Precursor Systems | Sequoia Primer

Apple released its latest version of macOS September 16'th: macOS 15 Sequoia. We have been looking forward to sonoma (and running it in beta) ever since Apple debuted it at the Apple World Wide Developer Conference in June. Sonoma brings some great features and security enhancements to your computers!

Apple has provided an excellent document listing all these features:
macOS Sequoia Preview..

When will Precursor do upgrades?

We plan on moving our clients to Sequoia in the coming weeks depending on hardware and software compatibility.

If you feel you need to have Sequoia on your computer before that time comes you can request an upgrade by choosing the "Schedule an OS Upgrade" option from the Precursor Contact menu (the little blue "P" icon) in the menubar at the top of your Mac's screen.

Compatible Hardware

Certain computers that supported Monterey and Big Sur are not sonoma compatible. You will require on of the following:

iMac 2019 and later
iMac Pro 2017 and later
MacBook Air 2020 and later
MacBook Pro 2018 and later
Mac mini 2018 and later
Mac Pro 2019 and later
Mac Studio 2022 and later

Apple Intelligence

On Mac models with Apple silicon, macOS Sequoia introduces Apple Intelligence, which draws on your personal context to give you intelligence that’s most helpful and relevant for you. (Coming later this Fall)

Continuity

With iPhone Mirroring, you can view what’s on your iPhone and control it too, without having to reach for it.

Productivity

Drag windows to the edge of your screen to effortlessly arrange them into side-by-side tiles on your desktop, or place them in corners to keep even more apps in view.

Safari

With Highlights, Safari will use machine intelligence to show you relevant information from the webpage like directions, links, summaries, and restaurant reviews.

New Passwords App

If you never loved Keychain, now you have a better option: macOS Sequoia comes with a new Passwords app that allows you to access all your passwords (Wi-Fi passwords included), passkeys, and verification codes in one place.

What's compatible?

RoaringApps has a partial list of what works and what doesn't

Of note:

A partial list to watch out for

MSC = available in the (may require subscription purchase to activate)

Software	Alternative	MSC
Adobe Creative Cloud (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, etc)	Can I run my Adobe apps on macOS 15 Sequoia? is Adobe's official statement on Creative Cloud's Sequoia compatbility. Adobe Creative Cloud is a subscription service and generally supports the current OS and two versions back. When Precursor Support Plan clients have installed the Creative Cloud Desktop app from the Managed Software Center they can install and update any of the Adobe apps using the Creative Cloud Desktop app and the computer's administrative password is not required.	√
Adobe Acrobat Pro	The release notes for v.24.003.20121 claim that this is an out-of-cycle update to support macOS Sequoia. Adobe Acrobat is a subscription serviceand generally supports the current OS and two versions back. When Precursor Support Plan clients have installed the Creative Cloud Desktop app from the Managed Software Center they can install and update any of the Adobe apps using the Creative Cloud Desktop app and the computer's administrative password is not required.	√
Affinity Photo Designer and Publisher	We recommend using Affinity v2.5.6 or higher...Affinity 2.2 Features and Improvements List. NB. This requires a new purchase if you previously owned v1.
Apple iWork (Keynote, Numbers, Pages)	Use latest iWork apps from AppStore (14.2 or higher). Precursor Support Plan clients are provisioned with these apps and their updates automatically via Mosyle MDM deployment.
Apple Final Cut Pro	Purchase Final Cut Pro from AppStore
Apple Logic Pro	Purchase Logic Pro from AppStore
Daylite	Daylite is ready for macOS Sequoia.
Dymo Label Software	DYMO Connect v1.4.6 will require you to enable a driver extension in System Settings : General :Login Items and Extensions : Extensions : Drivers and Extensions. And then enable the Extension in Security and Privacy settings and restart the computer.
Extensis Connect Fonts/ Suitcase	Apple's Font Book app now can handle most of what Connect can do but if you still wish to license Connect then as of launch date Extensis is not listing support for Sequoia but is supporting Adobe CC 2024. We would say upgrade to 25.2.6 or higher. Or use Apple's Font Book app.
FileMaker	FileMaker is a subscription service. and version 21.0.2 or higher is compatible with macOS Sequoia except for two small issues. Precursor Support Plan clients get provisioned with FileMaker Pro and its updates automatically via the Managed Software Center.
MacPractice	MacPractice is working on a comaptiblity update but advises against updating to macOS Sequoia at this time.
Microsoft Office 365	Microsoft 365 is a subscription service and generally supports the current OS and two versions back. The October release of 365 apps (version 16.90) supports macOS Sequoia. Precursor Support Plan clients will get these updates automatically via the Managed Software Center.
Parallels	Upgrade to at least Parallels 20.0
PowerCAD 9.1.13 and earlier	PowerCADD is being redeveloped to work in macOS 14 Sonoma and a beta version of 10.0 may appear in late in 2024.
Printer software	some older printers may not have a compatible driver and may need to be replaced!
QuickBooks	upgrade to latest QuickBooks Onine subscription. The QuickBooks Online App for Mac is available from the Managed Software Center.	√
Scanner software	Vuescan may be a substitute or replace scanner
ScanSnap	Sequoia is supported with ScanSnap Home 2.23.0 or higher. (ScanSnaop Manager is no longer supported - you must migrate to ScanSnap Home). See for details.	√
BBEdit	See for details.	√
Sketchup	At this time no version of Sketchup is fully compatible with macOS 15 Sequoia. See: SketchUp Hardware and Software Requirements. When one is available it will appear in the Precursor Managed Software Center.	√
Vectorworks	Vectorworks 2024 SP7 Or higher: Vectorworks Sequoia Compatibility. Vectorworks says that 2024 SP7 and 2025 are compatible with macOS Sequoia. Precursor Support Plan clients are provisioned with Vectorworks upgrades and updates via management/maintenance routines from Precursor.

Printer / Scanner Drivers

Manufacturer	Driver Compatibility
Brother	https://support.brother.com/g/s/os/mac/index.html
Canon	Canon Europe Support Site
Epson	https://epson.com/s0/macOS-12-sonoma-Support/s/SPT_sonoma-NS
Fujitsu Scansnap	Sequoia is supported with ScanSnap Home 2.23.0 or higher. (ScanSnaop Manager is no longer supported - you must migrate to ScanSnap Home). See for details.
Konica Minolta	https://www.konicaminolta.eu/eu-en/support/new-os-compatibility
Lexmark	https://infoserve.lexmark.com/ids/common/content.aspx?content=OS22&loc=en_US
Ricoh	https://ricoh-kb-en.custhelp.com/app/home/region/eu/brand/ricoh/
Xerox	https://www.xerox.com/en-us/about/printer-driver-update

More info:

There are a number of online articles regarding upgrading to Sequoia - all better written than mine:

9 to 5 Mac.

Mr. Macintosh

macOS 15 Sequoia Primer

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