OS X Mavericks (version 10.9) is the 10th major release of

macOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

desktop A desktop traditionally refers to: * The surface of a desk (often to distinguish office appliances that fit on a desk, such as photocopiers and printers, from larger equipment covering its own area on the floor) Desktop may refer to various compu ...

and

server Server may refer to: Computing *Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides requested information for other programs or devices, called clients. Role * Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending custome ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

for

Macintosh Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup inclu ...

computers. OS X Mavericks was announced on June 10, 2013, at WWDC 2013, and was released on October 22, 2013, worldwide. It was also the last version to use a mostly skeuomorphic design; the next release,

OS X Yosemite OS X Yosemite ( ; version 10.10) is the eleventh major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. OS X Yosemite was announced and released to developers on June 2, 2014, at WWDC 2014 and re ...

, featured a redesign of the user interface appearance. It was also the first version of macOS to be offered only on the App Store, rather than on a physical disk. The update emphasized battery life, Finder improvements, other improvements for

power user A power user is a user of computers, software and other electronic devices who uses advanced features of computer hardware, operating systems, programs, or websites which are not used by the average user. A power user might not have extensive tech ...

s, and increased

iCloud iCloud is the personal cloud service of Apple Inc. Launched on October 12, 2011, iCloud enables users to store and Data synchronization, sync data across devices, including Apple Mail, Calendar (Apple), Apple Calendar, Photos (Apple), Apple Ph ...

integration, as well as bringing more of Apple's

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

apps to OS X. Mavericks was named after the surfing location in

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

. It also removed some of the skeuomorphic designs from

OS X Mountain Lion OS X Mountain Lion (version 10.8) is the ninth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. OS X Mountain Lion was released on July 25, 2012, for purchase and download through the Mac App S ...

, and it is the final version of macOS that features the Lucida Grande typeface as the standard system font since

Mac OS X Public Beta Mac OS X Public Beta (internally code named "Kodiak") was the first publicly available version of Apple Inc., Apple Computer's macOS, Mac OS X (now named macOS) operating system to feature the Aqua (user interface), Aqua user interface. It was ...

in 2000. Mavericks was the first OS X release to be named after a location in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and the first to be a free upgrade since Mac OS X 10.1 Puma.

History

Apple announced OS X Mavericks on June 10, 2013, during the company's

Apple Worldwide Developers Conference The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an information technology conference held annually by Apple Inc. The conference is currently held at Apple Park in California. The event is used to showcase new software and technologies in the macO ...

(WWDC) keynote (which also introduced

iOS 7 iOS 7 is the seventh major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 6. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10, 2013, and was released on September 18 ...

, a revised

MacBook Air The MacBook Air is a line of Mac (computer), Mac laptop computers developed and manufactured by Apple Inc., Apple since 2008. It features a thin, light structure in a machining, machined aluminum case and currently either a 13-inch or 15-inch ...

, the sixth-generation AirPort Extreme, the fifth-generation AirPort Time Capsule, and a redesigned

Mac Pro Mac Pro is a series of workstations and servers for professionals made by Apple Inc. since 2006. The Mac Pro, by some performance benchmarks, is the most powerful computer that Apple offers. It is one of four desktop computers in the current ...

). During a keynote on October 22, 2013, Apple announced that the official release of 10.9 on the Mac App Store would be available immediately, and that unlike previous versions of OS X, 10.9 would be available at no charge to all users running Snow Leopard (10.6.8) or later. On October 22, 2013, Apple offered free upgrades for life on OS X and

iWork iWork is an office suite of applications created by Apple Inc., Apple for its macOS, iPadOS, and iOS operating systems, and also available cross-platform through the iCloud website. iWork includes the presentation program, presentation applicat ...

System requirements

All the Macs supporting OS X Mountain Lion support OS X Mavericks. As with Mountain Lion, 2 GB of RAM, 8 GB of available storage, and

Mac OS X Snow Leopard Mac OS X Snow Leopard (version 10.6) (also referred to as OS X Snow Leopard) is the seventh major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Snow Leopard was publicly unveiled on June 8, 2009, at A ...

or later are required. Mavericks and later versions are all available for free. The full list of compatible models: *

iMac The iMac is a series of all-in-one computers from Apple Inc., sold as part of the company's Mac (computer), Mac family of computers. First introduced in 1998, it has remained a primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since and evol ...

(Mid 2007 or later) *

MacBook MacBook is a type of Mac laptop computer that is developed and marketed by Apple that use Apple's macOS operating system since 2006. The MacBook brand replaced the PowerBook and iBook brands during the Mac transition to Intel processors, ann ...

(Aluminum, Late 2008 or later) *

(Late 2008 or later) *

MacBook Pro The MacBook Pro is a line of Mac laptop computers developed and manufactured by Apple. Introduced in 2006, it is the high-end sibling of the MacBook family, sitting above the ultra-portable MacBook Air and previously the low-end MacBook li ...

(Mid 2007 or later) *

Mac Mini Mac Mini (stylized as Mac mini) is a small form factor (desktop and motherboard), small form factor desktop computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is one of the company's four current Mac (computer), Mac desktop computers, positioned ...

(Early 2009 or later) *

(Early 2008 or later) *

Xserve The Xserve is a discontinued series of rack-mounted servers that was manufactured by Apple Inc. between 2002 and 2011. It was Apple's first rack-mounted server, and could function as a file server, web server or run high-performance computing ...

(Early 2009)

System features

The menu bar and the

Dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...

are available on each display. Additionally, AirPlay compatible displays such as the

Apple TV Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...

can be used as an external display.

Mission Control A mission control center (MCC, sometimes called a flight control center or operations center) is a facility that manages space flights, usually from the point of launch until landing or the end of the mission. It is part of the ground segment ...

has been updated to organize and switch between Desktop workspaces independently between multiple displays. OS X Mavericks introduced App Nap, which sleeps apps that are not currently visible. Any app running on Mavericks can be eligible for this feature by default. Compressed Memory is a virtual memory compression system which automatically compresses data from inactive apps when approaching maximum

memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembe ...

capacity.

Timer coalescing Timer coalescing is a computer system energy-saving technique that reduces central processing unit (CPU) power consumption by reducing the precision of software timers used for synchronization of process wake-ups, minimizing the number of times t ...

is a feature that enhances energy efficiency by reducing

CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor, or just processor, is the primary processor in a given computer. Its electronic circuitry executes instructions of a computer program, such as arithmetic, log ...

usage by up to 72 percent. This allows MacBooks to run for longer periods of time and desktop Macs to run cooler. Apple now supports OpenGL 4.1 Core Profile and

OpenCL OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is a software framework, framework for writing programs that execute across heterogeneous computing, heterogeneous platforms consisting of central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), di ...

1.2.

Server Message Block Server Message Block (SMB) is a communication protocol used to share files, printers, serial ports, and miscellaneous communications between nodes on a network. On Microsoft Windows, the SMB implementation consists of two vaguely named Windows ...

version 2 (SMB2) is now the default protocol for sharing files, rather than AFP. This is to increase performance and cross-platform compatibility. Some skeuomorphs, such as the leather texture in Calendar, the legal pad theme of Notes, and the book-like appearance of Contacts, have been removed from the UI and replaced with

flat design Flat design is a minimalist design language or design style commonly used in graphical user interfaces (GUI) (such as web applications and mobile apps), and also in graphical materials such as posters, arts, guide documents and publishing prod ...

similar to

. iCloud Keychain stores a user's usernames, passwords and Wi-Fi passwords to allow the user to fill this information into forms when needed. The system has native

LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented Social networking service, social network. It was launched on May 5, 2003 by Reid Hoffman and Eric Ly. Since December 2016, LinkedIn has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft. ...

sharing integration. IPoTB (Internet Protocol over Thunderbolt Bridge)

Thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hel ...

networking is supported in Mavericks. This feature allows the user to quickly transfer a large amount of data between two Macs.

Notification Center Notification Center is a feature in iOS, iPadOS, macOS and watchOS that provides an overview of alerts from applications. It displays notifications until the user completes an associated action, rather than requiring instant resolution. User ...

allows the user to reply to notifications instantly, allows websites to send notifications, and, when the user wakes up a Mac that was in a sleep state, displays a summary of missed notifications before the machine is unlocked. Some system alerts, such as low battery, removal of drives without ejecting, and a failed Time Machine backup have been moved to

. The "traffic light" close, minimize, and maximize

window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent ma ...

buttons have appeared somewhat brighter than

OS X Lion OS X Lion, also known as Mac OS X Lion, (version 10.7) is the eighth major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Mac computers. A preview of OS X 10.7 Lion was publicly shown at the "Back to the Mac" Apple Speci ...

and OS X Mountain Lion.

App features

Finder gets enhancements such as tabs, full-screen support, and document tags. Pinch-to-zoom and swipe-to-navigate-history gestures have been removed, although both are supported anywhere else. The new iBooks application allows the user to read books purchased through the iBooks Store. The app also allows the user to purchase new content from the iBooks Store, and a night mode to make it easier to read in dark environments. The new

Maps A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...

application adds the same functionalities that were featured in

Maps. Among these new features is the capability to search directions for driving and walking, report problems in the Maps application, and viewing street addresses to Maps via the Contacts application. The

Calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...

app has enhancements such as being able to add

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

events, view the map of a specified location, and an estimate for the travel time to an event. The

Safari A safari (; originally ) is an overland journey to observe wildlife, wild animals, especially in East Africa. The so-called big five game, "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, African leopard, leopard, rhinoceros, African elephant, elep ...

browser has a significantly enhanced JavaScript performance which Apple claims is faster than Chrome and

Firefox Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements curr ...

. A Top Sites view allows the user to quickly access the most viewed sites by default. However, the user can pin or remove websites from the view. The sidebar now allows the user to view their bookmarks, reading list and shared links. Safari can also auto-generate random passwords and remember them through iCloud Keychain. Additional changes were made to the messaging system.

FaceTime FaceTime is a proprietary videotelephony product developed by Apple. FaceTime is available on supported iOS mobile devices running iOS 4 and later and Mac computers that run and later. FaceTime supports any iOS device with a forward-facin ...

is updated so that the user no longer needs to enable camera, in a similar manner to FaceTime in iOS 7. OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 added the option to block users in

iMessage iMessage is an instant messaging service developed by Apple Inc. and launched in 2011. iMessage functions exclusively on Apple platforms – including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS – as part of Apple ecosystem, Apple's approach t ...

Removed functionality

The

Open Transport Open Transport was the name given by Apple Inc. to its implementation of the Unix-originated UNIX System V, System V STREAMS networking stack. Based on code licensed from Mentat's Mentat Portable Streams, Portable Streams product, Open Transport w ...

API has been removed. USB syncing of calendar, contacts and other information to iOS devices has been removed, instead requiring the use of iCloud.

QuickTime QuickTime (or QuickTime Player) is an extensible multimedia architecture created by Apple, which supports playing, streaming, encoding, and transcoding a variety of digital media formats. The term ''QuickTime'' also refers to the QuickTime Pla ...

10 no longer supports many older video codecs and converts them to the ProRes format when opened. Older video codecs cannot be viewed in Quick Look. Apple also removed the ability to sync mobile iCloud Notes if iOS devices were upgraded from iOS 8 to iOS 9, effectively forcing all Mavericks users to update or upgrade their computers.

Reception

OS X Mavericks has received mixed reviews. One complaint is that Apple removed the local sync services, which forces users to get iCloud to sync iOS devices with the desktop OS. However, this feature has since returned in the 10.9.3 and

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

11.2 updates. The Verge stated that OS X Mavericks was "a gentle evolution of the Mac operating system". CNET generalized OS X Mavericks as a "solid foundation" to OS X, lacking new features but praised it as a free update that incorporates additional iOS features. Criticism was brought to the insufficient updates to existing applications.

Release history

Timeline

References

{{Authority control 9 Products and services discontinued in 2016 X86-64 operating systems 2013 software