How many more Catalina updates?

[Camarillo Brillo]

Now that Big Sur has been unveiled, how many more Catalina updates do you think we're going to get?

I'm still afraid to update past 10.15.3 due to a lot of the stuff I've been seeing here and around the internet.

Are we still getting a 10.15.6? Do you think there will be any updates after that or will that be the end of it?

Disappointing because I feel there are still so many small things that need to be fixed, and I'm afraid that Catalina will get abandoned.

I'll probably jump on Big Sur once it's available and proven to be stable, because Catalina has been so disappointing, and my 16" is not capable of running Mojave... But I hope it's not a bigger nightmare than Catalina was.

I guess I picked a bad time to upgrade. Wishing I saved some money and went with a base model now that I can see the future of the MacBook Pro a little more clearly.

 

[ProTruckDriver]

I'm still afraid to update past 10.15.3 due to a lot of the stuff I've been seeing here and around the internet.

I'm running 10.15.4 without any problems (Luckily) but people have been having problems with 10.15.5 which I'm afraid to update to. They say wait till 10.15.6 is released, if release. I believe I'll wait until "Big Sur" is released to update.

 

[Camarillo Brillo]

Does Apple continue to refine OS versions at all, historically, after the next version has been released? I know that security updates still happen right? Do you think there's any chance of Catalina becoming stable and refined a couple years down the line? Or is it doomed to always be a buggy mess?

I'm just asking based on how they've handled updates historically, if anybody has any input. Like for example, were High Sierra or Mojave always considered stable releases or did that come with time?

 

[richmond62]

I dunno: I'm running 10.15.6 beta 2 without so much as a backward glance. I suppose that, being on the beta thingy MacOS 11.0 beta something-or-other will come my way in July . . . if it does, I',,upgrade: f it doesn't, well probably not worth losing any sleep over.

 

[mikzn]

^^^^^^
I second that - have been on 1015.6 beta 2 for a few weeks all good here too

 

[kohlson]

IIRC, for the past several releases X.6 is the last version of that release. Security Updates continue for an additional 2 years.
IMHO, each release seems to have its own "personality" wrt stability and performance (whenever that means...). I think Mojave was one of the most reliable OSs in years. 10.12 and 10.13 were not so much. But I think this depends on the hardware you have, and the apps you run.

 

[Taz Mangus]

10.15.6 is coming and there could be one more after that before 11.0 GM is released.

 

[mcnallym]

Based on recent trend and the annual OS release then they tend to taper out at the 10.x.6 release.

Whilst there are updates then is unusual now with the annual release to get a 10.x.7 once the new OS out.

So I would say expect a 10.15.6 to be the final Catalina and then several years of updates on 10.15.6 till Catalina dropped. Is roughly a point release every 2 months

I am running 10.15.5 happily on my hackintosh and also my mm2018. However my mm is an iTunes server headless and my hackintosh used for home video, so ripit. handbrake, makemkv, iFlicks and FCP X, so nothing strange or extensive on that list. Even the update from 10.15.4 to 10.15.5 on my hack went smoothly. Others had to do re-installs/restore backups.

Intel support will still be here for awhile even if doesn't get more then 2-3 new OS, there are supposedly new Intel based Macs coming still so won't be as if your Intel Mac suddenly going to stop working. So I wouldn't worry about your mbp too much.

 

[ProTruckDriver]

I updated to 10.15.5 yesterday morning and running without any problems (knock on wood).

 

[pdxplm]

I've been on 10.15.5 since it came out. No issues whatsoever. I'm excited about Big Sur but hope it isn't as buggy as Catalina was. The whole Apple Silicon chip future is exciting and hopeful that the OS's have much more quality control.

 

[StellarVixen]

As with any other Mac OS recently. 1 year of support and 2 years of security updates. So, 3 years per Mac OS version. Which is quite a lot. And gives a lot of time for those who are reluctant about 11.0 and ARM to think about it.