Mac (computer)
Software

Macs run the macOS operating system, which is the second most widely used desktop OS according to StatCounter. Macs can also run Windows, Linux, or other operating systems through virtualization, emulation, or multi-booting.

macOS is the successor of the classic Mac OS, which had nine releases between 1984 and 1999. The last version of classic Mac OS, Mac OS 9, was introduced in 1999. Mac OS 9 was succeeded by Mac OS X in 2001. Over the years, Mac OS X was rebranded first to OS X and later to macOS.

macOS is a derivative of NextSTEP and FreeBSD. It uses the XNU kernel, and the core of macOS has been open-sourced as the Darwin operating system. macOS features the Aqua user interface, the Cocoa set of frameworks, and the Objective-C and Swift programming languages. Macs are deeply integrated with other Apple devices, including the iPhone and iPad, through Continuity features like Handoff, Sidecar, Universal Control, and Universal Clipboard.

The first version of Mac OS X, version 10.0, was released in March 2001. Subsequent releases introduced major changes and features to the operating system. 10.4 Tiger added Spotlight search; 10.6 Snow Leopard brought refinements, stability, and full 64-bit support; 10.7 Lion introduced many iPad -inspired features; 10.10 Yosemite introduced a complete user interface revamp, replacing skeuomorphic designs with iOS 7 -esque flat designs; 10.12 Sierra added the Siri voice assistant and Apple File System (APFS) support; 10.14 Mojave added a dark user interface mode; 10.15 Catalina dropped support for 32-bit apps; 11 Big Sur introduced an iOS-inspired redesign of the user interface, 12 Monterey added the Shortcuts app, Low Power Mode, and AirPlay to Mac; and 13 Ventura added Stage Manager, Continuity Camera, and passkeys.

The Mac has a variety of apps available, including cross-platform apps like Google Chrome, Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Cloud, Mathematica, Visual Studio Code, Ableton Live, and Cinema 4D. Apple has also developed several apps for the Mac, including Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, iWork, GarageBand, and iMovie. A large amount of open-source software applications run natively on macOS, such as LibreOffice, VLC, and GIMP, and command-line programs, which can be installed through Macports and Homebrew. Many applications for Linux or BSD also run on macOS, often using X11. Apple's official integrated development environment (IDE) is Xcode, allowing developers to create apps for the Mac and other Apple platforms.

The latest release of macOS is macOS 14 Sonoma, released on September 26, 2023.
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