Almost everyone else is going to want to wait just a little while for some key app updates. If you like tinkering, or you have one of those spells where you aren’t under deadlines or gigging, you might want to update. Of course, these same graphics optimizations and so on mean, crucially, some older apps will have problems, and some key software is going to need updates. (Anyone remember that old Apple slogan about upgrading being like “getting a whole new Mac.” Yeah. (Hint: wearing tin foil on your head won’t control the urge to buy a new Retina MacBook, either.) The new OS makes it easier to update from older versions, supports a wide range of hardware back to 2007 (see Macworld’s guide, below), and improves battery life and graphics performance on older machines. I also think the focus of this update blows holes in the oft-repeated gripe that Apple uses OS updates to obsolete old hardware. Some OS X developers had been using outdated APIs for graphics support part of the idea of Mavericks is to modernize the use of OpenGL even on integrated graphics (as found on the mini and more affordable MacBooks). And in some sense, that’s kind of good news. So far, most reliability problems with apps have been in this area. We’ll need to do more testing, and as always it’s worth keeping your Mac plugged into power for optimal performance, but so far we’ve seen no reported problems.) That means the main area of interest is Apple’s extensive optimization of the graphics systems. (Presumably, it isn’t getting aggressive with apps using the audio system. The impact of App Nap, a new power-saving feature, appears to be negligible. That’s the advice for OS X Mavericks as it would be for any big update to OS X, Windows, Linux, and now even iOS.īut with that disclaimer, OS X Mavericks is so far looking like an uncommonly smooth release. The usual advice applies: if you’re thinking of rushing to update to a major new OS, and you’re a musician, take your time.

Mavericks os x