Apple unveiled Sequoia, the next major version of its desktop operating system for Mac computers, during Monday’s keynote address at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024.
While macOS 15, now officially known as Sequoia, brings a lot of new features, including new Continuity features like iPhone Mirroring, major updates to Safari, and a host of new games. Let’s have a look at some of the highlighted features in macOS Sequoia.
iPhone Mirroring
One of the most highlighted features is “iPhone Mirroring,” which, according to Apple, expands “Continuity” by enabling full access to and control of iPhone directly from macOS. In other words, iPhone Mirroring leverages MacOS’ Continuity feature, which allows iPhone users to access their smartphone wirelessly, directly from Mac, with the device securely locked away.
“A user’s custom wallpaper and icons appear just like on their iPhone, and they can swipe between pages on their Home Screen, or launch and browse any of their favorite apps. The keyboard, trackpad, and mouse on Mac also let a user interact with their iPhone, and audio even comes through,” Apple said in its press release.
“Users can seamlessly drag and drop between iPhone and Mac, and a user’s iPhone remains locked, so nobody else can access or see what the user is doing. It also works great with StandBy, which stays visible, so users can get information at a glance.”
In addition, iPhone notifications will be mirrored onto macOS Sequoia, allowing users to review and respond to them directly from their Mac without the need for their smartphones.
Passwords App
macOS Sequoia brings a new dedicated, cross-platform password app called “Passwords” built on Keychain, which makes it even easier to access passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and other credentials all in one place. Passwords seamlessly sync between a user’s Apple devices and Windows with the iCloud for Windows app.
Safari
Apple’s Safari web browser for Sequoia now offers Highlights, a feature designed to discover information on the web, such as directions, summaries, or quick links to learn more about people, music, movies, and TV shows.
The redesigned Reader mode offers a distraction-free and streamlined view of articles with a summary and a table of contents for longer articles. Videos on pages are placed in front and centre with full access to system playback controls, including Picture in Picture.
Gaming
A star-studded line-up of new games will be coming to the Mac platform in the coming months. These include the highly anticipated Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Frostpunk 2, Palworld, Robocop: Rogue City, Control, and the Riven remake. The impressive line-up will use new features like Personalised Spatial Audio to provide a more immersive gaming experience. Also, reduced audio latency with AirPods Pro (2nd generation) offers even better responsiveness.
For game developers, Apple has announced Game Porting Toolkit 2, the newest version of its game porting toolkit, to make it easier to bring advanced games to Mac, as well as iPhone and iPad.
Apple Intelligence On Mac
macOS Sequoia will also include the new Apple Intelligence to help Mac users enhance their writing and communications more effectively. With brand-new systemwide Writing Tools built into macOS Sequoia, Apple Intelligence will help users rewrite, proofread, and summarise text nearly everywhere they write, including Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps. Also, a new AI art maker called Image Playground will be available to create playful images in seconds, as well as dynamic Memories creation in Photos.
Window Tiling
In macOS Sequoia, users can now drag a window to the edge of the screen, which will suggest a tiled position on their desktop. Tiles can be arranged side by side or placed in corners to keep more apps in view. New keyboard and menu shortcuts can be used to manage the tiles more quickly.
Other Features
macOS Sequoia also brings updates to Messages, Apple Maps, Photos, Notes, Calculator, and Calendar.
Starting Monday, the developer beta version of macOS Sequoia is available, with the public beta expected to be released in July.
The final version, which will be a free software update, is slated sometime in the fall of 2024.
