Release record
Tiger
Release notes
Editorial synthesis with inline references and a source ledger when citations are available.
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger became publicly available on April 29, 2005. Apple framed the release around more than 200 changes; this article records twenty clearly bounded capabilities and launch conditions that can be tied to retained first-party material, rather than treating the marketing total as a recoverable changelog.[1][2]
Spotlight moved content and metadata search into the operating system and several bundled applications. Dashboard created an instant widget layer, Automator added drag-and-drop workflows, and Safari gained a built-in RSS reader capable of combining feeds.[3][4]
Tiger expanded iChat AV with H.264 and multi-participant conferencing, bundled QuickTime 7, and revised Mail, iCal, and Font Book. A new Xsync-based .Mac preference synchronized selected bookmarks, calendars, contacts, passwords, and mail settings across subscribed Macs.[5][6]
Tiger included VoiceOver as an installed-by-default screen reader with spoken interface descriptions and keyboard control; Apple's accessibility document also says the installation disc was usable with VoiceOver. That source reports exceptions in application and control support, so this page preserves the feature without implying universal accessibility.[7]
Core Data reached its first public version with Tiger. The release also introduced initial native 64-bit process support, Core Image and Core Video, Xgrid, an updated UNIX foundation, and Xcode 2. Apple's architecture documentation makes clear that Tiger's first 64-bit model was narrower than the framework coverage that followed in later OS X releases.[8][9][10]
Apple sold the client release through its stores and authorized resellers, with US single-user, family, volume, maintenance, and Up-To-Date options. The initial package required at least 256MB of memory and a FireWire-equipped PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 Mac; improved Windows home-directory and Active Directory integration addressed mixed-network environments.[11]
On June 6, Apple said it expected to deliver more than two million Tiger copies by the end of that week, counting retail sales, maintenance delivery, and copies bundled with Macs. It also reported more than 400 Dashboard widgets, 550 Automator actions, and 40 Spotlight plug-ins. These figures are retained as Apple-supplied launch-period context, not independent adoption measurements.[12]
The retained Apple security chronology has no initial Mac OS X 10.4 entry on April 29; its first Tiger point-release line is 10.4.1 on May 16. The launch page's general security superlative is marketing language rather than a component-level bulletin, so this article adds no structured launch-security claim and does not project later fixes backward. It also excludes Tiger Server, prerelease-only details, later Intel support, point versions, and build numbers because none is an eligible local record in this cohort.[13][14]
Source ledger
Sources are linked to the claims they support. Publication and access dates are shown when available.
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2005-04-12T00:00:00.000Z · April 29 availability and launch feature inventory
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2004-06-28T00:00:00.000Z · June 2004 preview scope
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2005-04-12T00:00:00.000Z · Spotlight through Safari RSS feature paragraphs
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2004-06-28T00:00:00.000Z · Spotlight, Safari RSS, Dashboard, and Automator
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2005-04-12T00:00:00.000Z · iChat and other new features
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2005-04-17T00:00:00.000Z · QuickTime 7 launch timing and H.264
Apple Accessibility · Apple · 2026-07-30 · Functional Performance Criteria and documented exceptions
Apple Developer · Apple · 2026-07-30 · 2005-04-29 first public Core Data version
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2005-04-12T00:00:00.000Z · Core technologies and tools
Apple Developer · Apple · 2026-07-30 · Tiger 64-bit support boundary
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2005-04-12T00:00:00.000Z · Windows compatibility and Pricing & Availability
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2005-06-06T00:00:00.000Z · June 6 delivery and developer-ecosystem claims
Apple Support · Apple · 2026-07-30 · April–May 2005 chronology; Mac OS X 10.4.1 on May 16
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2005-04-12T00:00:00.000Z · Launch scope and general security statement
Apple Support · Apple · 2026-07-30 · 2005 security chronology boundary
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2005-04-12T00:00:00.000Z · April 12 announcement and April 29 availability
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2005-04-17T00:00:00.000Z · April 17 QuickTime 7 confirmation
Apple Developer · Apple · 2026-07-30 · Core Data first public version
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2004-06-28T00:00:00.000Z · June 28, 2004 preview
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2005-06-06T00:00:00.000Z · June 6 launch-period context
Apple Developer · Apple · 2026-07-30 · Tiger 64-bit limitations
Apple Accessibility · Apple · 2026-07-30 · Tiger-specific accessibility information
Documented & observed
Source-linked features, fixes, known issues, removals, and community-observed behavior recorded across this version’s appearances and verified builds.
Release changes
Features, fixes, removals, and regressions first observed in this release record.
feature · introduced
For .Mac subscribers, the new synchronization layer coordinated Safari bookmarks, iCal appointments, Address Book contacts, Keychain passwords, and Mail settings across multiple Macs.
Recorded at Public
developerApi · introduced
Apple positioned the two technologies as reusable media-processing foundations for developers, extending the system's Core-family approach beyond audio.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
Apple's Tiger-specific accessibility documentation says VoiceOver was installed by default, read documents and interface activity aloud, supplied keyboard navigation, and made the Tiger installation disc accessible. The same document records exceptions, so this occurrence does not imply complete support in every bundled application or control.
Recorded at Public
enhancement · changed
Apple tied QuickTime 7's Mac release to Tiger's April 29 launch. The launch announcement names H.264, smooth live resizing, automatic streaming configuration, and broader surround sound as the principal bundled changes.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
Tiger shipped with 14 widgets for information and utilities such as weather, stocks, conversions, and flight tracking. Apple described Dashboard as appearing and disappearing over the current workspace, and exposed standard HTML and JavaScript as a path for third-party widget development.
Recorded at Public
enhancement · changed
Tiger's calendar update expanded organization and printing while making calendar data available to system search and workflow automation.
Recorded at Public
enhancement · changed
The updated font utility added library-based organization and could manage installations beyond an individual user's local font collection.
Recorded at Public
developerApi · introduced
The launch announcement emphasized access to larger address spaces. Apple's later architecture documentation preserves the important initial boundary: Tiger's 64-bit development support was limited to C or C++ code and a restricted set of system libraries, rather than the broad 64-bit application framework coverage added in later releases.
Recorded at Public
developerApi · changed
These lower-level changes expanded multiprocessor scaling, memory and permissions infrastructure, compiler tooling, and networking beneath Tiger's applications.
Recorded at Public
compatibility · changed
The US launch announcement listed a $129 single-user license, a $199 five-user single-residence Family Pack, and a $9.95 shipping-and-handling Up-To-Date package for qualifying Macs bought on or after April 12. These are historical launch terms, not current purchase guidance.
Recorded at Public
developerApi · changed
Apple identified Xcode 2 as the tool suite intended for building applications against Tiger's new operating-system technologies.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
Tiger's browser could recognize RSS-enabled sites, display their feeds directly, and merge several feeds into a single reader view for a personalized news stream.
Recorded at Public
enhancement · changed
Apple documented audio conferences with as many as ten people and video conferences with as many as four, subject to processor and bandwidth requirements. The update also let buddy-list contacts expose the current iTunes track and open it in the iTunes Music Store.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
The new application supplied more than one hundred customizable actions that could be arranged by drag and drop, then saved or shared as a workflow.
Recorded at Public
compatibility · changed
This is the April 2005 client-release baseline stated by Apple. It does not project support from later Tiger point releases—including the later Intel branch—back onto the initial 10.4 package.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
Spotlight continuously updated its index as files changed and surfaced search in Mail, Address Book, Finder, and System Preferences. Apple's preview also documented Smart Folders, Smart Mailboxes, and Smart Groups as automatically updated views powered by the same search technology.
Recorded at Public
compatibility · changed
Apple described the change as standards-based network compatibility for mixed environments, focused on Windows home-directory access and Active Directory identity.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
Xgrid provided a system technology for coordinating work across multiple Macs as a distributed computational resource.
Recorded at Public
developerApi · introduced
Apple's retained Core Data documentation identifies April 29, 2005 as its first public version and says the guide was updated for the public release of OS X 10.4.
Recorded at Public
enhancement · changed
The Tiger release updated Mail's interface and connected the application to the operating system's new search and synchronization services, while adding a full-screen slideshow for message attachments.
Recorded at Public
Milestones
Every recorded channel appearance in chronological order. Open an appearance for any available build, scope, notes, and sources.
Public release
Mac OS X Tiger 10.4 reached the public channel on April 29, 2005 with Spotlight, Dashboard, Automator, Safari RSS, expanded communications and media applications, VoiceOver, and a broad new developer foundation.
Historical context
Pace, intervals, and duration compared with earlier releases on the same platform.
Historical avg for .4 releases
37 days, 6.5 milestones
Based on 2 previous macOS .4 releases
| Version | Year | Cycle | Milestones | Avg. Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| macOS 26.4 | 2026 | 36d | 6 | 7d |
| macOS 15.4 | 2025 | 38d | 7 | 6d |
Scroll horizontally to compare every historical field.