Release record
Mavericks
Release notes
Editorial synthesis with inline references and a source ledger when citations are available.
OS X Mavericks 10.9 reached the Mac App Store on October 22, 2013. The major release combined new Maps and iBooks apps with Finder organization, multi-display work, interactive notifications, credential syncing, browser and calendar changes, power and memory technologies, developer tooling, a free-upgrade policy, and a broad security baseline.[1][2][3][4]
Apple released the Mavericks developer preview to Mac Developer Program members on June 10 and said the public version would arrive from the Mac App Store in the fall. The retained launch announcement and security index both identify October 22 as public availability.[5][6][3]
Mavericks extended Apple services to the Mac through iBooks, Maps, and iCloud Keychain, while adding travel context in Calendar, Shared Links in Safari, actionable notifications, independent multi-display work, and tab-and-tag organization in Finder.[7][8]
Timer Coalescing, App Nap, Compressed Memory, centralized task scheduling, graphics optimizations, energy-usage views, powermetrics, and scheduling APIs formed the documented performance and power package. These descriptions follow Apple's launch-era technical record and do not treat Apple's performance characterizations as independent benchmarks.[9][10]
The structured public-release changes require support from Apple's October launch announcement, October technical paper, or version-specific 10.9 advisory. June-only preview details are not promoted into public deltas, 10.9.1 and later work is not projected backward, and no build number or undocumented behavior is inferred.[11][12][13][14][4]
Source ledger
Sources are linked to the claims they support. Publication and access dates are shown when available.
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2013-10-22T00:00:00.000Z · October 22, 2013; launch overview and feature list
Apple · Apple · 2026-07-30 · OS X Mavericks Power Technologies
Apple Support · Apple · 2026-07-30 · OS X Mavericks v10.9 — 22 Oct 2013
Apple Support · Apple · 2026-07-30 · OS X Mavericks v10.9 security content
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2013-06-10T00:00:00.000Z · June 10, 2013; preview availability
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2013-10-22T00:00:00.000Z · October 22, 2013; Pricing & Availability
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2013-06-10T00:00:00.000Z · Apps, Finder, displays, and notifications paragraphs
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2013-10-22T00:00:00.000Z · Feature list
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2013-10-22T00:00:00.000Z · Core technologies paragraph
Apple · Apple · 2026-07-30 · Pages 2–7; Mavericks power technologies
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2013-06-10T00:00:00.000Z · June 10 developer-preview scope
Apple · Apple · 2026-07-30 · October 2013 footer and Mavericks scope
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2013-10-22T00:00:00.000Z · October 22 public-launch scope
Apple Support · Apple · 2026-07-30 · OS X Mavericks v10.9 and v10.9.1 release lines
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2013-06-10T00:00:00.000Z · June 10, 2013
Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2013-10-22T00:00:00.000Z · October 22, 2013
Apple Support · Apple · 2026-07-30 · OS X Mavericks v10.9
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.
enhancement · changed
The redesigned scheduling app could place appointments in geographic context and estimate the time required to reach them.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
The public release created a Mac planning surface for Apple Maps and a handoff path that moved a prepared route to a supported iPhone for voice guidance.
Recorded at Public
enhancement · changed
The release reduced restrictions around full-screen workflows across more than one display and made the desktop arrangement more independent per screen.
Recorded at Public
security · fixed
The advisory records safer account-authentication selection, accurate signed-message presentation, improved Kerberos mail transport handling, a VNC username vulnerability repair, and tighter guest access to prior log messages.
Recorded at Public
security · fixed
Apple's advisory documents library updates for code-execution, denial-of-service, and transport risks, disables most use of MD5-signed X.509 certificates, and corrects OpenLDAP and smart-card certificate checks.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
The new Mac app connected a user's eligible book collection and reading state across supported Apple devices, extending Apple's reading service beyond iPhone and iPad.
Recorded at Public
security · fixed
The advisory describes an App Sandbox escape path, changes Console links to preview rather than execute directly, and filters unsafe Unicode characters that could disguise a file extension.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
Mavericks could place qualifying background apps into a lower-power state using timer and I/O throttling plus reduced process priority, while excluding foreground and certain active applications.
Recorded at Public
developerApi · introduced
Developers gained command-line CPU power metrics plus interfaces for long-running operations and timer tolerance, complementing the system's automatic power management.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
When memory pressure increased, Mavericks compressed inactive contents in place to preserve responsiveness and available capacity rather than treating them at full size.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
Mavericks introduced an encrypted Apple-managed credential store intended to reduce repeated entry of common account, network, and checkout information across a user's devices.
Recorded at Public
security · fixed
Apple documents state, validation, and authorization corrections spanning CoreGraphics, security preferences, power assertions, and two separate screen-lock paths.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
The browser gained a social discovery feed that collected links from supported accounts inside Safari instead of requiring separate service views.
Recorded at Public
enhancement · changed
The release adjusted compute and memory handling for Macs with integrated graphics, with the performance characterization coming from Apple's launch material.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
Users could classify documents by project or category independently of their folder location and browse those classifications from Finder.
Recorded at Public
security · fixed
Apple's advisory covers Bluetooth and USB controllers, IOKit and serial drivers, dyld persistence, multiple kernel interfaces and network paths, and authorization for loaded kernel-extension management.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
Users could complete several common communication actions directly from a notification without switching away from the application they were using.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
Mavericks brought a tabbed workflow to Finder so users could organize several locations in a single window and reduce desktop clutter.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
Mavericks added user-facing diagnostics for current and historical energy demand, including a battery-menu signal for applications using substantial energy.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
The operating system shifted eligible timer execution within small priority-sensitive windows, combining wakeups from multiple processes to reduce unnecessary CPU activity.
Recorded at Public
security · fixed
Apple's advisory records corrections to blocked-app handling, removal of reset Safari session cookies, and adoption of TLS 1.2 in CFNetwork to mitigate weaknesses in older protocol modes.
Recorded at Public
feature · introduced
The system coordinated recurring background tasks around power state so nonessential work could happen later or only while external power was available.
Recorded at Public
compatibility · changed
The release established a no-cost major OS X upgrade and retained the preceding Mountain Lion hardware baseline, while allowing installation from three prior system generations.
Recorded at Public
Milestones
Every recorded channel appearance in chronological order. Open an appearance for any available build, scope, notes, and sources.
Developer beta
Public release
OS X Mavericks 10.9 reached the public channel on October 22, 2013 with new apps and Finder workflows, expanded desktop and notification behavior, power and memory technologies, free-upgrade compatibility, and documented security repairs.
Historical context
Pace, intervals, and duration compared with earlier releases on the same platform.
Cycle vs. platform average
134d (avg: 102d)
32 days longer than the macOS average
Longest gap in this cycle
134 days
Between Beta 1 and Public