Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

Upgrade from Mac OS X Leopard with Snow Leopard, a simpler, more powerful, and more refined version of Mac OS X. It delivers a wide range of enhancements, next-generation technologies, out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange Server, and new accessibility features. It's the world's most advanced operating system, finely tuned from installation to shutdown.

To upgrade your Mac to OS X Lion, you must be running OS X Snow Leopard. If you have OS X v10.5 Leopard, purchase OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard now and install it on your Mac. Then buy OS X Lion as a digital download from the Mac App Store. Learn more>

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3.5

Based on 210 reviews

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$29.00

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Overview

Better, faster, easier Updated

Snow Leopard enhances your entire Mac experience. In ways big and small, it gets faster, more reliable, and easier to use.

  • Activate Exposé right from the Dock.
  • Wake from sleep and shut down your Mac faster than before.
  • Install it more quickly and get back 7GB of disk space.
  • Enjoy dozens more refinements for everything from iChat to Preview and more.

Next-generation technologies New

New core technologies in Snow Leopard unleash the power of today's advanced hardware and prepare Mac OS X for future innovation.

  • 64-bit support, the next big step for the Mac. All key system applications are now 64-bit so they can take advantage of all the memory in your Mac.
  • Grand Central Dispatch, a revolutionary new way for software to get the most from multicore processors.
  • OpenCL, a new technology that unleashes the power of graphics processors to accelerate application performance.

QuickTime X New

As the next generation of media players, it's built on new core technologies and advances modern media and Internet standards.

  • Watch your videos in a clean, uncluttered interface with the new QuickTime Player.
  • Record audio or video using the built-in iSight camera and microphone in your Mac.
  • Trim your media to the perfect length.
  • Easily publish your media to MobileMe or YouTube.

Out-of-the-box
support for Microsoft Exchange New

Mac OS X Snow Leopard delivers built-in support for the latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server, something even Windows PCs don't have.

  • Use your Mac at home and at work and have all your messages, meetings, and contacts in one place.
  • Easily set it up using the Autodiscovery feature in Exchange.
  • Use Mail, iCal, and Address Book to access your work email, calendars, and the Global Address List alongside your personal accounts.
  • Take advantage of powerful Mac OS X features such as Spotlight, Quick Look, data detectors, and more.

Safari 4 New

The latest version of Apple's blazing-fast web browser delivers up to 50 percent faster JavaScript performance and is more resistant to crashes than ever.

  • Use Top Sites to view your favorite websites at a glance, see which ones have been updated, and visit them in a click.
  • Complete search queries as you type with built-in Google Suggest.
  • Flip through full-page previews of your browsing history in Cover Flow the same way you flip through album art in iTunes.

Universal Access Updated

Every Mac comes with built-in technologies designed to help people with disabilities experience it. Innovations in Snow Leopard advance accessibility even further.

  • Control your Mac using gestures on your Multi-Touch trackpad. And when you drag your finger across the trackpad, VoiceOver speaks the items you touch so you know how they're arranged on the screen.
  • Snow Leopard includes support for over 40 braille display models, including Bluetooth models.
  • New accessibility features make web browsing easier, faster, and more enjoyable.

What's in the Box

  • Installation DVD
  • Printed and electronic documentation

System Requirements

  • Mac computer with an Intel processor
  • 1GB of memory
  • 5GB of available disk space
  • DVD drive for installation
  • Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.
  • Some features require Apple's MobileMe service; fees and terms apply.

Language Support

Mac OS X v10.6.3 Snow Leopard is available in English, Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, and Polish.

About the Family Pack

The Family Pack Software License Agreement allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple software on up to a maximum of five (5) Apple-labeled computers at a time as long as those computers are located in the same household and used by persons who occupy that household. By 'household' we mean a person or persons who share the same housing unit such as a home, apartment, mobile home, or condominium, including students who are primary residents of that household but reside at a separate on-campus location. This license does not extend to business or commercial users.

 

Ratings & Reviews

3.5

Based on 210 reviews

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Most Useful Reviews

  • Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

    1.0
    Skip it and wait for the next OS update!
    • Written by JC from Westfield
    • May 4, 2010

    background: rabid mac user and evangelist for more than fifteen years.

    Snow Leopard: really, it's just terrible. it took the rock-solid, unbeatably stable mac I've been using for almost 2 yrs and made it as frustrating and hard to use as (dare I say it?) .... a PC! I upgraded using the Family Pack, which upgraded to Snow Leopard, Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and all the rest. Since then:

    - overall system speed slower
    - Firefox takes > 30 sec to load
    - Google Chrome browser essentially unusable: locks & freezes frequently
    - iPod shuffle frequently doesn't mount into iTunes or Finder at all (though nano and iPhone mount just fine)
    - external Firewire 800 drive for Time Machine unmounts every time the machine wakes from sleep (have to turn off & re-start)
    - "Save As" command causes EVERY application trying to use it to freeze, about once a week. This includes Safari, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Word, Excel, Power Point, Firefox, Chrome. This includes the "Save As PDF" command from the print menu. I do a large volume of 'save as' work-- everything is PDF'ed these days!

    I update software weekly and re-start regularly. Still one of the Mac faithful, but Snow Leopard is just _amazingly_ buggy and unstable. PLEASE come out with the next upgrade (and make it as stable and reliable as pre-10.6 OSes) so I can get out of this prison!!     …More

    2733 of 4486 people found this useful

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  • Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

    5.0
    It works, seems to be a little bit faster
    • Written by DJ from Yorba Linda
    • Apr 20, 2010

    I gave this 5 stars because of the price and for amount of performance increase. My macbook pro is already fast and I rarely have performance issues with it after the upgrade I expect it to be a bit faster. The upgrade process itself was very easy the only down side was I had to compile my ruby gems to be 64 bit compatible. But your average user will not have to do this. I appreciate the amount of effort apple and the apple developers put into their OS making it simple for the user and reliable. There is nothing worse then having a bad OS. …More

    1060 of 1384 people found this useful

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  • Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

    5.0
    Best OS X Upgrade
    • Written by AR from Bartlett
    • Apr 23, 2010

    I've been with Mac OS X since 10.2, and all I have to say is WOW. Mac and iPhone are so... extraordinary together. Good.

    1141 of 1614 people found this useful

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Most Recent Reviews

  • Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

    5.0
    Best OS I've Used
    • Written by BG from Dyess Air Force Base
    • Feb 1, 2012

    I purchased my first Macbook Pro 15" i7 2.66 with 8GB RAM and the 500 GB HD in 2010 and I will have to say that I am throughly impressed with this computer from the hardware to the software. Apple is very considerate when they make their products. I installed Windows 7 (Via Bootcamp) for the compatibility of the games and programs that are PC only, and Apple is the only company that is trying to be supportive of both. After I installed Windows 7 all of the drivers were on the OS disc for my MBP which is revolutionary that they say hey you can put windows on this and actually make it worth doing. Bootcamp is very easy to use and setting it up for windows is very easy and stress free. Snow Leopard is the best I've used It was tied with Windows 7 but the only thing that I can say pushes it over the top is the compatibility I have plugged in everything from mice to printers and it all worked with no problems at all. Also the price tag. They sell it for a reasonable price unlike Windows which will put you back at least $100 for an "Upgrade" version instead of a full version and Windows honestly hasn't changed that much and I've used every version of windows from Windows 3.0 to Windows 7. I have used both Windows and OS X and I will have to say for the money and compatibility it's a hands down choice to get OS X if you want a stable OS that is easy to use. …More

    10 of 12 people found this useful

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  • Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

    1.0
    scrollbar
    • Written by JK from avon
    • Feb 1, 2012

    I hate this software because it is impossible to get a right-handed scrollbar without 20 tries. What is the secret?

    8 of 19 people found this useful

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  • Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

    1.0
    Rip-off Jerks!
    • Written by MC from Tallahassee
    • Jan 28, 2012

    Bought Snow Leopard as required in order to upgrade to Lion. But you can only order a disc, not a download for some reason. So after 2 weeks, the disc arrived and I installed it. But... it's version 10.6.3 of Snow Leopard, not the latest version, 10.6.8 and I STILL can't install Lion because every time I try to upgrade to 10.6.8, the installation process crashes. Thanks a lot, Apple-hippies! …More

    102 of 134 people found this useful

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Questions & Answers

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Most Interesting

Recently Answered

  • Does snow leopard support appleworks 6? (leopard does)    thanks  dc
    • Asked by DC from San Francisco
    • Jan 7, 2011

    1 Answer

    Answer

    10.4 is the last OS to run Appleworks. Using 10.5 or 10.6 slows it down. 10.7 kills it.

    • Answered by RR from Taylorsville
    • Feb 8, 2012
  • If I have os x 10.4.11, what should I upgrade with?
    • Asked by JM from Springfield
    • Feb 6, 2012

    1 Answer

    Answer

    You need to make sure your Mac supports the newer OSX versions.

    Snow Leopard requires a Mac with any Intel Processor and at least 1GB of memory; Lion requires a Mac with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor plus at least 2GB of memory. Snow Leopard must already be installed if you wish to upgrade all the way to Lion.

    When I upgraded from 10.4.11 to Snow Leopard, here are the steps I took:

    1) First, keep (or clone to an external bootable drive) your old bootable partition with the old OS on it. This allows you to have a backup and still be able to start up with OS 10.4.11, if you wish to, after Snow Leopard is installed.

    2) Start doing a clean install of Snow Leopard to a fresh partition. In order to do a clean install with the $29 DVD, you will have two options when you start up from the DVD... "Utilities" or "Continue". Select "Utilities" and when the Mac restarts, select "Disk Utilities" from the "Utilities" menu. Do a format of your "fresh" partition and then QUIT "Disk Utilities".

    3) Now Snow Leopard will begin installing. During the install, it will search your Mac for all other partitions with an older OS and then ask you if you want to import your OS Settings, Applications and Files from one of those other partitions. Do this for a very smooth upgrade transition to the new OS. (If you decide to not import, then you will end up with a clean install of Snow Leopard instead.)

    4) After restarting with the newly installed Snow Leopard, go to the Apple Menu and do Software Updates to bring your system up to OS 10.6.8.

    5) All my Apps from OS 10.4.11 continue to work in Snow Leopard, but some of my printer drivers and scanner utility did not. Until I found those upgrades, I was still able to start up from the OS 10.4.11 partition to use my printers and scanner. To change the Start Up partition, either use the Start Up Disk in System Preferences... or press and hold "option" while your Mac starts up.     …More

    • Answered by EW from Vancouve
    • Feb 7, 2012
  • My MacBook is currently running Mac OS X 10.5.8. Can I upgrade directly to Mac OS X Lion, or do I have to go through Mac OS X Snow Leopard first?
    • Asked by JM
    • Feb 4, 2012

    1 Answer

    Answer

    You need to upgrade to Snow Leopard, and then go to Lion.

    You will need to make sure that you have enough RAM.... a minimum of 2GB is required for Lion. …More

    • Answered by RW from Niddrie
    • Feb 6, 2012

Featured Question

I have Mac OS X 10.5.8. Do I have to Purchase OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and OS X Lion to be able to run icloud?
  • Asked by RR from Oak Park
  • Nov 25, 2011
Answer
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