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 226 reviews

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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 226 reviews

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Most Useful Reviews

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Skip it and wait for the next OS update!

    • Written by from Westfield

    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

    3055 of 4990 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    It works, seems to be a little bit faster

    • Written by from Yorba Linda

    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

    1172 of 1536 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Best OS X Upgrade

    • Written by from Bartlett

    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.

    1289 of 1809 people found this useful

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Most Recent Reviews

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Snow Leopard Hosed my May 2009 Macbook

    • Written by from Ann Arbor

    My Macbook was running great under Leopard but then I tried upgrading to Snow Leopard and the install failed three times and hosed my system and now I can't even use the recovery discs. I still have a year of applecare so they will have to pay for it but beware. …More

    9 of 12 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Wrecked my computer

    • Written by from Thunder Bay

    Generally my 2007 iMac has worked fine (had bluetooth problems) but in December I upgraded to iPhone 4 which was not compatible with my version of itunes. To upgrade iTunes I needed at least leopard os (I had 10.4). That worked well but then I figured I would get the most recent os to avoid that problem in the future. Loading snow leopard worked fine, but once I did the system updates then my computer would
    -freeze all the time
    -id get the rainbow wheel forever
    -it would not wake up from sleep mode
    The only fix is to shut the thing off. A friend gave me some tips
    1) reset pram: from off push pwr and cmd, and letter p and letter r all at same time while computer chimes
    2) from off, press start button and hold
    3) to boot in safe mode, from off hold shift key while computer turns on     …More

    65 of 84 people found this useful

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Works great, like any other Apple product I've owned

    • Written by from Ventura

    I have been using Apple since 1992 profressionally, performing reinstalls, maintenance and networking, and being a graphic designer as well. The problems I have with them are few and far between, including printers, cameras, 3rd party hardware and software.

    For 10.6.x: I love it. I run a MacBook Pro i7 15" and the OS screams. I have an iPhone, Cintiq 12WR and external drive for back-up, and an older HP all-in-one printer. I have no problems, the OS is seamless as, or more than, any other OS I've had and I recommmend it to anyone.

    I always suggest a back-up and restore to a fresh install, as any professional. That is the best way to do it.

    I only give 4 stars because there should always be room for improvement. For instance, give me more access to removing Control Panel items.. all in all, I love this OS. Period.     …More

    24 of 28 people found this useful

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Featured Question

How do I upgrade my Mac 10.4.11 with an Intel 2.16 Intel Core 2 laptop to 10.6?

  • Asked by Kevin H from Delphi
  • May 11, 2012
Answer
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