*Age of supported machines at time of OS release

Use the chart below to find out which operating system works on your Mac: Once Apple removes El Capitan from the App Store, people who have those older systems won’t be able to install 10.12 Sierra – their system won’t support it, AND they won’t be able to install 10.11 El Capitan because it will no longer be available as a download. Normally this isn’t a big deal. However, Sierra introduces many new technologies, so for the first time since 2012, Apple has updated the minimum system requirements to run this new OS. As such, there are a number of computers that can currently run El Capitan that won’t be able to run Sierra. Historically, when Apple releases a new OS, they immediately remove the older version from the App Store. What that means to users of older Mac is that when 10.12 Sierra is released, it is very likely Apple will remove 10.11 El Capitan from the Mac App store. After the fanfare of the new Apple Watch and iPhone 7, Apple also quietly announced that the next version of Mac OS 10.12 ‘Sierra’ will be officially released on September 20. While this date is important for everyone with the newest Macs as they eagerly await the next version of Mac OS, that date is equally important for people running older computers, but for a completely different reason.

El capitan vs sierra for mid 2010