Version History

Release 6.2 (Build 250131)

• Integrity and license checks have been modernized to remain compatible with the latest versions of macOS. For this reason, support for macOS 11 and 12 had to be removed. The minimum required operating system version is now 13.5.
• Modernized organization of language support files.
• The reference manual adds information about temperature sensor selection on Macs with M4 processors. (For installations together with System Monitor Plus.)

Release 6.1 (Build 240223)

• Added new layout option for the menu bar to suppress labels in small two-line display items. This can further reduce the necessary widths on small screens.
• Added workaround for an issue of macOS 14 Sonoma where the operating system could prevent that the current status of individual IPv6 addresses is shown as help tags (tool tips).
• The preference pane to control layout settings for menu-bar items was redesigned.
• Better help tags for the available menu-bar items of the processor load section.
• Fixed a problem where a misleading “less than or equal” symbol could be shown for the temperature readings of inactive CPU cores of M3 Pro or M3 Max processors when they entered a special power-saving mode.

Release 6.0 (Build 231127)

• Added new feature for modern Macs with Apple Silicon to monitor whether the Apple Neural Engine is currently in use. This is a new, separate monitoring item. It is not available for Macs with Intel processors.
• Added new option to ensure that history graphs for processor load won’t auto-zoom, even if the system is never put under high load. This way the scale of history graphs is guaranteed to match the scale of the bar indicator.
• Modernized organization of language support files.

Release 5.95 (Build 230829)

• This version adds preliminary support for future versions of macOS.
• Added new feature to detect situations where the system is an overload status in which additional load created by acquiring process statistics should be avoided. The “top 5” process monitoring functions will now automatically pause for one or two minutes when such a situation arises. System Monitor Plus 1.8 or later is required for this feature to take effect.

Release 5.9 (Build 230526)

This is a maintenance update which fixes an issue with the list of volumes that can be configured for monitoring. On very specific circumstances, depending on the individual upgrade path of the App and of the operating system, the system volume could disappear and temporary APFS backup snapshots could mistakenly appear in the list.

It may be necessary for some users to re-add missing volumes to their monitoring preferences.

Release 5.8 (Build 230329)

• Virtual APFS snapshot volumes are no longer offered for continuous monitoring in the Storage Volumes settings.
• Fixes a problem where storage volumes have not been monitored automatically before confirming the “menu only” settings when updating from version 5.6 or lower.
• A cryptographic security feature was removed to ensure the App can be imported to France again.

Release 5.7 (Build 230112)

• Added new feature to choose which of the disk volumes that are selected for monitoring should be included in the total sum shown in the menu bar.
• Added new feature to select between predefined colors to show secondary items in the menu bar, e.g. the load of efficiency CPU cores or the second value in two-value graphs.
• The layout of the configuration window was optimized. It now has a larger minimum height.
• Disk volumes and APFS snapshots that are assumed to be temporarily connected to the computer only are now immediately removed from the configuration table for storage monitoring instead of marking them offline.
• More network interfaces for which macOS does not provide meaningful designations are now presented with readable names.
• The strategy to search for copies of System Monitor Plus has been optimized.

Release 5.6 (Build 220906)

This is a maintenance update which fixes a problem where the storage size readings of the main volume could not be monitored.

Release 5.5 (Build 220905)

• The automatic switching between normal operation of the user interface with windows and reduced operation in the menu bar will now work more consistently if multiple windows or special auxiliary windows are open.
• The application will no longer offer virtual volumes of APFS snapshots in the list of volumes to monitor.
• For specific Mac model series with Apple Silicon, an additional reading for total internal electric power can be added to the list of sensors. This feature requires the free add-on System Monitor Plus version 1.3 or later.
• Sensor access will no longer be generally rejected for Mac model series released in 2022.
• The code base was modernized to prepare for future operating system versions.

Release 5.4 (Build 220411)

• The layout of the System Monitor Plus preference pane was optimized.
• Better user guidance in cases where access to temperature sensors is deactivated via preferences.
• Enhanced behavior in cases where the network configuration changes while launching the App.

Release 5.3 (Build 211208)

• Added new layout feature to automatically reconfigure the selection of display elements for each monitor item to a recommended setting for width-limited screens. This can be helpful for Macs with small display or camera notch.
• Added support for expected changes in upcoming versions of macOS.
• The policy for the selection of GPUs to monitor has changed. The program no longer suppresses readings for GPUs that are inactive during application launch. This will make monitoring of GPUs that are dynamically switched off for energy saving more consistent. However, this will also enable the display of GPUs that are inactive by default, e.g. the CPU-integrated GPU of Intel-based iMacs with discrete GPU.
• Memory readings for GPUs whose drivers provide incorrect data are now filtered out.
• System Monitor can now check for available updates of the System Monitor Plus add-on application.
• Internal diagnostic features have been added.
• Security certificates have been updated.

Release 5.2 (Build 211104)

• Added support for processor type detection on the new M1 Pro and M1 Max systems.
• Added more guidance for users who like to enable the display of absolute temperature values and fan revolutions.
• Added guidance regarding possible restrictions on Macs with camera notch.

Release 5.1 (Build 211027)

• Added new feature to processor monitoring which will now clearly differentiate between different processor types at the related overviews if available. For Intel processors with Hyper-Threading feature, physical and logical cores are indicated. For Macs with Apple chips, performance and efficiency cores are shown.
• Added new option for individual processor load indicators in the menu bar. If the different processor types mentioned in the previous item are present, they can be shown with different shades of gray.
• Adds protection against a problem where maintenance jobs executed by macOS in sleep mode could silently block the data link between System Monitor and the optional System Monitor Plus.

Release 5.0 (Build 210907)

• Adds a new temperature indicator for the general thermal system status managed by macOS.
• Adds full sandbox support for enhanced security.
• Adds new indicators for specific temperature sensors of Apple Silicon Macs which are not always active and have a measuring range with a minimum value that cannot be fallen below.
• Features to monitor load and memory data of other processes, as well as all hardware sensor support have been removed because they are no longer permitted in the App Store. All affected functions can be reinstated in System Monitor by downloading a separate add-on software. This download is available for free and anonymously. Separating these items in a second application makes sure that we gain permission to add new features to System Monitor in the future.
• Adds a workaround for a defect in some operating system versions, where the system provides only 32 bit network statistics although 64 bit have been requested. The number of transferred bytes no longer wraps around to zero when the readings exceed 4 GiB.

Release 4.4 (Build 210621)

• Added preliminary support for future versions of macOS.
• The position of the information window when switching between application modes has been optimized to better support small screens.
• Adds a workaround for failures of legacy drivers for third-party network interfaces that could prevent them to be usable for the network activity indicators in System Monitor.
• Adds a new workaround for rare issues where macOS could quit the application due to file management problems if any of the “top 5 processes” features was enabled by the user.

Release 4.3 (Build 210519)

• To provide a permanent control menu at a known location, System Monitor now adds an additional application icon to the menu bar. This makes sure inexperienced users always have a base menu easily accessible. Pro users can remove this icon to save space.
• When switching between full user interface and operation in the menu bar only, the app now shows an additional notification that explains the change of control mode. Experienced users can disable this notice.
• To reduce flicker during startup, the application no longer tries to temporarily open its control window.
• Fixes a problem where spacer elements have not always been shown with the same picture quality in preview bars.
• Fixes a problem where diagnostic messages could be written to the system log when specific monitor items have been activated.

Release 4.2 (Build 210503)

• Fixed a problem with the layout of specific numeric displays in the menu bar, where the font size or the total width could be slightly too large.
• The animation effect when deleting elements from the menu-bar layout control has been made more consistent.
• Fixed a rare compatibility issue with macOS 11 where the hierarchical table in the sidebar of the control window would not show all items or would not react to clicks on each of its lines.

Release 4.1 (Build 210428)

• Added compatibility regarding symbol font changes in macOS 11.3 and future versions of macOS.
• Added a FAQ section on autostart to the reference manual.
• Corrected a build issue which resulted in the security features for “hardened runtime” not to take effect. The build was now created with a revised version of Xcode.
• Fixes a rare memory management issue caused by an undocumented change in macOS Big Sur. This could result in unexpected program termination if any of the “top 5 processes” features was enabled by the user.

Release 4.0 (Build 210427)

• Fixed an issue where a wrong item of the configuration window could be selected under specific circumstances.
• Fixed some minor issues with the layout of the configuration window.
• To avoid problems with the service management of macOS, which could launch the menu-bar part twice or could unexpectedly duplicate menu-bar items under specific circumstances, the app no longer uses separate processes for configuration window and menu-bar.

Release 3.3 (Build 210223)

• Fixes a problem where the widths of some menus was not correct under specific circumstances, which could cause labels to be clipped unexpectedly.
• Fixes a problem where header cells could be mistakenly shown for tables in the activity pane of the configuration window.
• This version further ensures that the presentation of temperature sensor values has a similar level of detail on Macs with Intel(R) and Apple Silicon processors.

Release 3.2 (Build 201208)

This is a maintenance update which fixes a problem where the menu-bar part of the application could unexpectedly quit or restart automatically if one of the “top 5” options was active for process or memory monitoring.

Release 3.1 (Build 201202)

• Added necessary changes for the 4th generation System Management Controller used in the latest Macintosh models with M1 processors.
• Added a workaround for a possible issue when monitoring the top 5 processor or memory consuming processes which could cause System Monitor to wait unexpectedly long for an operating system response.
• The temporarily unavailable option to connect with Intel(R) Power Gadget software was reinstated for Macs with Intel processors.
• Fixed a possible layout problem for specific size settings of the control window which could cause the sidebar not to react on clicks or to show an unnecessary scroll-bar.

Release 3.0 (Build 201109)

• Added official support for macOS 11 Big Sur.
• Legacy technology has been removed from the App. The minimum required operating system version is now macOS 11.

Release 2.8 (Build 200511)

• Fixes a problem caused by specific third-party drives that provide excessively long serial numbers with more than 80 digits. Monitoring such disk drives could cause typographic problems in the status displays, so that readings could become unreadable.
• When displaying detail settings for Notification Center, System Preferences will now use a valid icon to present the menu-bar part of System Monitor.
• Network drivers for third-party interfaces that don’t provide valid live statistics will now be correctly filtered out from the System Activity monitor item.
• The App will now accept that users can customize the application icon via the Finder.

Release 2.7 (Build 191216)

This version fixes an issue where the contents of the APFS overview window might not have updated automatically when the user modified the APFS configuration while the window was open.

Release 2.6 (Build 191015)

• This version adds full support for macOS 10.15 Catalina.
• Legacy technology has been removed from the App. The minimum required OS version is now 10.11.
• As side effect of adding support for Catalina, System Monitor now strictly follows the guideline not to monitor hidden storage volumes. This avoids confusion with the swap space volume, local Time Machine snapshots, App Translocation volumes, or the data part of the Catalina system volume. When choosing volumes for monitoring free storage space, the App uses enhanced user guidance to present the relationship between physical disks, APFS containers, APFS volume groups, and APFS volumes.

Release 2.5 (Build 180912)

• This version adds full support for macOS 10.14 Mojave.
• Legacy technology has been removed from the App. The minimum required OS version is now 10.10.

Release 2.4 (Build 180717)

• Added privacy information.
• This update fixes a rare issue which could occur in advanced network configurations: When an offline monitored secondary network interface was put back online, its statistics values may not always have been automatically re-added to the network menu, depending on how fast the operating system rebuilt the network connection.

Release 2.3 (Build 180226)

• Fixes a problem where the application in the menu bar did not open the correct configuration pane of the control window application if that window was not open yet.
• Fixes a problem where the control window was not fully restored to its previous state during a relaunch if the user had disabled the Resume feature of the operating system.

Release 2.2 (Build 171229)

This version adds changes necessary to maintain full compatibility with the new iMac Pro.

Release 2.1 (Build 171011)

This version fixes a problem where error codes of failing temperature sensors could become visible on the user interface (as readings higher than 124°C/255°F). In case of sensor problems, the App now automatically switches over to a replacement sensor, as in previous versions.

Release 2.0 (Build 170915)

• This version adds full support for macOS 10.13 High Sierra. This includes alternative definitions of free storage space on volumes, and indicators for APFS. The scaling mode of fan speed graphs can be changed.
• Legacy technology has been removed from the App. The minimum required OS version is now 10.9.

Release 1.73 (Build 170724)

Fixes a problem where parts of the disk storage menu could fail when the App was configured to monitor a removable disk drive with no media inserted.

Release 1.72 (Build 170704)

Added support for future operating systems. In particular, this will resolve problems where the mapping between disks and their hosted volumes could not always be presented completely or only slowly for specific partitioning schemes.

Release 1.71 (Build 170317)

Corrected a problem with the feature to take over settings from the Trial version where the data transfer could run more than once under specific circumstances.

Release 1.7 (Build 161221)

• Full compatibility with macOS 10.12.1 and later, including support for computers with Touch Bar.
• Corrected a possible problem where spacing elements were shown at a wrong position in the configuration bar for menu items after history or bar graphs have been set to non-standard widths.
• Corrected a problem where the secondary color in history graphs could not be distinguished from the primary color in specific color schemes of specific operating system versions.
• Mac OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard is no longer supported.

Release 1.63 (Build 160818)

• Fixed a possible layout problem in the network menu if the feature to monitor the WAN IP addresses was active, but the chosen service provider did not respond intermittently.
• The App is now protected against a possible problem where the operating system could unexpectantly quit the menu bar display component if process monitoring was active, but high file system activity caused the system to exceed the maximum number of open communication handles.

Release 1.62 (Build 160726)

Fixed a possible layout problem in the network menu when monitoring an interface with only IPv6 but no IPv4 addresses.

Release 1.61 (Build 160720)

Fixed a memory leak in the network address monitor which could cause the App to consume more memory than necessary.

Release 1.6 (Build 160714)

• Added full support for the latest and upcoming operating systems.
• To comply with the latest guidelines, there is now full support for IPv6.
• Fixed an optical problem where horizontal labels and one-line numeric values where not perfectly aligned in the menu bar.
• Added a workaround for an issue where the operating system could unexpectantly shut down the menu bar display when it encountered internal resource problems if any of the features to display the 5 topmost processes was enabled.

Release 1.5 (Build 151030)

This version ensures full compatibility with the latest versions of OS X. The terminology to describe the usage of memory adapts to the one of the running operating system if desired.

Release 1.42 (Build 141001)

• This version ensures full compatibility with the color display schemes of OS X 10.10.
• Corrected a problem where network activity items could not be created for ports combined via dynamic link aggregation. The settings now offer all physical network ports, no matter if they have an active communication address.

Release 1.41 (Build 140804)

This version fixes a rare problem where the control window of the App could unexpectantly close when waking the system from sleep mode with Mac OS X 10.7 or OS X 10.8.

Release 1.4 (Build 140610)

• Corrected an issue where the vertical alignment of one-line text displays did not exactly match standard menus.
• Corrected layout problems in some preference panes when resizing the control window.
• Corrected an issue where external disk drives couldn’t be monitored when they didn’t provide proper names or didn’t use unique identifiers if multiple drives of the same model were connected.
• Corrected an issue where changes in the physical connection of external devices were not reflected, e.g. when powering them down or up.
• Ensured full compatibility with the latest operating system versions.

Release 1.3 (Build 130506)

• Added new feature to list Macintosh volume names as comment lines in the menu for monitored disks. This helps users to more easily identify which volumes are located on which disks.
• Added new preference setting to display paging operations as transferred memory sizes, instead of as counters.
• Bar chart displays shown in the menu bar have been slightly redesigned to provide a more elegant look.
• In the list of possible providers for WAN IP address lookups, the service of “The Privacy Ecosystem” has been replaced by the service of Amazon Inc.
• Corrected a problem where the activity indicators of network interfaces did not work correctly when all activity indicators for disk drives had been disabled.
• Corrected a problem where the first digit of numerical displays of temperature readings in centigrades or of total system load may have been suppressed by the menu bar layout when a value of 99 was exceeded.

Release 1.21 (Build 120402)

This is a maintenance update which enhances network monitoring behavior on systems where complex changes regarding network environment or network hardware occur at runtime.

Release 1.2 (Build 120210)

• Added new monitor item to display the main temperature at the first processor and all fan revs.
• Added support for new features of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.
• Added new feature to optionally display the top 5 memory consuming processes with absolute real private memory readings instead of percentage values.
• Added new feature to display the bandwidths of network interfaces as bits instead of bytes.
• Added new feature to optionally suppress decimal places for large numeric displays in the menu bar.
• Added new feature to control the widths of graphs displayed in the menu bar.
• Added new feature to change the order of the different menu bar items.
• Added new feature to take over preference settings from a possibly installed trial version of System Monitor.
• Enhanced the layout of two-line menu bar displays.
• Readings per second are now displayed with a cleaner layout.
• Corrected a problem where peak values for disk throughput and accumulated data transfer readings for network interfaces could be displayed incorrectly under certain circumstances.
• Mac OS X 10.6.6 and 10.6.7 are no longer supported. The minimum requirement for usage is Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later.

Release 1.1 (Build 110411)

• The space needed for numerical elements in the menu bar will no longer be optimized on each refresh. This avoids any distracting “width flicker” when the menu bar has been configured for numeric displays.
• Alternative to the display of total CPU load, the individual loads for each single CPU can now also be displayed in the menu bar.
• When displaying network activity, new alternative icons more reflecting the meaning “upload/download” can be selected.
• Two-line displays for numeric data in the menu bar use a larger font size now.

Release 1.0 (Build 110228)

First official version of System Monitor.