If you have any software that runs as 32-bit binaries, with no updates available to 64-bit versions, then you may prefer to run Mojave (10.14) instead of Catalina. This article provides links to some earlier versions on the Mac App Store. Apple does make it difficult to obtain 'non-current' versions of the OS. You should always download from Apple and nowhere else. But now is a good time in the 'annual cycle' to update, as Catalina is on its sixth and final release, so it's as good as it's going to get. There will always be unresolved bugs in any OS. The bad news is that some companies may require payment for newer versions. Dropbox and other cloud services all have current versions. Apple, as you would expect, has current versions of KeyNote, Pages and Numbers. The good news is that any company still in business is likely to have current versions. You will almost certainly have to update all your apps to match the OS, so you should check that there is a version compatible with the latest macOS (Catalina) for each one. Upgrading 'one big jump' from very old software is more difficult than just 'the next version', because the change is so much larger. The problem comes, as you've found out, when you want something new, and it requires a newer OS than yours. 'Not upgrading' has the advantage that you reached a static point where everything works (or at least has fixed, known bugs).

Welcome to the world of upgrading! These days, both Operating Systems and applications are regularly updated to keep pace with progress. Seems like Apple will only let you download the recent one, but I am not sure.Ī great answer can be just a link to some good article or a similar question on this forum.

I am not sure where is a good place to download the update, especially if not the last one. I have several of these, about 80GB on my MacBook Pro. I am not sure the cloud services I am using, like Dropbox, will not work after the update. Or non-Apple programs, like Mathematica 9, or MikTex. I am afraid that after upgrade some apps won't work or will be missing. I heard it is not a good idea to upgrade to the last OS (possible unresolved bugs, incompatible with some of my older programs). Here are some comments revealing my ignorance, to help you Mac experts guide me:

Question: Can you give some advice/tips how to best perform this task? This is the 1st time I am doing this since I acquired this laptop and would like to do it myself (we don't have good Apple support here). Otherwise it works perfectly for all my needs (a research mathematician). The only reason is that some new programs and devices (eg Wacom tablet) are not compatible with Yosemite. I have a MacBook Pro (Retina, early 2015) with OS X 10.10.5 (Yosemite).

Mac os x yosemite to version 10.10.5