This includes almost every Intel-powered Mac except for the earliest Mac Minis and MacBook Pros. If your computer does not feature an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3/i5/i7, or Xeon CPU, it will not run OS X Lion. With the update from 10.6 to 10.7, Apple has deprecated any hardware older than 2006 - possibly in an effort to force upgrades, or perhaps just to ensure that OS X remains a smooth, Jobsian experience. Make sure your hardware will support OS X Lion There are a lot of compatible apps, and a large number of apps that haven't yet been tested - but most importantly, there are tons of apps that are incompatible with OS X Lion (Opens in a new window).įor the most part, if one of your applications is marked as 'incompatible' there isn't much you can do except wait for an update from the developer.Ģ. Make sure that your installed applications will work after the upgrade RoaringApps (Opens in a new window) is a community-powered site that has been testing application compatibility for OS X Lion over the last few months using the beta and final, golden master builds. In some cases, application developers only need to release a new version of the installer - but in other cases, installed software will simply refuse to run under OS X Lion until an updated version is released.īefore you install Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, make sure you run through this list of preparatory precautions:ġ. The version number might have only shifted from 10.6 to 10.7, but in actual fact it's more like the change from Vista to Windows 7 - they look much the same, but there are under-the-hood changes that can cause incompatibilities and instabilities with your current applications. Unlike Windows service packs or other applications that undergo minor version number bumps, like Chrome or Photoshop, OS X revisions are generally major overhauls that break functionality that some apps rely on. Before you fork over your $30 for an upgrade license (Opens in a new window), however, be warned that Apple's OS X updates tend to break some applications - and in the case of Lion, which deprecates some older Apple machines, you even need to make sure your hardware is supported before you run the installation.

Apple has loosed the Lion update unto the world and into the hands of feverish, excited Mac fans.

Os x lion update