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Will Installing OS X Mountain Lion Break My Apps?

Jul 25, 2012 08:41 PM

Jul 25, 2012 08:50 PM

App Store icon with a stylized blue background, featuring a mountain lion image on the left and a mystery icon on the right.

Mountain Lion is here, and at such a reasonable price point, there doesn't seem to be many reasons why you wouldn't upgrade. That is, unless your apps aren't compatible. Just like a major OS upgrade, developers are having to adjust to Mountain Lion, and not every transition has been smooth.

OS X Mountain Lion software interface with features and descriptions displayed on a Mac screen.

Before you jump into that Mountain Lion upgrade, take a moment to check that all of your apps are ready for the move.

Roaring Apps is the best resource to do this, and you can browse its extensive database of apps by Name, Version, or Developer to see what will make the transition and what won't.

Some of the software listed as incompatible with Mountain Lion are Canon EOS Utility, Filemaker Pro, Flip4Mac, Microsoft Office 2004, Perian, Photoshop Elements 4 and 5, SkyDrive, Soundbooth, Max Payne and the Kindle app. But anyone can submit compatibility statuses, so there's no telling if they actually are incompatible. A lot of Adobe's Creative Suite is listed as either having problems or having not been tested. However, Adobe claims that there are no known issues.

Adobe Photoshop version comparison table with rating indicators.

If you've already performed the upgrade, are there any apps in particular that are giving you problems in Mountain Lion? If so, let us know in the comments section!

Main image by Gawker

The next big software update for iPhone is coming sometime in April and will include a Food section in Apple News+, an easy-to-miss new Ambient Music app, Priority Notifications thanks to Apple Intelligence, and updates to apps like Mail, Photos, Podcasts, and Safari. See what else is coming to your iPhone with the iOS 18.4 update.