MacOS Catalina: Should you upgrade now?

MacOS 10.15 Catalina is finally out, and the good news is that if you own a Mac that can run Mojave, you can run Catalina. But should you rush out to upgrade today, or cool your jets and let others experience the headaches and frustrations?

Must read: How to get your Mac ready for MacOS 10.15 Catalina

Well, first off, on a frustration level, Catalina isn't too bad. It's good. I've not come across any show-stopping bugs in my testing -- although that doesn't mean they don't exist -- and things like performance and reliability seem good.

However, there will no doubt be updates over the next few days, so if you'd rather not download Catalina today only to have to download more updates over the coming days and weeks, then you might want to hold off upgrading for a little while.

The same goes if you rely on your Mac for work or school. If a show-stopping bug or a vital app that is now incompatible would give you huge headaches and ruin your day, then you might be better off waiting too.

It's not a bad idea to give software developers some time to iron out any last-minute bugs that come to light.

There's no rush. Catalina will be there waiting for you. Downloads won't run out.

Another group of people who might want to hold off is DJs and others who have spent time curating their iTunes library. iTunes has been banished from Catalina, and any customizations you've made will be lost. This is likely to be a huge headache for DJs who use iTunes. Since this is not my wheelhouse, I'll just link to folks who know about this subject.

Bottom line is, be careful here. While most users will be unaffected by Apple's transition away from iTunes, for some this change could represent a huge workflow change.

So, if you like to live on the edge, upgrade now (heck, you were probably already running the beta anyway). Otherwise, there's nothing to lose from waiting and seeing and upgrading when you have the time and space in your life to do so.

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