[ Update Oct. 5, 2023: After this article was published, Apple upgraded FCP to version 10.6.10, which fixed two major bugs, including the one listed here. Also, reports surfaced about upgrade problems with macOS 13.6. ]
This is the time of year for upgrades and new releases for Mac users. The recent launch of macOS 14 (Sonoma), upgrades to Ventura (macOS 13) and the release of a new beta version of Sonoma (14.1) days after its initial unveiling give us lots of new toys to play with. Plus there are continual upgrades to both Apple Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro.
With all this change it is important to remember that our job is to get our work done – on time and with minimal stress.
Any operating system – ESPECIALLY the macOS – is an extraordinarily complex, interwoven collection of sophisticated computer programs. As extensively as Apple tests it prior to release, no amount of testing fully prepares any software for the real world.
For this reason, it is always a good idea to wait to upgrade until after the latest version has been out for a while. In the case of macOS, I tend to wait until a .1 release is available.
So, don’t be in a hurry to upgrade.
For the record, Final Cut Pro 10.6.9, the current version, breaks all FXFactory plugins that use object or face recognition.
Link: https://fxfactory.com/news/finalcutpro-10.6.9-skip-the-update/
There are reports of upgrade problems to macOS 13.6 on the MacRumors forum. I don’t know how extensive these problems are. Here’s a link to learn more, along with a potential solution. (Thanks, Eric, for the heads up.)
Link: Potential problems with macOS 13.6
With Sonoma, Apple has removed the functionality for converting PostScript and EPS files to PDF format. This means that you can’t convert, display or print EPS files. This includes PostScript Type 1 fonts. If you need to access EPS files, convert the to PDF before upgrading to Sonoma.
Link: A Eulogy for PostScript, EPS and the Magic of Type 1 Fonts
There is a report that macOS Sonoma is slowing all Macs, as well as issues with Wallet and Widgets (which generally don’t affect us as editors).
Link: Current bugs in macOS Sonoma
Also, I just got a report that the beta release of macOS Sonoma (14.1) breaks Final Cut playback. This allows me to stress that you should never run beta software on any system that you expect to get real work done. By definition, beta software has bugs in it.
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NOTE: If you want to get DEEP into what’s new with Sonoma, here are Apple’s release notes for developers
Link: Apple Sonoma Developer Release Notes
3 Responses to Caution: Don’t Hurry to Upgrade
I had no intention of upgrading to OS14, however while upgrading to 13.6, my MBP went to sleep forever – blank screen, no signs if life. The Apple store tried to revive it in the store, but sadly the only option was to reinstall the OS. What I hadn’t realised until I got home and started to reinstall everything from Time Machine, was that they had installed OS14.
Time Machine worked fine (several hours from a passport HDD). Then most apps wanted to update – successfully. Those that didn’t, seem to be fine, including DaVinci, Photoshop, Shutter Encoder, EditReady, VLC, MS Word, even.
I was annoyed that they put OS14 on, but so far so good – just lost two days of my life due to the laptop dying!
The Apple store guy said that I have been lucky to have not encountered this “dying on upgrade” phenomenon before – they deal with this a lot in the store, he said.
The moral is: keep backing up TimeMachine regularly.
Having waited to upgrade my Intel-based (3.2 GHz 16-Core Intel Xeon W; 2 Radeon Pro Vega IIs; 512 GB RAM) until Sonoma 14.1.1 a couple days ago, I can say After Effects and Premiere Pro are excruciatingly slow.
I can see by watching Activity Monitor there’s a lot of Metal and graphics processes running, virtually no GPU access.
When I first installed 14.1.1 over Ventura, even moving the cursor and showing the dock had a lot of stutter. I ran MacPilot and MacCleanse to rebind and clean up everything possible, and at least the interface has smoothed out but otherwise, WAIT if you’re doing any video-related anything.
Frustratingly, Adobe minimum requirements page just says you’re good to go with AE and PP or later than Monterey. I don’t think so. No, oh hell no. (Have even read in a some comments this is true of M2 Max based systems.)
Rowan:
Thank you for your very useful comments. Have you contacted Adobe support to see if this is a macOS problem or Premiere? I no longer have an Intel system to test this on, so I’m interested in what you learn.
Larry