Apple today previewed macOS Sequoia, the upcoming version of its Mac operating system. The new version will bring several new features, including iPhone Mirroring, which enables full access to and control of an iPhone directly from a Mac, new features for the Safari browser, a new Passwords app, gaming advances, and more.
Apple Intelligence
Perhaps most importantly, macOS Sequoia debuts Apple Intelligence, the personal artificial intelligence system debuting this year on Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
Apple Intelligence will be included in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia and “combines the power of generative models with personal context to deliver intelligence that’s incredibly useful and relevant.” Apple Intelligence can create language and images, take action across apps, and draw from personal context to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks.
Taking full advantage of the power of Apple silicon and the Neural Engine, Apple Intelligence will be supported by every Mac with an M-series chip.
“The all-star combination of the power of Apple silicon and the legendary ease of use of macOS have made the Mac more capable than ever. Today, we’re excited to take macOS to new heights with macOS Sequoia, a big release that elevates productivity and intelligence,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “macOS Sequoia ushers in Apple Intelligence, unlocking incredible new features that will be a game changer for working on Mac. And with more ways to help users effortlessly get things done, new Continuity features like iPhone Mirroring, major updates to Safari, and a host of new games, we think Mac users are going to love it.”
For more information about Apple intelligence, read this Mactrast article.
iPhone Mirroring
macOS Sequoia brings impressive improvements to Continuity with iPhone Mirroring. The new feature allows users to fully access and control their iPhone directly from their Mac.
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. 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. Additionally, users can review and respond to iPhone notifications directly from their Mac.
Safari
Safari now offers Highlights, which Apple says is an “even easier way to discover information on the web, such as directions, summaries, or quick links to learn more about people, music, movies, and TV shows.” A redesigned Reader allows users to enjoy articles without distractions and provides a streamlined view of the article a user is reading, as well as a summary, and a table of contents for longer articles. If Safari detects a video on the page, Viewer puts it front and center, providing full access to system playback controls.
Improved Gaming
Several highly-anticipated games will be making an appearance on the Mac in the near future. Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Assassin’s Creed Shadows are on the way, and Capcom will offer RESIDENT EVIL 7 biohazard and RESIDENT EVIL 2. The next major expansion of World of Warcraft: The War Within is on the way later this year. Frostpunk 2, Palworld, Sniper Elite 4, and RoboCop: Rogue City, will all leverage software technologies like MetalFX. And Control Ultimate Edition and Wuthering Waves are coming soon, taking advantage of the latest M3 family of chips to deliver breathtaking visuals with ray tracing.
Personalized Spatial Audio will provide significantly reduced audio latency with 2nd generation AirPods Pro, providing improved responsiveness. Game Mode improvements bring smoother frame rates, while advanced power management features boost performance across the Mac lineup.
Game Porting Toolkit 2 makes it easier to bring advanced games to Mac, as well as iPhone and iPad.
New Passwords App
Built on the foundation of Keychain, which has been around for more than 25 years, macOS Sequoia’s new Passwords app makes it easier to access passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and other credentials all in one spot. The app will use iCloud syncing, which is protected by secure end-to-end encryption. The Passwords app seamlessly syncs password information between Apple devices and Windows devices with the iCloud for Windows app.
Additional Features
- Messages has big updates to the ways users express themselves and stay connected, including all-new text effects, emoji and sticker Tapbacks, and the ability to schedule a message to send later.
- Apple Maps is introducing even more ways to explore the world, including curated hikes and custom walking routes. Beginning this fall, users can browse thousands of hikes across all 63 national parks in the United States, filtered by length, elevation, and route type, and save them to use while offline.
- Photos now surfaces Collections, which automatically organizes a user’s library by helpful themes, and includes a big update to search, so users can get results quickly.
- Note taking in Notes is getting smarter, making it easier than ever to take detailed and well-written notes. New audio transcription and summarization features with Apple Intelligence enable a device to take notes for the user, letting them stay present in a situation where they need to capture details about what’s happening. And if they need to quickly crunch a number, they can just type in an equation to have it solved automatically in their note body.
- An updated Calculator app lets users see previous calculations with history, and gives them the ability to see their expressions as they type.
- Calendar shows events and tasks from Reminders, making it easy to see, edit, or complete tasks throughout the day. An updated Month View makes it easier to see events and reminders for an entire month at a glance.
The developer beta of macOS Sequoia is available through the Apple Developer Program at developer.apple.com starting today, and a public beta will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month at beta.apple.com. The release will be available as a free software update this fall. Apple Intelligence will be available in beta on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad and Mac with M1 and later, with Siri and device language set to U.S. English, as part of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia this fall. For more information, visit apple.com/macos/macos-sequoia-preview and apple.com/apple-intelligence.
