OS X 10.4 users can save $140 on the upgrade, report says

Aug 27, 2009 12:31 GMT  ·  By

It has been revealed that Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger (the previous-generation Mac OS) users will be able to directly upgrade to Apple’s new generation operating system, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Snow Leopard will install on Macs running the Tiger OS without requiring installation of Leopard, which doesn’t corroborate with Apple’s previous claims. “[...] For owners of Intel-based Macs who are still using the older Tiger version of the Mac OS, Apple is officially making Snow Leopard available only in a ‘boxed set’ that includes other software and costs $169,” the report says. “The reasoning is that these folks never paid the $129 back in 2007 to upgrade to Leopard. But here’s a tip: Apple concedes that the $29 Snow Leopard upgrade will work properly on these Tiger-equipped Macs, so you can save the extra $140,” it is explained in the piece.

If true, the news should be delightful for Tiger users, who have previously believed that only a trip through Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard would get them to the “promised land.”

On its website, under the “tech specs” tab for Snow Leopard, Apple explains that upgrading from Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard is easy. “If your Intel-based Mac is running Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard, just purchase Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard and follow the simple installation instructions,” the Mac maker claims.

Upgrading from Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger is a tad more complicated, and more expensive, going by Apple’s explanation. “If your Intel-based Mac is running Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger, purchase the Mac Box Set, which is a single, affordable package that includes Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard; iLife ’09, with the latest versions of iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD; and iWork ’09, Apple’s productivity suite for home and office including Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.” Since Apple doesn’t say “if your Intel-based Mac is running Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger you must purchase the Mac Box Set,” the WSJ’s claims may well be accurate.