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Life & fun · October 6, 2015

Illustrated History of OS X

An illustrated history of Mac OS X

Illustrated History of OS X launched on October 6, 2015 with 253 votes, #68 of 4,175 launches that month and more than 95% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 11 years on.

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In plain words

Illustrated History of OS X is a web-based visual guide documenting the evolution of macOS from its first public beta, Kodiak, in 2000 through macOS Ventura. It presents the progression of Apple's operating system through successive releases like Cheetah, Puma, and beyond, highlighting key features, user interface changes, bundled applications, and system requirements across different versions. The resource is designed for Mac users and technology enthusiasts interested in understanding how the operating system has developed over more than two decades.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

Step back in time and see how macOS has changed over the years! From the first public beta in 2000 to the release of macOS Ventura, here's our illustrated history of macOS.

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience. The history of macOS started with a bear, not a cat: in September of 2000, Apple presented Kodiak . For 30$, users could purchase this first public Beta of Mac OS X . The official OS 10.0, Cheetah, followed 6 months later. It featured Apple's brand new user interface Aqua and the first versions of apps like TextEdit, Preview, Mail, and QuickTime . The new OS X demanded an (at that time: whopping!) 128 MB of RAM and 800 MB of disk space. Just half a year later, Puma was released. Instead of delivering many new features, it focused on improving the system's performance . With Mac OS 10.1.2, Apple also…from git-tower.com

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