Anyone done this, how is performance? Does it work better than Catalina?
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Big Sur performance on Mid 2014 MacBook Pro Retina?
- Thread starter Risco
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It's really time to buy a new MacBook Pro. Your laptop is ancient, and you probably won't be getting any new versions of macOS after Big Sur anyway.
I have a 2014 MacBook Pro, works great, no need for a new laptop. Nothing is laggy for me at all. Both Catalina and Big Sur seem similar in speed, no issues.
Plus, really dumb to get a new laptop right now even if I needed one - best to wait for the new Mac ARM laptops in 2021.
Big Sur has a few annoying bugs like:
(a) clicking on a bluetooth device in the top menubar to see its information actually disconnects the device.
(b) the top menu bar blinks multiple times a second sometimes for minutes on end. Annoying. So I made it only come up when I hover up to the top of the screen.
(c) Dock sometimes duplicates last chosen application on bottom right
Other than those bugs, nothing is really 'new' yet.
Plus, really dumb to get a new laptop right now even if I needed one - best to wait for the new Mac ARM laptops in 2021.
Big Sur has a few annoying bugs like:
(a) clicking on a bluetooth device in the top menubar to see its information actually disconnects the device.
(b) the top menu bar blinks multiple times a second sometimes for minutes on end. Annoying. So I made it only come up when I hover up to the top of the screen.
(c) Dock sometimes duplicates last chosen application on bottom right
Other than those bugs, nothing is really 'new' yet.
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I wholeheartedly disagree. The 2014 15" MacBook Pro is nearly identical to the 2015 model excluding the dedicated GPU, and many still recommend that laptop as a used option today. Both are solid devices. As long as it is performing to the needs of @Risco , why upgrade? The 2014/2015 MacBook Pro is able to handle general tasks (Office, Web browsing) with ease, retouching and graphic design using Photoshop/Illustrator comfortably, and 1080P (even 4K with a proxy workflow) video editing using Final Cut Pro competently.
On the topic of software support. I believe the 2014/2015 MacBook Pros will get one more update past Big Sur. You also have to consider that each macOS release gets 2 years of security and bug fixes. If the 2014/2015 models unfortunately stop with Big Sur, they will be supported by patches until 2022. If my predictions are right, possibly 2023 with one more release of macOS. Also, once you stop receiving updates to macOS, your mac doesn't suddenly stop working, but Security and App support is a definite concern past that point.
As far as the performance of the 2014 MacBook Pro on Big Sur, it's hard to judge that currently. There are still kinks to work out with Big Sur, but I'm sure others that have updated their 2014/2015's can chime in. My 2018 MacBook Pro will sometimes lag on Big Sur which isn't unexpected with a Beta macOS release that's quite different from the last version. Once it's officially out, you'll get a better idea of how it performs. Also, you can create a separate partition and install Big Sur before you decide to update your Catalina install.
Thanks, you are right that I find my MacBook more than enough for my needs right now. I held off getting a new one because of the issues with the butterfly keyboard. Also as mentioned there are new ARM laptops coming, this is the road I will be going down as it’s more future proof. Not so sure I would get another 6 years though!
I think I will look at installing in a separate partition for testing.
My 2014 MBP is working just fine on Big Sur, yeah it is a bit ancient, but it is a fact that the difference to a newer laptop is not as big as it should have been. I don't have the Airdrop problem as mentioned above, but bluetooth is sometimes erratic, as well as continuity seem to be on and off sometimes. Maybe for same reason. And having MagSafe, full-size HDMI, SDCARD and USBA is great.
I have a Macbook Pro 2014 and actually it is the base / student model with only 2.6ghz i5 and 8gb of RAM, (catalina) and it works flawlessly for regular stuff like email, web, writing and even very good for Pixelmator, Photoshop and others. I used new Pros and yes they feel faster and fancier but it’s not such a big difference. Second generation ARM macbooks are what I would get next.
I’m amazed everyday that this is a 6.5 year old machine. Looking forward to Big Sur based on other comments.
I’m amazed everyday that this is a 6.5 year old machine. Looking forward to Big Sur based on other comments.
technically many 2014 were built in 2015, you can get actual built date with.. i don't remember how
Another satisfied MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014) user here. I could get a new one any time I want, but why? Better to hold on to your money in uncertain times like these. Everything works great, keyboard is like butter, still like the Retina display. I do have to use Duet for using an iPad as a second monitor, but TBH it's less buggy than Sidecar which I use on a newer iMac at work. I did have to replace the battery once, which is going to be true of any laptop of this age, and I upgraded to a larger SSD.
I have a 2014 MBP running High Sierra and don't need a new laptop. Thinking about getting a new MBP with maxed out RAM though so I can run Intel Mac OS for as long as possible and try to run VMs of older versions of Mac OS X.
Waiting to see if Apple will refresh the 16" Intel rMBP one last time.
The ARM laptops can't run x86 Windows, not even in a VM. If I get a Mac laptop with Apple Silicon I may have to start carrying around two laptops which would be a pain.
How's life nowadays with 2014 MBP13 and Big Sur with the latest updates? I'm mostly interested about thermals and battery life. I'm still using Catalina without any issues, but there's one app that requires macOS 11 -> for iCloud sync so thinking of updating.
I'm typing this on a mid-2014 15" MBP running Big Sur. This thing is built like a tank and has taken an impressive 8 years of almost daily abuse. Over the years I've had to replace the battery (which is understandable), and I replaced the original 256 GB SSD with one with 1 TB. The left speaker doesn't work anymore, but I don't care as I have my AirPods.
Overall, great machine. I take care of it & keep it clean, and I'll keep trucking along with it for as long as it lives.
Overall, great machine. I take care of it & keep it clean, and I'll keep trucking along with it for as long as it lives.
update on this, with big sur it is almost totally unusable nowI have a Macbook Pro 2014 and actually it is the base / student model with only 2.6ghz i5 and 8gb of RAM, (catalina) and it works flawlessly for regular stuff like email, web, writing and even very good for Pixelmator, Photoshop and others. I used new Pros and yes they feel faster and fancier but it’s not such a big difference. Second generation ARM macbooks are what I would get next.
I’m amazed everyday that this is a 6.5 year old machine. Looking forward to Big Sur based on other comments.
Late to the party and looking to update my Mac (13 inch retina display, mid 2014, currently on Mojave with 2.6ghz i5 and 8gb of ram as well). How is it unusable now/ what happened?
I'm looking to update because some of the stuff I use for software development don't play nice with my current OS anymore
Oh NO!
I just spent 80US$ on a battery for an older MacBook and an "Air" no lees.
this one is for a 2010 (they did not have TikTok way back then) MacBook Air with oly
4GB of RAM, which is enough just to power the bezel-infested dinosaur at time.
I should hav used the cash on psychiatric help or at a bar!
After years and years with PowerBooks, I recently picked up a mid-2014 MBPro, 2.8GHz i7, 16GB, 512GB SSD. Running Big Sur 11.7.4 (Apple still making security updates), it's working great, very smooth with several different web browsers running simultaneously (for different purposes, along with many tabs). Should serve me well for some years to come yet, though my computing needs do not include intensive video processing (but Zoom works well).
Sorry for bringing an old topic back, but are there reports on performances with BigSur on iMac 21,5 mid 2014 (i5 1,6ghz, 8gb ram)? My cousin has Sierra and should update for studying reasons, but I don't know if it's better to stay conservative (from Sierra to High Sierra) or go to the latest and greatest available
Maybe Catalina is better for him. Still a solid system and much modern that Sierra and High Sierra (it hurts say this because i love High Sierra). Also, it works a lot better with Intel Processors than ARM systems like Big Sur.
It's supported by browsers, not like High Sierra/Mojave