June 8, 2009: Apple introduces OS X Snow Leopard, a version of its Mac operating system that ranks among the company’s finest desktop updates.
Showcased at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Snow Leopard doesn’t seem as flashy as some other Mac operating system upgrades. In fact, Apple famously includes a slide in its WWDC presentation touting “0 new features.” However, OS X Snow Leopard more than delivers on Apple’s core values, paving a path to a bright future for the Mac.
Mac OS X Snow Leopard optimizes features
On paper, the upgrade wasn’t a massive shift from its predecessor, Mac OS X Leopard. A bit like 2018’s macOS Mojave, it did not add a plethora of new features and sexy gimmicks. Instead, it stuck to the basics, optimizing what was already there in terms of features and performance. Oh, and it did this while taking up 6GB less storage space than its immediate predecessor.
“We’ve built on the success of Leopard and created an even better experience for our users from installation to shutdown,” said Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, in a press release. “Apple engineers have made hundreds of improvements so with Snow Leopard your system is going to feel faster, more responsive and even more reliable than before.”
Given that OS X Leopard overreached in some senses, OS X Snow Leopard restored Apple’s reputation for quality products that “just work.” It’s no surprise that it hung around for a long time. (That’s possibly also due to it being the last version of OS X that ran on early Intel Macs.)
Mac updates get cheaper
The 2009 upgrade changed the game in another way, too. Previous versions of the Mac operating system cost $129, but Snow Leopard only set buyers back the comparatively paltry sum of $29. The price cut prefigured Apple’s decision to do away with many software charges altogether a few years later. 2013’s OS X Mavericks may have been the first free desktop operating system from Apple, but Snow Leopard led the way.
Ultimately, Mac OS X Snow Leopard became a very important update for Mac users. It focused on getting things right, correcting previous mistakes, and paying attention to under-the-hood improvements rather than user-facing ones.
You can watch Craig Federighi, VP of Mac OS engineering at the time, run through the software’s refinements in the video below from WWDC 2009:
Did you run Mac OS X Snow Leopard?
Do you have fond memories of using this operating system on your Mac? What is your favorite macOS update over the years? Leave your comments below.
