Going from win to Apple

[rdpar]

I suppose I would have to buy a new pro tools to go from my windows version to apple?

[smurfyou]

No the iLok license works for both Windows and Mac versions.

[The Weed]

If you have PT 2019, as per your signature, make sure that is going to work with the OS X version on the Mac you plan to buy. You may need to update your Pro Tools, which, if you don't have a current Update & Support Plan, will require you to find and buy a Reinstatement or, if you can't find one, purchase a new Pro Tools license. You will also probably have to update any third party plug-ins you have and be sure they all work with OS X.

[Darryl Ramm]

Go into this with your eyes open.

Yes on macOS play much more attention to Pro Tools and macOS and interface driver compatibility, this is much more of a compatibility mess than with Windows largely in part because Apple is much more aggressive about cranking on new features/systems, implementing new security technology and moving stuff over from the iOS world to macOS and just has a less backwards compatibility focus than Microsoft.

You cannot downgrade a Mac to a version of macOS that was released prior to the first version of macOS supported on that model Mac.

https://everymac.com is a great resource about mac configurations and macOS compatibility and lots of other stuff.

Almost all macs are now Apple silicon based, Pro Tools is not yet natively running on Apple silicon, it runs as Intel code under the Rosetta 2 translator. And it relies on current Intel based plugins also running under Rosetta 2. And concurrent with that and some other licensing/iLok changes some legacy plugins will not work on recent Apple silicon setups, you have to pay careful attention to plugins compatibility with macOS and Pro Tools version and in some.

Interface and other device drivers on new Apple silicon Macs *have* to be Apple Silicon native as Rosetta 2 does not work for drivers. So don't rely say on any driver compatibility claims of a macOS version support, you have to also confirm that drivers are supported on Apple silicon based systems *and* that macOS version

Once Avid releases a Apple silicon version of Pro Tools you will also likely need to move to Apple silicon versions of all plugins, which may mean having to upgrade, or some legacy plugins just not being available. You should be able to keep running Pro Tools using the intel code under Rosetta 2 if you want to, but eventually (and I expect not too slowly, guessing ~2 years from native support) I expect Avid will stop releasing Intel versions of Pro Tools on mac.

If you are running today OK on Windows, especially if you have lots of third party plugins you might want to wait out that transition of Pro Tools and plugins to Apple silicon and switch over once stuff has stabilized (over ~1 year from release???)

[Ben Jenssen]

Originally Posted by The Weed

If you have PT 2019, as per your signature, make sure that is going to work with the OS X version on the Mac you plan to buy. You may need to update your Pro Tools, which, if you don't have a current Update & Support Plan, will require you to find and buy a Reinstatement or, if you can't find one, purchase a new Pro Tools license. You will also probably have to update any third party plug-ins you have and be sure they all work with OS X.

Pro Tools Operating System Compatibility Chart - avid.force.com