There was a time when updates to the Mac required a small fee. Updates were then available from Apple itself. This used to be done via a disk, but later via a download link. The last two versions Apple made available for a fee were OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion. Until recently, Apple even charged $21.99 if you have an old Mac that you want to update to these versions. But from now on you can also update to OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion for free.
OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion free download
There can be all kinds of reasons why you still want to install such old updates. If you have an old Mac that can no longer be updated to later versions, it may be a good idea to update to the most recent version available. You may also need an old Mac with a specific program that no longer works on newer versions of Mac OS X or macOS. In these cases it is useful to download old versions such as OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion.
OS X Lion appeared in 2011, followed by Mountain Lion a year later. In OS X Lion, Apple added support for emoji, built-in FaceTime, apps got a new full-screen display, and more. In Mountain Lion, the Notification Center, Notes app, and Messages app were major new additions.
MacWorld discovered that Apple has two new support pages, where both updates can be downloaded for free. You must meet certain system requirements to install the updates.
OS X Lion
- Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
- OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or newer or OS X Lion 10.7 already installed
- 2GB RAM
- 7GB available storage space
- Free available for download at this link
OS X Mountain Lion
- OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.8, Lion 10.7, or Mountain Lion 10.8 already installed
- 2GB RAM
- 8GB available storage space
- Suitable models:
- iMac (Mid 2007-2020)
- MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or later)
- MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or later)
- MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
- Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
- Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
- Xserve (Early 2009)
- Free download at this link
You can still pay for the updates, but no longer have to
Keep in mind that a Mac that already had Mac OS X Mavericks or later by default is not suitable for OS X Mountain Lion. Strangely enough, Apple still offers the paid versions in its online store, but that seems a bit redundant now with these free downloads.