JOIN USApple macOS Monterey: Key features you should know
US-based technology major Apple announced new major software updates to all its product portfolio including iPhone,iPad, Watch, Apple TV, and Macs at the ongoing virtual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2021 (June 7-11) event at its Cupertino HQ.
Apple's new macOS 12.0 Monterey comes with a good number of new features over the 2020-edition BigSur operating System.
Apple macOS Monterey: Key features you should know
Improvements to Safari: It is one of the most secured browsers in the industry and now it is getting some facelift in terms of the visual interface. Apple is bringing a new tab design that lets users see more of the page as they scroll. Also, the tab bar takes on the colour of the webpage and combines tabs, the tool bar, and the search field into a single compact design.
Apple is also bringing a new Tab Groups feature, which offers a new way to easily save and manage tabs — great for planning trips, shopping, or storing the tabs users visit daily. Tab Groups also sync across Mac, iPhone, and iPad, so users can continue their project from anywhere and easily share tabs with friends and family
Shortcuts: Yes, it is the same feature we already have on iPhone and iPad. The new macOS Monterey will bring Shortcuts to the Macs. Users can ask virtual assistant Sirio get things done on the device.
Note: Apple introduced Shortcuts first with iOS 12 in 2018
Quick Note: With this, users can jot down notes on any app or website systemwide, making it easy to capture thoughts and ideas wherever inspiration strikes. Users can also add links from an app to their Quick Note to create context, even on a website in Safari or an address in Maps. As users work through projects in Notes with friends or colleagues, they can add mentions, see everyone’s edits in the new Activity View, and categorise their Notes with tags to quickly and easily find them in the new Tag Browser and in tag-based Smart Folders.
Universal Control: This feature lets users work with a single mouse and keyboard and move between Mac and iPad for a seamless experience, with no setup required.
Users can even drag and drop content back and forth between devices — great for sketching a drawing with Apple Pencil on iPad and placing it into a Keynote slide on the Mac.
Focus: It will allow users to set the device into working, sleeping, do not disturb, or driving mode. There is also a custom option to add more modes and name them. Users can set the pre-written message to reply to friends according to the mode set on the device. Also, users can create Home Screen pages with apps and widgets that apply to moments of focus to only display relevant apps and reduce temptation.
For instance, if the user is on work mode, only the related apps such as slack, official email messages get notified while others such as a text is from a personal messenger app, they see the receiver's Focus status, reflecting that the user is not currently reachable.
Privacy: Apple is bringing Mail Privacy Protection that let users choose whether emails can collect information about their Mail activity, and the Mac recording indicator now shows which app is accessing Mac’s microphone.
Enhancements to FaceTime: The new macOS brings support for spatial audio, which will make the user's voice come off more natural on video group chat on Apple devices than ever before. It will be enabled by the new microphone mode, which can separate the user’s voice from background noise.
Also, users can create schedules and send FaceTime-invite links not just to other iPhones, iPad, or Mac, and share it through Messages, Calendar, Mail, but also to third-party apps and devices including Android and Windows devices (only via Chrome and Edge browsers).
Furthermore, FaceTime gets a new SharePlay feature. This will let users on the video call share songs together with Apple Music, watch a TV show or movie in sync, or sharing their screen to view apps together. Shared playback controls let anyone play, pause, or jump ahead.
AirPlay: Users will be able to play, present, and share just about anything — from the latest movies and games to vacation photos and presentations — from their iPhone or iPad right to their Mac’s stunning Retina display.
Live Text: This feature uses on-device machine learning to detect text in photos, including phone numbers, websites, addresses, and tracking numbers, so users can copy and paste, make a phone call, open a website, and easily find more information.
Accessibility: The new macOS Monterey is bringing a new feature that lets anyone add alternative image descriptions right from Markup, and improved Full Keyboard Access and new cursor customisation options provide more flexibility when navigating Mac.
List of Macs eligible for macOS Monterey:
1) iMac (Late 2015 and newer models)
2) Mac Pro (Late 2013 and newer models)
3) iMac Pro(2017 and newer models)
4) Mac mini (Late 2014 and newer models)
5) MacBook Air (Early 2015 and newer models)
6) MacBook (Early 2016 and newer models)
7) MacBook Pro (Early 2015 and newer models)
The new macOS Monterey will be released as a free software update to all eligible devices later this year in September.
Interested public software developers can download macOS Monterey beta OS to experience the new features (here).
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