Precursor Systems | Sonoma Primer

Apple released its latest version of macOS September 26'th: macOS 14 Sonoma. 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:
New features available with macOS Sonoma.

When will Precursor do upgrades?

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

If you feel you need to have Sonoma 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
MacBook Air 2018 and later
MacBook Pro 2018 and later
Mac mini 2018 and later
Mac Pro 2019 and later
Mac Studio 2022 and later

Interactive Widgets

Users can place widgets right on the desktop and conveniently access the widget gallery to find the ones they know and love.

Smarter Video Conferencing

Enhanced video conferencing features that enable users to present and share their work more effectively within any video conferencing app includes Presenter Overlay, a new video effect, elevates a user’s presence by displaying them on top of the content they are sharing.

Major Updates to Safari

Significant update to Private Browsing, which provides even greater protection during browsing both from trackers and from people who might have access to the user’s device.

Enhancing Hybrid and Remote Pro Workflows

macOS Sonoma brings a new high performance mode to the Screen Sharing app.

Streamlined PDFs

Enhanced PDF functionality allows for quick form-filling with AutoFill, and smart recipient recommendations.

Keyboard

An all-new autocorrect makes corrections more accurate and easier to fix. Inline completions help users quickly finish sentences, while Dictation brings accuracy improvements through next-level speech recognition.

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)	Adobe Creative Cloud is a subscription service and generally supports the current OS and two versions back. This document discusses Sonoma compatibility: This means you always have access to the latest versions of the Creative Cloud apps. For best compatibility you should therefore use the Creative Cloud Desktop app to ensure you have them all up-to-date. Precursor recommends Adobe CC 2024 for use with macOS Sonoma. Adobe also strongly recommends that macOS Sonoma users keep the Adobe Creative Cloudlogin item turned on in macOS Sonoma because turning it off stops many of Adobe's core processes required for the apps to function seamlessly. Turning off the Adobe Creative Cloud login item will disrupt Creative Cloud services such as Adobe Fonts and Creative Cloud Libraries. 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	Adobe Acrobat is a subscription service. This means you always have access to the latest version of Acrobat. For best compatibility you should therefore use the Creative Cloud Desktop app to ensure you have Acrobat up-to-date. Note that as of Fall 2022 the "DC" is no longer part of the product name and it is now just "Adobe Acrobat Pro". 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 v2.2 or higher...Affinity 2.2 Features and Improvements List. NB. This requires a new purchase if you previously owned v1.
Apple Aperture	Relace with Adobe Lightroom?
Apple iWork (Keynote, Numbers, Pages)	use latest iWork apps from AppStore (13.2 or higher). Precursor Support Plan clients are provisioned with these apps and their updates automatically via Mosyle MDM deployment.
Apple Final Cut Studio	Purchase Final Cut Pro X from AppStore
Apple Logic Studio	Purchase Final Cut Pro X from AppStore
Apple macOS Server	Replace with Synology or QNAP NAS
Daylite	What you need to know about Daylite Mail Assistant on maCOS Sonoma
Dymo Label Software	Upgrade to DYMO Connect v1.4.4 or higher
Extensis Connect Fonts/ Suitcase	As of launch date Extensis is not listing support for Sonoma but is supporting Adobe CC 2023. We would say upgrade to 24.1.0 or higher. Or use Apple's Font Book app.
FileMaker	FileMaker is a subscription service. and is expected to be compatible with macOS Sonoma. We recommend upgrading to FileMaker Pro 20.2 and FileMaker Server 20.2 - with subscription (when available). Precursor Support Plan clients get provisioned with FileMaker Pro and its updates automatically via the Managed Software Center.
MacPractice	MacPractice advises against updating to macOS Sonoma at this time.
Microsoft Office 365	Microsoft 365 is a subscription service and generally supports the current OS and two versions back. The September release of 365 apps (version 16.77) supports macOS Sonoma. Precursor Support Plan clients will get these updates automatically via the Managed Software Center.
Parallels	Upgrade to at least Parallels 19
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 2023.
Printer software	some older printers may not have a compatible driver and may need to be replaced!
QuickBooks 2015 and earlier	upgrade to latest QuickBooks Onine subscription	√
Scanner software	Vuescan may be a substitute or replace scanner
ScanSnap	See for details.	√
BBEdit	See for details.	√
Transmit 5 and earlier	Upgrade to Transmit 5.10.2.	√
Vectorworks	Vectorworks 2023 SP7 Or higher: Vectorworks Sonoma Compatibility. Precursor Support Plan clients are provisioned with Vectorworks upgrades and updates via management/maintenance routines from Precursor.
VMWare Fusion	VMware is working on compatibility with Apple Silicon and the latest OS: VMware Fusion Tech Preview 2023 higher.

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	https://www.fujitsu.com/global/support/products/computing/peripheral/scanners/scansnap/faq/sonoma-ss.html
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 sonoma - all better written than mine:

9 to 5 Mac.

Mr. Macintosh

macOS 14 Sonoma Primer

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