macOS Ventura Release Version — Should You Upgrade?
You’d better wait. And I’ll tell you why. UPDATE: read below
UPDATE Dec 14, 2023:
Apple released macOS 13.1 yesterday, and I definitely recommend updating if you’re already running macOS Ventura. It brings a number of bug fixes and stability improvements. After this update, everything works seamlessly for me and I’m very happy, including with the battery life on my MacBook Air.
If you’re running macOS Monterey, I highly recommend updating to the latest version of macOS 12, at least for the security fix.
A few days ago, macOS was updated to macOS 13 (Ventura). As usual, major Apple releases are preferred, but you should always be careful when updating on release day. Make sure you have a good backup before you do so. I wrote about this in the article below.
As mentioned in the article, you should always be more cautious with major updates like macOS Ventura. You can expect more bugs here and there, so it’s always good to be prepared for a bad scenario. I’ve usually had no problems when updating to a major version with Apple devices. Neither on iPhones and iPads nor on iMacs or MacBooks. But this time it’s a little different.
I waited for Ventura’s release day like every other major update before it. I made a backup and updated both my iMac and MacBook on the day of release. But this time, macOS Ventura seems to have slightly more bugs than previous versions.
New features bring new bugs
According to Apple, Ventura (and iPadOS 16) was delayed due to a major new feature called Stage Manager. That feature looks interesting to me and I wanted to try it as soon as possible. After half an hour, I got somewhat annoyed with that feature. I turned it off, and it is still like that. I don’t have any plans to try it again, as this is not for me. It should bring a better multitasking experience, but it just adds more confusion. Fine, this is a feature that I will not use, but many people across the web are complaining, especially about how buggy it is. I can’t say as I tried it too short, but the major bug I had with this was confusion. Stage Manager is such a useless functionality.
The error I experienced on my Macbook was screen freeze. Suddenly, everything stops working and after a few seconds, the login screen appears. I logged back in and after a few minutes, the same thing happened.
Another thing I’ve noticed with my MacBook Air is battery drain. Suddenly, the battery consumption has increased. Below you can see the battery usage on Monday (still at Monterey) and other days.
On Wednesday, I spent half as much time on my Mac, with almost the same battery consumption. Today it’s a bit better, but still not like it used to be. I assume that the culprit for this battery consumption is a software bug. On the contrary, with iOS 16.1, the battery on my iPhone just got a lot better.
Today, the Mail app crashed on my iMac. The application is terminated when the red screen flashes. Then a window popped up to report it to Apple.
For some reason, some websites could not be opened in Safari. In addition, some websites stopped working properly, meaning that links to websites could not be clicked. A temporary solution is to close Safari and restart it. However, this happened twice in a few days.
Will I go back to macOS Monterey?
Despite all the bugs I mentioned and some I didn’t (a few UI bugs here and there), I don’t intend to downgrade because I can live with it. The first public beta of macOS 13.1 was released the day after, and I know it will soon bring several bug fixes.
And to answer the question.
Should you upgrade to macOS Ventura?
I would say no. At this point, no. Better wait for the next release, 13.1, where you can expect numerous bug fixes. If your current version of macOS is stable enough, and you don’t miss Ventura’s features, wait.
Conclusion
I’ve updated both my Macs to macOS Ventura because I like to try out new features, and one, in particular, caught my eye. It’s scheduling an email message that you can send later in the Mail app. I like the Mail app enough to stick with it, and this feature brings something that’s really useful (I know, many competitors have had it for a while, but I don’t like using a third-party email app).
I also like the overhaul of system settings, the Weather app, the Continuity Camera and improvements to messaging. See all the goodies on Apple’s official website here.
Did I mention making a backup copy of the system before every system upgrade? Just to be sure.
Have you upgraded your system to Ventura? What is your experience? Tell me in the comments.
Thank you for reading. Always appreciated.
Originally published at https://www.tomathosblog.com on October 27, 2022.
