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Mojave is the new MacOS

Apple announced the name at WWDC. The new MacOS replaces High Sierra.

Laura Hautala
Laura Hautala
Laura Hautala Former Senior Writer
Laura wrote about e-commerce and Amazon, and she occasionally covered cool science topics. Previously, she broke down cybersecurity and privacy issues for CNET readers. Laura is based in Tacoma, Washington, and was into sourdough before the pandemic.
Expertise E-commerce, Amazon, earned wage access, online marketplaces, direct to consumer, unions, labor and employment, supply chain, cybersecurity, privacy, stalkerware, hacking. Credentials
  • 2022 Eddie Award for a single article in consumer technology
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Shara Tibken Former managing editor
Shara Tibken was a managing editor at CNET News, overseeing a team covering tech policy, EU tech, mobile and the digital divide. She previously covered mobile as a senior reporter at CNET and also wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. Shara is a native Midwesterner who still prefers "pop" over "soda."
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Laura Hautala
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CNET

If you're wondering which California geographical feature the latest Mac operating system is named after, the answer is MacOS Mojave.

This story is part of WWDC 2022, CNET's complete coverage from and about Apple's annual developers conference.

This ends "a four-year mountain bender," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, at the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday in San Jose, California.

WWDC 2018: Everything from Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference

WWDC 2018
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After years of giving cat-related names to its Mac software (Leopard, Lion, Mountain Lion), Apple in 2013 shifted to California-themed titles for future versions of the OS with OS X 10.9, aka Mavericks. Two years ago, the company dropped the "X" from its computer software, instead making it the cleaner "MacOS." The particular flavor that launched in 2016 was dubbed Sierra, and its successor last year was called MacOS High Sierra.

The OS updates have come with iconic photos of their namesakes featured as the default background photo, and Mojave is no different. The OS comes with a daytime photo of the Southern California desert's sandy dunes, and it also comes with bonus options that show the desert at night. 

That's part of Dark Mode, a version of the Mac desktop that doesn't shine so brightly out of your screen. Developers in the event's crowd of about 6,000 applauded the announcement of Dark Mode loudly.

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