The release of new versions of software on Mac is always scrutinized with some caution by users. With the arrival of the new version of macOS 12 Monterey there has been no exception and that is, one more year, there are many who decide to wait to update. And yes, it is always important to update for security reasons, but putting your computer’s performance at risk can cause some uneasiness.
While it is true that in Macs with an M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max chip, it is intuited that it will be better for being the most recent and pampered by Apple, it is logical that there are doubts in Macs with Intel. Here are the conclusions that we have been able to draw, both from our own experience and from our research by consulting other users.
This is how Monterey goes on Macs with Intel chips
We remember that macOS Monterey is used for computers that, in general, are close to 5-7 years old since they were launched. Some even date from 2013 as is the case with the Mac Pro. While it is true that it would be difficult to analyze the operation of each model one by one, especially considering that even two identical models can give different experiences, we have reached a general conclusion that we divide into three fundamental points .
System stability
The first versions of an operating system can be catastrophic and the truth is that macOS 12.0.1 (12.0 was never released) is no exception. It is not that there are numerous problems, since there are hardly any visual bugs reported, but there is a fairly widespread problem in relation to the consumption of RAM.
It is not a general failure, that is, not all units are affected, although a large part and regardless of whether they are Intel or Apple Silicon . This failure causes the RAM to fill almost completely and inexplicably with applications that a priori should not require so much memory. The Control Center has even been seen occupying 26.5 GB of RAM as recently shown by analyst Gregory McFadden.
Image by Gregory McFadden
This in the end causes the general performance of the machine to be affected and a certain slowness is noticed when executing heavy processes, but also those that are lighter. It is expected in any case that it will be resolved in a next update that could even arrive this week.
Application optimization
This terrain is where we can give the best marks to Monterey or, in this case, to the developers. The vast majority of programs and especially the most popular ones have received one or even several updates since the arrival of this system. And those that did not and were already fully functional in Big Sur, as a general rule, are working without problem. Therefore, in that sense you can have guarantees that you will not miss the possibility of using any application that you already use regularly.
Battery consumption on MacBooks
In this section again we find ourselves with problems. Being objective and taking into account again the majority of teams, thus admitting exceptions for better and for worse, the autonomy has dropped slightly. It is not something huge, but even in the MacBook Air M1 that claim to be the best in this field, there has been a decrease compared to Big Sur. Can it be normal and be close to being resolved in future updates? Of course, but today and with macOS 12.0.1 it is something that has been appreciated.
