Apple restricts online Apple Store access to newer versions of Safari and macOS

In a move presumably designed to protect customers from potential online threats, Apple recently changed access requirements of its online store to restrict compatibility to more current versions of macOS and Safari.

The online Apple store now requires at least OS X 10.10.5 Yosemite or over and Safari version 10.1.2 or newer to access. Attempting to view the shopping domain within Apple.com using an older version of Safari or OS X results in an error message.

As noted by Mac Otakara, which stumbled onto the new requirement on Friday, Apple's webpage displays an "Unsupported Browser Version" message when using older Safari and Mac software.

Interestingly, a separate alert suggests third-party web browsers are completely unsupported when running iterations of OS X 10.10.

Attempting to access the online storefront from a legacy Yosemite build triggers a message instructing users to download the latest version of Chrome or Firefox. Yosemite-compliant iterations of the two browsers are already outdated, meaning Mac owners must update to a more recent operating system build like macOS 10.14 Mojave.

The minor change further protects customers from online threats by ensuring they are running the latest, most up-to-date operating system and web browser software.

Apple, long a stalwart of consumer privacy, has over the past year amplified efforts to secure its hardware and software offerings, including online services. The company will introduce a new slate of protections with iOS 13, iPadOS, macOS Catalina, watchOS 6 and tvOS 13 this fall, including internet-based utilities like Sign in with Apple.

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21 Comments

chasm

said about 4 years ago

This seems like a good, security-motivated move. Yosemite was released nearly five years ago, so while I expect to see some complaints about this from the "#snowleopard4ever" crowd, it makes a lot of sense. Non-Safari browsers that are still supported by their creators are largely fine, unsupported versions aren't.

dempson

said about 4 years ago

This article has a few details wrong.

1. Firefox 67.0.2 on OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 or OS X Mavericks 10.9.5 is accepted by the Apple online store.
2. Chromium 75.0.3770.90 on OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 is accepted by the Apple online store. (I haven't tried Chrome but it should be the same.)
3. Even though it is a year out of date, Chromium 67.0.3396.99 on OS X Mavericks 10.9.5 is accepted by the Apple online store.

(Firefox still supports OS X Mavericks 10.9 and later; Chrome has required OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later since late June 2018.)

The unsupported browser message does appear as described in Safari on OS X Mavericks and earlier, and in too old versions of Firefox and Chrome on any system.

OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.5 is too old: the last supported versions of Safari, Firefox (49.5.0esr) and Chromium (49.0.2623.112) are rejected by the Apple online store.

Therefore access the Apple online store from a Mac now requires OS X Mavericks or later if using a reasonably up to date Firefox or Chrome, or OS X Yosemite or later with Safari.

On iOS devices, the Apple Store app now says it requires iOS 11 or later, which means it isn't available on devices with A6 or older processors that can't update past iOS 10 (iPhone 5/5c or earlier, iPad 4 or earlier, original iPad mini, iPod Touch 5 or earlier).

arthurba

said about 4 years ago

Ok - I’ve long had a gripe with this behaviour from Apple - it’s their Achilles Heel.

I first encountered it years ago with iTunes. Apple would release the latest iTunes and it would run on/support 7 year old Windows XP, but only run on the last 2 or 3 Mac OS X releases.

iTunes today is worse - the latest release will run only on Mojave, but it runs on Windows 8 (an 8 year old OS) just fine.

Now they block lock access to apple.com for 5 year old MacOS releases, but not 8 year old Windows releases.

Apple make their money from hardware - so they do everything in their power to get you to upgrade your hardware. I get that - and I prefer it than buying from an advertising company who do everything in their power to get you to give up personal information and watch adverts. But it’s the choice between two evils, not the choice between good and bad.

If apple would just update the SSL libraries on those old MacOS releases then they would be secure for web browsing.

adamc

said about 4 years ago

arthurba said:

Ok - I’ve long had a gripe with this behaviour from Apple - it’s their Achilles Heel.

I first encountered it years ago with iTunes. Apple would release the latest iTunes and it would run on/support 7 year old Windows XP, but only run on the last 2 or 3 Mac OS X releases.

iTunes today is worse - the latest release will run only on Mojave, but it runs on Windows 8 (an 8 year old OS) just fine.

Now they block lock access to apple.com for 5 year old MacOS releases, but not 8 year old Windows releases.

Apple make their money from hardware - so they do everything in their power to get you to upgrade your hardware. I get that - and I prefer it than buying from an advertising company who do everything in their power to get you to give up personal information and watch adverts. But it’s the choice between two evils, not the choice between good and bad.

If apple would just update the SSL libraries on those old MacOS releases then they would be secure for web browsing.

Time to move on dude like joining the MS windows revolution.

sflocal

said about 4 years ago

arthurba said:

Ok - I’ve long had a gripe with this behaviour from Apple - it’s their Achilles Heel.

I first encountered it years ago with iTunes. Apple would release the latest iTunes and it would run on/support 7 year old Windows XP, but only run on the last 2 or 3 Mac OS X releases.

iTunes today is worse - the latest release will run only on Mojave, but it runs on Windows 8 (an 8 year old OS) just fine.

Now they block lock access to apple.com for 5 year old MacOS releases, but not 8 year old Windows releases.

Apple make their money from hardware - so they do everything in their power to get you to upgrade your hardware. I get that - and I prefer it than buying from an advertising company who do everything in their power to get you to give up personal information and watch adverts. But it’s the choice between two evils, not the choice between good and bad.

If apple would just update the SSL libraries on those old MacOS releases then they would be secure for web browsing.

You folks just don’t give up do ya?