

Click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of your screen, then click "About This Mac".How do I know which macOS I currently have? This page deals with upgrading for updating instead, see Updating your Mac's operating system. This happens much more often than annual upgrades and is generally not as risky for non-Apple software. Updating means installing security and other patches for your current OS without changing the base OS version.

Upgrades often break non-Apple (and sometimes even Apple's own) software - this is risky for older software that is no longer updated, or paid software that may require you to buy a new version. Upgrading means moving your entire operating system (OS) to a newer version - Apple releases a new OS each year.What is the difference between "upgrading" and "updating"?
