Today is the beginning of WWDC22 and Apple has just announced their newest iteration of the Macintosh Operating System, macOS 13 Ventura. It’s jam-packed with exciting new features and security updates, and we’re here to take you through it all!
The developer beta of macOS Ventura is available to members of the Apple Developer Program at developer.apple.com now. A public beta will be available to all (supported) Mac users next month at beta.apple.com. macOS Ventura will be available this fall as a free software update for anyone with a Mac on the supported devices list below!
Support List
This may be the most important update for consumers, as ending the end of the support cycle of your Mac may pose a security risk, as well as a loss in useful macOS features. It’s not advised by Apple to continue the use of a system without the latest security patches/updates, so we advise you to update (only when official support drops in the Fall in this case).
The support list reads as follows:
2017 and later MacBook
2018 and later MacBook Air
2017 and later MacBook Pro
2018 and later Mac Mini
2017 and later iMac
2017 iMac Pro
2019 and later Mac Pro
Features
Stage Manager:
Stage Manager is a brand new feature that automatically organizes open apps and windows into a grid-like space that allows for quick switching between different window groups. The focused window is displayed in the center, and other open windows appear on the left-hand side so you can quickly and easily switch between work, school, and anything else you may be working on. Users can also group windows together when working on specific tasks or projects that require different apps. Stage Manager works alongside other macOS tools, including Mission Control and Spaces.
Continuity:
Handoff:
Apps and Features:
Mail:
In its most major updates in years, Mail now has a brand new overhauled Search section. You can quickly find recent emails, contacts, documents, photos, and more, all before you begin to type. You can also schedule emails and cancel a delivery after hitting send, and Mail now detects if items like an attachment are missing from their message. In Mail, users can set reminders to come back to a message at a particular date and time, and receive automatic suggestions to follow up on an email if there has been no response back!
Messages:
Messages on the Mac now have the ability to edit or undo a recently sent message, mark a message as unread, or recover accidentally deleted messages. Now, when you share a file through Messages using the share sheet or drag and drop, they can choose to share a copy or collaborate. When they choose to collaborate, everyone on a Messages thread is automatically added. And when someone makes an edit to the shared document, activity updates appear at the top of the thread. You and others can also join SharePlay sessions from their Mac in Messages, so they can chat and participate in synchronized experiences.
Spotlight Search:
Spotlight includes an updated design that makes navigation way easier, a handful of new features that provide a more consistent experience across Apple devices, and Quick Look for previewing files. You can now find images in your photo library, across the system, and on the web. You can even search for your photos by location, people, scenes, or objects, and Live Text lets you search by text inside images. To be even more productive, you can now take actions from Spotlight, like starting a timer, creating a new document, or running a shortcut. And Spotlight now includes rich results for artists, movies, actors, and TV shows, as well as businesses and sports.
iCloud Shared Libraries:
With iCloud Shared Photo Library, you can now create and share a separate photo library among up to six family members, so everyone can enjoy all of their family photos! Others can choose to share all of their existing photos from their personal libraries or share based on a start date or people in the photos. To help keep their Shared Library up to date, everyone will receive intelligent suggestions to share relevant photo moments that include participants in the library and any other people you/they choose. Every user in the Shared Photo Library can add, delete, edit, or favorite the shared photos and videos, which will appear in each user’s Memories and Featured Photos so that everyone can relive more complete family moments.
Safari:
Browsing in Safari is even safer with passkeys, next-generation credentials that are more secure, easy to use, and designed to replace passwords. Passkeys are unique digital keys that stay on the device and are never stored on a web server, so hackers can’t leak them or trick users into sharing them. Passkeys make it simple to sign-in securely, using Touch ID or Face ID for biometric verification, and iCloud Keychain to sync across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV devices with end-to-end encryption. They will also work across apps and the web, and you can even sign in to websites or apps on non-Apple devices using their iPhone. Apple is joining Microsoft and Google to phase out passwords entirely, and this move is a major step forward for the industry.
What do you think of macOS 13, and is your favorite feature? Come hang out with us on our Twitter @Appleosophy or with me @Jioriku and get ready for its release this fall! Be sure to also check out our other new articles, such as this one where we break down everything you need to know about iPadOS 16!
