With macOS version 14, called macOS Sonoma, Apple is adding a host of great new features like desktop widgets, new video conferencing features, Game Mode, new privacy and security features, and much more. But if your Mac is older than five years old, you probably won’t even be able to run it.
Apple ended support for a lot of older Macs with the update to macOS Ventura, and with Sonoma, a few of the 2017 models are on the chopping block.
Can my Mac run macOS Sonoma?
These are the Macs on which you’ll be able to run macOS Sonoma.
- iMac from 2019 and later
- Mac Pro from 2019 and later
- iMac Pro from 2017
- Mac Studio from 2022 and later
- MacBook Air from 2018 and later
- Mac mini from 2018 and later
- MacBook Pro from 2018 and later
The list is very similar to that for macOS Ventura, but while that version supported iMacs and MacBooks from 2017, only the iMac Pro from that year is supported by macOS Sonoma.
Some macOS Sonoma features require newer Macs
While the list of Macs supported by macOS Sonoma extends back five years, a few features require newer hardware. The Presenter Overlay video conferencing feature requires a Mac with Apple Silicon. Hand reactions requires using either the built-in camera on a Mac with Apple Silicon, or any Mac when using Continuity Camera with an iPhone 12 or later.
Author: Jason Cross, Senior Editor
I have written about technology for my entire professional life - over 25 years. I enjoy learning about how complicated technology works and explaining it in a way anyone can understand.