Patience is a virtue
Dr. Mac columnist Bob LeVitus says don’t rush on installing a new operating system.
It seems I have to write a column like this every year, and this year I dedicate it to the perfect storm of four new Apple operating systems available or coming soon: macOS 10.13 High Sierra; iOS 11; tvOS 11; and watchOS 4.
Here’s my curmudgeonly advice: As much as you might want to try the shiny new features, don’t rush to install a new version of an operating system on a device you wish to use today.
See, installing a new OS is like performing a brain transplant: It replaces pretty much all of the vital software parts that bring your Apple device to life. Without an OS, your Mac, iPhone, iPad, AppleTV or Apple Watch isn’t much more than a pile of components that are dumber than a toaster.
Replacing the entire operating system at once is an operation fraught with opportunities for things to quickly go to heck in a handbasket. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. When it does, you can pretty much count on spending a few hours trying to get back to work.
Another thing to consider is the impact an OS upgrade will have on your third-party hardware and software. For example, High Sierra will support only versions 15.35 and later of Microsoft Office. So, if you’re still using Office 2011, as many of you (including my wife) still are, you’ll either have to downgrade macOS or pay for a newer version of Office.
So, before you upgrade to macOS 10.13 High Sierra, might I suggest you make sure your favorite apps and utilities are going to work. The best place to start is the crowd-sourced application-compatibility website RoaringApps. com, which already offers High Sierra compatibility information for thousands of Mac apps.
It may be even more of a problem with iOS 11, which no longer supports 32-bit applications. On my iPhone that resulted in more than 50 apps that are incompatible and have no updates available. While they are mostly older apps I won’t miss much, there are a few — like Trivial Pursuit, You Don’t Know Jack, XLR8, Capo and WordsWorth — I’m going to miss a lot.
To find out which of your iOS apps will cease to function after you upgrade to iOS 11, launch the Settings app and tap General About Applications to see a list of incompatible 32-bit apps (requires iOS 10.3 or later).
I recommend you not install any OS upgrade the first time you see it. Rather, think it through and proceed with caution. Don’t forget to make one or more backups, just in case, and do your homework by scouring the internet for appropriate phrases like, “macOS High Sierra issues” or “iOS 11 problems.”
One last thing: Don’t forget that it’s always much harder to downgrade than it is to upgrade, so think before you click OK.