There are several macOS versions (also known as OS X or Mac OS X) and codenames of those releases. Apple recently launched macOS Mojave, the latest version of its desktop operating system. Starting with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion in 2011, Apple has been updating its operating system annually with new codenames and revisions of the same code name. In this article, you can learn about all macOS versions and their codenames from 2005 to the present day.
What is macOS?
macOS is an operating system by Apple that powers Mac computers. It’s available in two major versions: macOS Sierra (for Mac OS 10.12 and later) and OS X El Capitan (for Mac OS 10.11 and earlier). You can also find macOS on other devices like Apple TV, Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The history of macOS goes back to 1984 when Apple released the first Macintosh computer with a new operating system called the Macintosh Operating System (MOS). Before MOS and macOS, Apple used a proprietary operating system called Apple DOS. MOS came with several features including the Macintosh User Interface (UI), Multi-tasking, File System, Hypertext, and Graphical User Interface (GUI).
macOS Versions and Code names
Every macOS operating system is identified by there version number and its unique codename. Here is the list of macOS versions and their code names.
| macOS Version | Codename | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| OS X 10 beta | Kodiak | 13 September 2000 |
| OS X 10.0 | Cheetah | 24 March 2001 |
| OS X 10.1 | Puma | 25 September 2001 |
| OS X 10.2 | Jaguar | 24 August 2002 |
| OS X 10.3 | Panther | 24 October 2003 |
| OS X 10.4 | Tiger | 29 April 2005 |
| OS X 10.5 | Leopard | 26 October 2007 |
| OS X 10.6 | Snow Leopard | 28 August 2009 |
| OS X 10.7 | Lion | 20 July 2011 |
| OS X 10.8 | Mountain Lion | 25 July 2012 |
| OS X 10.9 | Mavericks | 22 October 2013 |
| OS X 10.10 | Yosemite | 16 October 2014 |
| OS X 10.11 | El Capitan | 30 September 2015 |
| macOS 10.12 | Sierra | 20 September 2016 |
| macOS 10.13 | High Sierra | 25 September 2017 |
| macOS 10.14 | Mojave | 24 September 2018 |
| macOS 10.15 | Catalina | 07 October 2019 |
| macOS 11 | Big Sur | 12 November 2020 |
| macOS 12 | Monterey | 25 October 2021 |
| macOS 13 | Ventura | 24 October 2022 |
| macOS 14 | Sonoma | 26 September 2023 |
Conclusion
The macOS is a powerful operating system with many new features added with every new version. If you are planning to buy a new computer and want to install macOS, check the macOS version and codename of your computer before purchasing it.
In this article, you can learn about all macOS versions and their codenames from 2000 to the present day. The history of macOS goes back to 1984 when Apple released the first Macintosh computer with a new operating system called the Macintosh Operating System (MOS).
