MacOS: Is Safari tied to the operating system or is it independently installed & upgradeble?

[Kevin]

On the MacOS, is Safari part of the OS and is upgraded when the OS is updated or is it treated as any other application that can be independently installed and upgraded as needed? The end goal of my pondering is to find a balance between an old MacBook Pro where it might not necessarily be capable of running the most recent version of the OS but can still be used to run the most recent version of Safari.

 

[phigmov]

Pretty sure its tied to the OS. It could be updated independently but I believe that when Apple drop OS support, its likely the associated Apple 'bits' also cease to be updated. Apps which have independently available updates may continue to be supported (eg you can patch Aperture (not a great example as Apple deep-6'ed that too) independently of the OS). For a browser, you're more likely to get ongoing support from Chrome/Firefox/Opera, than from Apple once the OS is EOL (I ran a current Chrome on my old Core 2 Duo Macbook on an old OSX version up until the point I upgraded my hardware last year).

 

[addieleman]

On the MacOS, is Safari part of the OS and is upgraded when the OS is updated or is it treated as any other application that can be independently installed and upgraded as needed? The end goal of my pondering is to find a balance between an old MacBook Pro where it might not necessarily be capable of running the most recent version of the OS but can still be used to run the most recent version of Safari.

How old is your Macbook Pro? I have a 6-year old Macbook Pro which runs just fine on the latest Mojave OS (10.14.4) so I don't really care when it becomes unsupported, it's getting slow anyway and the battery has had its best years far behind it.

 

[Matero]

Safari is partly bonded to OS. Newer Safari versions don’t work with older OS versions but it is upgradable separately.

 

[Kevin]

Thanks for the info', guys. I'm actually in the market for an older MBP, don't have one yet, and is why I'm asking.

I'm already heavily invested in a Windows & Android ecosystem here at the house (and the local family households as well) so I'm not looking at switching* but I'd really love to have a MBP that I can use for testing the web sites using Safari running on native MacOS.

Last time I had to debug an issue with Safari I ended up using the Mac in Cloud VM service provider. At $20/mth it wouldn't be bad but even with my 75/75 connection at the house I'm getting some lag using the VM and life would be easier having access to a physical machine.



* = Even though I'm entrenched in Windows for my laptops most of what I do these days is online so it's getting to the point that I could & just might switch in the future. Every few years or so I consider it, when my current Dell XPS 15 UHD dies I'll consider it again.

 

[phigmov]

I picked up a 2012 Mac Mini to run Aperture to replace my 2010 iMac (currently relegated to media-centre duty) - I think its the last/cheapest way to run the latest Mac OS. The 2014 models often go cheap because they weren't upgrade-able (in terms of ram or disk) so you were stuck with whatever config you bought. Might be an option if you have a spare monitor lying around or even set it up headless as a test-rig you can remote onto.

 

[wt21]

Get a 2015 MBP though they are in high demand. It is the last generation with rational ports (before they went USBC and butterfly keyboard). Although if you are literally just looking to test websites than just get whatever runs the latest MacOS variant.