OS X Lion - Technical Specifications

General requirements

  • Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor

  • 2GB of memory

  • OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)

  • 7GB of available space

  • Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.

  • Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.

Feature-specific requirements

Time Machine

requires an additional hard drive or Time Capsule (sold separately).

Photo Booth

requires a FaceTime or iSight camera (built in or external), USB video class (UVC) camera, or FireWire DV camcorder. Backdrop effects when using a DV camcorder require fixed focus, exposure, and white balance.

FaceTime

Video calls require a built-in FaceTime camera, an iSight camera (built in or external), a USB video class (UVC) camera, or a FireWire DV camcorder; and a 128-Kbps upstream and downstream Internet connection. Making HD video calls requires a built-in FaceTime HD camera and a 1-Mbps upstream and downstream Internet connection. Receiving HD video calls requires a supported Intel-based Mac.

Screen sharing

in iChat and the Finder requires a 128-Kbps Internet connection (300 Kbps recommended).

iChat

Audio chats require a microphone and a 56-Kbps Internet connection. Video chats require a FaceTime or iSight camera (built in or external), USB video class (UVC) camera, or FireWire DV camcorder; and a 128-Kbps upstream and downstream Internet connection.

Backdrop effects when using a DV camcorder require fixed focus, exposure, and white balance. Some iChat features offer better performance and quality with higher system capabilities.

AirDrop

supports the following Mac models:

  • MacBook Pro (Late 2008 or newer)

  • MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)

  • MacBook (Late 2008 or newer)

  • iMac (Early 2009 or newer)

  • Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer)

  • Mac Pro (Early 2009 with AirPort Extreme card, or Mid 2010)

Boot Camp

supports existing Boot Camp installations with Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. New Boot Camp installations require Windows 7 (sold separately).

Exchange support

requires Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 Update Rollup 4 or Exchange Server 2010. Auto-setup requires enabling the Autodiscovery feature of Microsoft Exchange Server.

QuickTime X movie capture

requires a FaceTime or iSight camera (built in or external), USB video class (UVC) camera, or FireWire DV camcorder.

OpenCL

requires one of the following graphics cards or graphics processors:

  • NVIDIA GeForce 320M, GeForce GT 330M, GeForce 9400M, GeForce 9600M GT, GeForce 8600M GT, GeForce GT 120, GeForce GT 130, GeForce GTX 285, GeForce 8800 GT, GeForce 8800 GS, Quadro FX 4800, Quadro FX5600

  • ATI Radeon HD 4670, ATI Radeon HD 4850, Radeon HD 4870, ATI Radeon HD 5670, ATI Radeon HD 5750, ATI Radeon HD 5770, ATI Radeon HD 5870

  • AMD Radeon HD 6630M, AMD Radeon HD 6750M, AMD Radeon HD 6770M, AMD Radeon HD 6970M

Gestures

requires a Multi-Touch trackpad, Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse.

VoiceOver gestures

require a Multi-Touch trackpad or Magic Trackpad.

Mac App Store

is available only to persons age 13 or older in the U.S. and many other countries. Requires compatible hardware and software and Internet access; broadband recommended (fees may apply). Terms apply.

How to Get OS X Lion

With every new Mac.

Beginning when OS X Lion is released in July, every new Mac computer will come with OS X Lion.

Upgrading from OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard.

Use Software Update to update to OS X v10.6.8, then purchase OS X Lion from the Mac App Store. The OS X Lion installer will download to the Dock and automatically launch. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete your installation.

OS X Lion Volume Licensing

Digitally download, install, and deploy OS X Lion to every Mac in your business or educational institution. Learn more.

What’s Included in OS X Lion

Applications

  • Address Book

  • Automator

  • Calculator

  • Chess

  • Dashboard

  • Dictionary

  • DVD Player

  • FaceTime

  • Font Book

  • iCal

  • iChat

  • Image Capture

  • iTunes

  • Launchpad

  • Mail

  • Mission Control

  • Photo Booth

  • Preview

  • QuickTime Player

  • Safari

  • Stickies

  • System Preferences

  • TextEdit

  • Time Machine

Utilities

  • Activity Monitor

  • AirPort Utility

  • Audio MIDI Setup

  • Bluetooth File Exchange

  • Boot Camp Assistant

  • ColorSync Utility

  • Console

  • DigitalColor Meter

  • Disk Utility

  • Grab

  • Grapher

  • Keychain Access

  • Migration Assistant

  • Network Utility

  • Podcast Capture

  • Podcast Publisher

  • RAID Utility

  • AppleScript Editor

  • System Information

  • Terminal

  • VoiceOver Utility

  • X11

Languages

  • English

  • Japanese

  • French

  • German

  • Spanish

  • Italian

  • Dutch

  • Swedish

  • Danish

  • Norwegian

  • Finnish

  • Traditional Chinese

  • Simplified Chinese

  • Korean

  • Brazilian Portuguese

  • Portuguese (Portugal)

  • Russian

  • Polish

  • Czech

  • Turkish

  • Hungarian

  • Arabic

Learn more about all applications and utilities

Recovery partition

OS X Lion includes a built-in set of tools for repairing your Mac in the Recovery HD, a new feature that lets you repair disks or reinstall OS X Lion without a physical disc. Hold down Command-R during startup to boot into the Recovery HD, or hold down the Option key during startup and select Recovery HD. You can restore from a Time Machine backup, reinstall OS X Lion over the Internet from Apple's servers, or use Disk Utility to repair or erase a disk. Learn more