Here are some things to consider.
New Features Every Fall
Mac owners are used to free operating system upgrades by now.
Every fall, usually in late October, Apple unleashes the newest major version of macOS.
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It can be tempting to see these features and immediately upgrade without a second thought.
All you oughta do isinstall the free update.
Some updates allow you to make better use of the hardware you already own.
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New Problems Every Fall
Every new version of macOS goes through a lengthy beta period.
Even with literally months of testing, problems often persist.
New features may be buggy or not work at all, and some may be missing entirely.
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Be prepared for some unpredictability with each new major macOS release.
When Apple introduced macOS 10.15 Catalina in 2019, support for 32-bit applications was dropped entirely.
This affected everything from legacy applications to classic games.
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(Half-Life and Half-Life 2 still don’t have native 64-bit versions for macOS, for example.)
While that may be an extreme example, software incompatibility is a real threat.
When Apple changes how macOS works, some older applications may not run at all.
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Others might have their core functionality severely limited.
This will need to be remedied by developers with an update specifically targeting the current macOS release.
Babysitting a buggy system while trying to get work done is not ideal.
Read up on the state of the latest update before you adopt it and all the problems it brings.
You might be ok with taking your chances on a personal Mac used for web browsing and email.
Waiting to update shouldn’t put you at greater risk.
Problems Get Fixed In Time
The good news is that Apple will fix these problems in time.
It may be wiser to sit out the initial upgrade and simply wait.
you’re able to then upgrade at a later date when things are a little more stable.
For example, you might’t run macOS 11 Big Sur on a2021 MacBook Prothat shipped with macOS 12 Monterey.
