Should I upgrade? Pros & Cons Please

[mabarley]

Running MacOS High Sierra, 10.13.6 on MacBook Pro.

I do NOT want to operate with EVERYTHING up in the cloud (I am moving on a boat and will not have access to the cloud on a regular basis) If I upgrade what will the biggest changes be?

Am I at security risk by not upgrading?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

You don't have to store everything in iCloud with High Sierra through Big Sur. Personally, I have Macs running all versions of macOS from El Capitan to Big Sur, and the only things I sync to iCloud are Calendars/Contacts/iCloud Drive/Notes and any files I manually put there. I don't use Apple Music, iCloud Photo Library, iCloud Drive Desktop & Documents folders, etc.

If High Sierra does everything you need, then you should be good for a few years with it. It also depends on which exact model your MacBook Pro is, and what types of things you'll use it for when away from Wi-Fi.

C

 

[mabarley]

I am so very sorry....I do not know what Big Sur is.

 

[Lufbrarunner]

Big Sur is the latest macOS. After High Sierra, there is Mojave, Catalina and then Big Sur.

 

[mabarley]

Thank You for your reply. WHAT POSSIBLE TERRIBLE things could happen if I jump upgrades to Big Sur? What BIG CHANGES would I not know about until it was too late and I committed to the upgrade? Also, any suggestions how to protect my privacy and other issues of vulnerability are appreciated. DO I HAVE TO ONLY USE PROGRAMS ON LEASE that are un in the cloud? I can't do that ....I will be at sea!

Virtual HUGS to all that are willing to help!

 

[Lufbrarunner]

Security and privacy is usually increased with each successive upgrade.
If you have any 32bit applications they will not work with Catalina or Big Sur as they are 64bit only.
You do not have to use the cloud or lease programs if you do not wish to.

 

[sgage]

I would stay at High Sierra unless some feature or program requirement really pushed you to it. As Cory said above, it somewhat depends on your particular model. I have a mid-2014 MacBook Pro that I updated from Mavericks a couple of times until Catalina ran the CPU ragged and made it overheat. I backed off until I figured that High Sierra was the sweet spot for this machine, and here I shall stay. And don't forget the 32-bit thing mentioned above...