Apple’s surprise early launch of macOS 15 Sequoia could point to exciting Apple Intelligence features – or a boring update
We’re just hours away from Apple’s big “Glowtime” event, where the company is expected to announce its new iPhone 16 lineup. And Mac owners can get excited too, as Apple is widely expected to unveil the final version of macOS 15 Sequoia alongside the anticipated iOS, iPadOS, and VisionOS releases.
While the macOS 15 Sequoia public beta has been available to download and test for a while now, the fact that Apple would announce a launch date during its Glowtime event is surprising for a number of reasons.
For starters, the event is expected to focus on the new iPhones, which are arguably Apple’s most important products. I don’t think Apple will want to spend much time (or any time) discussing operating systems for devices other than the iPhone.
Rumors are swirling that Apple could announce new Macs and MacBooks soon. So you might imagine Apple waiting for a special Mac event to announce the new version of macOS.
However, MacRumors claims to have seen Apple documentation that macOS 15 Sequoia will be fully released to the public in mid-September. If true, the publication notes that this would be the earliest macOS release since Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, which was released in late July 2012.
In recent years, Apple has typically held an iPhone launch event in early September, marking the public launch of iOS (the operating system that iPhones run) just before the new iPhones go on sale.
Apple typically releases new versions of macOS later in the year, so the MacRumors report suggests a significant break from tradition — and as a MacBook user, it makes me both excited and concerned.
Why the early release of macOS?
There are a few positive reasons why Apple might release macOS 15 Sequoia early. It could mean that the beta testing phases are complete and no major issues have been found – and Apple simply doesn’t feel the need to delay the release of the final version of macOS 15. If this is the case, we could be getting the most stable macOS release in years, free of the teething problems, bugs, or other issues that have plagued previous releases.
It could also indicate that new Macs and MacBooks are coming soon, like the rumored M4 MacBook Pro. Apple would like to release macOS 15 Sequoia before the new Macs go on sale.
It’s also widely expected that Apple will devote a large portion of today’s Glowtime event to showing off its new AI tool: Apple Intelligence. The iPhone 16 lineup (and iOS) are likely to be announced with heavy Apple Intelligence integration. And if macOS 15 Sequoia also comes with a lot of Apple Intelligence goodies, it would make sense for Apple to announce during this portion of the presentation when we’ll be able to get it on our Macs.
However, an announcement during the iPhone event and an early release aren’t necessarily good news. It could suggest that macOS 15 Sequoia is just a minor update to macOS Sonoma, the current version.
The Glowtime event is likely to be packed with new iPhone announcements, and possibly a new Apple Watch and AirPods as well, so there may not be time to give macOS 15 Sequoia the announcement it deserves. If the launch reveal is rushed and unceremoniously dumped among higher-profile announcements like a new Apple Watch, it could be a sign that Apple is no longer as passionate about Macs as it once was. If that’s the case, that would be a real shame.
Either way, it probably won’t be long now, so keep an eye on our Glowtime live blog for the latest news.
