010 |
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Mid-2010 |
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Mid-2010 |
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Server Mid-2010 |
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Server Mid-2010 |
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Server Mid-2010 |
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Server Mid-2010 |
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Server Mid-2010 |
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Server Mid-2010 |
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Mid-2012 |
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Mid-2012 |
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Mid-2012 |
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Mid-2012 |
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Mid-2012 |
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Server Mid-2012 |
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Server Mid-2012 |
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Server Mid-2012 |
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Server Mid-2012 |
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Server Mid-2012 |
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Late 2013 |
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Late 2013 |
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Late 2013 |
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Late 2013 |
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Early 2009 |
||
Early 2009 |
||
Early 2009 |
||
Early 2009 |
If your Mac isn't listed above, and it was released before June 13, 2016, it isn't compatible with OS X El Capitan (10.11).
OS X El Capitan Features Compatibility
All of the above Macs support the operating system interface refinements as well as the updated Safari, Mail, Notes, and Spotlight applications.
However, originally based on analysis of the drivers in the Developers Release of OS X El Capitan from the well respected hacker netkas, it also seemed highly likely that the most major performance related enhancement -- support for the Metal graphics technology -- would be limited to Macs with a "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 4xx and newer, Intel HD 4000 and newer, and AMD HD 7000 and newer" graphics processor.
This analysis was correct for the final release of OS X El Capitan, as well. As a result only these Macs support Metal graphics:
- iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
- MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Mid-2012 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (Mid-2012 or newer)
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013 or newer)
Without the major performance enhancement provided by Metal, it may make less sense to upgrade earlier systems to OS X El Capitan, particularly if there are other trade-offs in terms of third-party application support or hardware compatibility that is important to you.
Support for other major features -- Handoff and Instant Hotspot, AirDrop to iOS, AirDrop Between Macs, AirPlay Mirroring, and Power Nap -- all of which were first introduced with earlier versions of OS X and carry over to OS X El Capitan also varies.
These are the earliest models that support each of these features running OS X El Capitan:
Metal |
Handoff |
AirDrop to iOS |
AirDrop (Mac-to-Mac) |
AirPlay Mirroring |
Power Nap |
|
iMac |
Late 2012 |
Late 2012 |
Late 2012 |
Early 2009 |
Mid-2011 |
Late 2012 |
MacBook |
Early 2015 |
Early 2015 |
Early 2015 |
Late 2008 |
Early 2015 |
Early 2015 |
MacBook Air |
Mid-2012 |
Mid-2012 |
Mid-2012 |
Late 2010 |
Mid-2011 |
Late 2010 |
MacBook Pro |
Mid-2012 |
Mid-2012 |
Mid-2012 |
Late 2008 |
Early 2011 |
Mid-2012 Retina |
Mac mini |
Late 2012 |
Late 2012 |
Late 2012 |
Mid-2010 |
Mid-2011 |
Late 2012 |
Mac Pro |
Late 2013 |
Late 2013 |
Late 2013 |
Early 2009 |
Late 2013 |
Late 2013 |
Xserve |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
Compatibility Summary
Ultimately, the improvements in system and graphics performance alone are welcomed by all who have Macs who can take advantage of the new technology. Some of the feature additions -- like improved Safari, Mail, Notes, and Spotlight -- should be welcomed by most users, too.
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