How to Download and Install macOS 10.15 on Mac

Elise Williams

2023-08-25 18:55:14 • Filed to: macOS 10.15 • Proven solutions

On August 28th, Apple introduced the new operating system, macOS 10.15, or as they call it, Catalina. No more iTunes, cross-platform app support for third-party apps, new features, new iPad as a second screen functionality, and much more. With so many changes, we can expect you are eager to download the new operating system and start using it. Right? Well, here is a guide on how to download and install macOS 10.15 and get the latest macOS on your device.

How to Download and Install macOS 10.15

Back up Your Mac Before Download and Install macOS 10.15

Every operating system released by Apple goes through extensive testing before it is ready for its customers. Regardless, no matter the test process, there are always small issues with the initial download. That is why you should always back up your Mac before upgrading to the latest version.

You do not want the worst to happen to you. It might seem impossible, but your hard drive might fail, you might lose some important photos, or even the worst, accidentally delete an invaluable file. Well, all of that can be prevented with a backup. Before you download and install macOS 10.15, back up your current version.

The good news is that Apple makes it very easy to back up your Mac. You can do it using Time Machine, the official software by Apple for backing up your Mac. It comes with every Mac. The app makes a copy of everything on your Mac, and it does it on an hourly basis for the last 24 hours. You can use Time Machine for monthly, weekly, or manual backups as well. To use Time Machine, you need a large external storage device and plug it into your Mac, or a NAS drive which you can connect using the same WiFi network. Now, set up the Time Machine using the following guide.

1. Connect a storage drive, be it an external drive or NAS drive to your Mac
2. Make sure to format the storage drive as Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
3. Once the drive is formatted, you will see an alert on your Mac. The alert will ask you if you want to use the drive with your Time Machine application. Click on the option "Use as Backup Disk"
4. If there is no alert, you can start Time Machine manually by going to System Preferences > Time Machine > Time Machine Preferences. Click Backup disk, and select the storage device you want to use
5. If you like, you can choose to encrypt the backups for extra safety
6. Time Machine makes hourly backups, but you can do a manual one as well. To back up your Mac before you download macOS 10.15, click the Time Machine icon, and then choose Back Up Now. Alternatively, open System Preferences > Time Machine > Back up Now

Steps to Download and Install macOS 10.15

You are probably eager to start using the latest macOS 10.15 Catalina. But the official version will not be available until late September. Until then, you can try the public beta, which is available for all users. It does not have all of the features of the official version and probably comes with a few bugs. But it is good enough for tying the latest OS by Apple.

Before you can install macOS 10.15 on Mac, you have to check whether your computer is suitable. Or in other words, does your Mac support the new operating system. Simply put, if you already have macOS Mojave installed, you can run the Catalina as well. With that in mind, here is a full list of devices that support the upgrade to macOS 10.15.

All MacBook models from 2015 and beyond
MacBook Air Models from 2012 or later
iMac Pro, all models
MacBook Pro models starting from 2012 and beyond
Mac Mini models starting from 2012 or later
Mac Pro models from late 2013
iMac models from 2012 or later

If your Mac supports Catalina, it is time to download and install macOS 10.15. Here is the guide for that:

1. First thing you need to do is go to the Beta Software program website (https://beta.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/)

2. Sign Up for the beta, or if you already have an account, Sign In. You will need to enter your AppleID to Sign In

3. Scroll down, until you get to the Get Started section. There, click on "Enroll Your Mac"

4. Click to get the macOS 10.15 installer download

5. Open the Downloads folder, and locate the DMG file. Click on it, agree to a few questions, and you can then choose to install the access utility

6. The downloader will ask for your password and enter it once/if requested. After a while, you will see Install Successful

7. Open the Software Update, and locate Catalina beta. It will be ready to download and install. Click on it, and Catalina beta and the download process will start. Usually, it takes up to 30 minutes to download. Once you see "ready to install", stop what you are doing and restart your Mac. The installation will take a while, so get a cup of coffee, wait and enjoy

Best PDF Editor for macOS 10.15 in 2022

Your new and shiny macOS 10.15 will come with a default PDF application, Preview. But with all of its benefits, Preview is limited in what it can do. For more complex PDF tasks and actions, you need a more comprehensive application for managing PDF files.

We present you Wondershare PDFelement - PDF Editor, available in both standard and Pro version. The application is designed with simplicity in mind, just like everything in Apple's operating system is. When you talk about a PDF application, the first thing you ask is what it can do for me. Well, here is a quick list of all of the features of PDFelement.

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