Should I upgrade to Ventura?

[bigscreen]

My iMAC 27 inch (2017) has been running 32 bit Mojave 10.14.6 very reliably.
The system keeps prompting me to upgrade to Ventura 13.2.1.
I have now ensured that all applications I use have been upgraded to 64 bit versions so I wonder what effects I would get by upgrading to Ventura 13.2.1 .
In short, what substantial benefits (or risks) do I need to understand or should I stay where I am.

 

[IWT]

Great question, but you know a lot depends on your day to day needs. Going from macOS Mojave to Ventura is a big jump.

Before you consider doing this, make sure you have at least a Time Machine backup(s) and maybe a cloned backup...........

And ask yourself - what is it you want from your Mac? Will you need or use the "extras" that Ventura undoubtedly brings.

Anyhow, here's some links discussing the merits etc:

Should You Upgrade to macOS Ventura? Here's How to Decide

Apple's macOS Ventura update may have all the bells and whistles to tempt you to upgrade, but should you? Let's find out.

www.makeuseof.com

Should I Upgrade MacBook to macOS Ventura from Monterey?

Upgrade to macOS Ventura on your MacBook Pro for enhanced performance & new features. Follow our guide for a smooth upgrade process.

www.macbookproslow.com

Ian

 

[pm-r]

so I wonder what effects I would get by upgrading to Ventura 13.2.1 .
In short, what substantial benefits (or risks) do I need to understand or should I stay where I am.

If everything is working well for you now with your current system, why bother upgrading as they seem to call the process.
And that includes your printers and scanners and any other peripherals you use.

Have a look at the new features of the new OS and see if you actually need any of them or could use them.

From what I have read it seems that Apple's Mohave was a very good stable macOS.

I can't say I have got the same impression from those switching up to Ventura except for the odd exception.

Regardless if you go that route, I would suggest making a separate bootable clone of your Mojave OS you could use to go back to if you wanted or needed to.



- Patrick
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[Rod]

"Regardless if you go that route, I would suggest making a separate bootable clone of your Mojave OS you could use to go back to if you wanted or needed to." Really good advice that from Patrick. We have had a lot of posts from people over the years wanting to roll back to a previous or older macOS after updating to the current version.
Carbon Copy Cloner (Mac Backup Software | Carbon Copy Cloner | Bombich Software) or SuperDuper (SuperDuper!) will do this for free. Both provide no obligation, free 30 day, fully functional trials so you can make a bootable clone just before upgrading and have plenty of time to decide if you want to keep it.
Doing a general clean up and updating your apps is a great thing to do prior to ugrading to Ventura but do bear in mind, as Patrick also mentioned, peripherals like printers. I spent a couple of days searching for drivers for my Epson printer/scanner after upgrading to Ventura, eventually found them on Epson's site in India.

 

[rbpeirce]

I stuck with Mojave for a long time because I had a couple 32-bit apps the developer kept promising to update. I finally gave up and upgraded. It turned out my old computer would only go to Catalina but I had Monterey on an M1 which I upgraded. I'm sort of a basic user and I really haven't noticed any differences. Possibly some Mojave features are gone and certainly Ventura has added new ones but I don't really notice. I did notice that some things like System Settings are different but they still do the same things.

 

[bigscreen]

That is really helpful input, thank you all so much.
Having reviewed, I think I shall stick with Mojave. Looking at the differences I would always welcome security improvements but in my case I think the risks are acceptable, and the other bells and whistles are more about "because you can" rather than constructively necessary. I am such a basic user just browsing, email, occasional images and Pages. It seems I cannot erase the system reminder so I'll just ignore that.
Grateful thanks again for helping.
Richard

 

[pm-r]

It seems I cannot erase the system reminder so I'll just ignore that.

I cannot run those MacOS versions, but that insistent reminder to update can sure be annoying, I don't know what the current situation is but maybe you could let Google help you and see what it can find in some of its hits:

Google Search

Hopefully, there is something there that works.

PS I think you are wise to stay with Mojave as you decided to do.




- Patrick
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[pjhutch]

The biggest downside to stickly with an old version of MacOS is security. Your data is vulnerable to out of date software, if using the internet a lot, old macos' will not be patched for softare with vulnerabilities. Ideally you should not use old MacOS on internet at all, only use newer versions for internet access.

See 5 macOS Vulnerabilities that Shouldn’t Be Overlooked

 

[Rod]

Apart from valid security concerns, bearing in mind that there are workarounds such as ad blocking no tracking browsers, search engines and VPN's there will be comparability issues eventually if you have a lot of other Apple devices. So if you update your iPhone, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Air Tags etc, but not your computer little annoying function issues occur. It's why Apple's immediate response to any connection issue is, "Ensure all devices are updated to the latest OS."

 

[pm-r]

The biggest downside to stickly with an old version of MacOS is security. Your data is vulnerable to out of date software, if using the internet a lot, old macos' will not be patched for softare with vulnerabilities.

It takes several years and several Mac OS versions before security updates are not updated to keep one's Mac OS within proper security standards.
Not forgetting that sometimes it's the brand new OS version that has a security flaw until discovered and patched.




- Patrick
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