At its WWDC keynote on 7th, June Apple revealed its new Operating systems for all its hardware.
iOS 15, iPadOS 15, WatchOS 8, and macOS Monterey were all announced with new features that work seamlessly across all the operating systems and devices.
Device Compatibility
The devices that support the new macOS Monterey
- MacBook (Early 2016 and later)
- MacBook Air (Early 2015 and later)
- MacBook Pro (Early 2015 and later)
- iMac (Late 2015 and later)
- iMac Pro (2017 and later)
- Mac mini (Late 2014 and later)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013 and later)
Upcoming Features
Safari
Safari gets a new UI with macOS Monterey that merges the tab bar with the address bar giving more space for the actual content. This new unified bar also changes color matching to the webpage giving the entire browser window a beautiful look.
Safari now has Tab Groups to manage tabs these groups sync across devices so users can continue their work exactly where they left it.
Shortcuts
Apple brings its Shortcuts app to mac allowing users to easily create automation for their machine. Automations created using the Automator app can be imported to the shortcuts app.
Notes
New features in the Notes app include the use of hashtags for managing notes. You can now mention people who are collaborating with you on a particular note
Quick Note is a new way for users to jot down notes on any app or website systemwide, making it easy to capture thoughts and ideas wherever inspiration strikes.
Focus
This feature filters out notifications based on what you are doing. This Focus status is synced across all your devices. When an iMessage user is sending you a message he is notified about you being unavailable but a message can still be sent in case of emergency.
FaceTime
FaceTime can now be used with users who use Android or Windows as well. FaceTime now supports Spatial Audio and Voice Isolation making sound clearer than ever.
SharePlay allows users to watch movies, listen to music or share their screen with friends & family completely in sync. With an API built for SharePlay, many streaming services already support this feature.
Universal Control
This was our favorite new feature coming to macOS Monterey. Universal Control allows users to use one set of mouse/ touchpad and keyboard with multiple devices places side to side.
All you need to do is place your second device beside your primary device and then move the cursor to the edge of the screen and then further to the next screen.
You can even drag and drop files from one device to another as if it was all a single device.
The Universal Control demo that apple show at the WWDC was definitely our favorite part of the event.
Airplay To Mac
With Airplay to Mac users can play all their content directly on the beautiful Mac display right from their iPhone or iPad is they have the latest macOS Monterey.
Additional New Features of macOS Monterey (From Apple Newsroom)
- With the new interactive globe in Maps and an amazing, immersive, and detailed city experience, users can enjoy new ways to navigate and explore the natural beauty of the Earth on the Mac’s large, gorgeous display.
- Live Text 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. Visual Lookup also uses machine learning to help users discover and learn about animals, art, landmarks, plants, and more in photos. These features work across macOS, including in apps like Photos, Messages, and Safari.
- iCloud+ combines everything users love about iCloud with new premium features, including Hide My Email, expanded HomeKit Secure Video support, and an innovative new internet privacy service, iCloud Private Relay, at no additional cost.1
- AirPods Pro and AirPods Max deliver a theater-like experience with spatial audio on Macs with the M1 chip.
- Privacy features like Mail Privacy Protection let users choose whether emails can collect information about their Mail activity, and the Mac recording indicator now shows which app is accessing the Mac’s microphone.
- New accessibility features let anyone add alternative image descriptions right from Markup, and improved Full Keyboard Access and new cursor customization options provide more flexibility when navigating Mac.