Apple Launches New Operating System macOS Monterey

Apple Launches New Operating System macOS Monterey

Tech giant Apple has long given its operating systems for the Mac the (nickname) of a unique place in California. So, tonight around 19:00, it’s Monterey’s turn, or macOS 12. But, first, we list the most important novelties for you.

 

Monterey (a charming California beach town two hours from San Francisco) is the successor to macOS Big Sur, which clocks in at version 11.6 at the time of writing. Some (sub) versions can still be added, but that is mainly food for those who cannot upgrade to macOS 12 Monterey after Monday evening. Those left behind include owners of a pre-2016 MacBook Pro or Air, iMac older than late 2015 or Mac mini pre-2014.

With Monterey comes Safari 15, the latest browser from Apple that can also be installed on ‘older’ systems for a few weeks now. In addition, the internet browser introduces Tab groups, with which you can divide tabs into – well – groups. These are, of course, also neatly synchronized on all your other Apple devices. Still, Safari 15 is not an unqualified success: the browser has already received a lot of criticism in recent weeks because it is not clear to everyone which tab is in the foreground due to a cosmetic procedure.

You were taken from iOS for iPhone: the Focus mode. You choose this mode when you want to concentrate on a certain task and can’t use any distractions for a while. You can create Focus profiles for different activities (working, sleeping, gaming, …), and you can also sync your status with multiple devices or send it in messages via the Messages app.

The Quick note function is also handy: from many apps, you can now quickly note a cat bell, which is also available on all your other devices.

One Monterey gadget that isn’t working right away, but will be rolled out later this year, is Universal Control. This allows you to switch flawlessly between your Mac and iPad with a single keyboard and mouse. In addition, you can move the cursor from one device to another and even drag content between two devices. A bit similar to Logitech Flow but baked into Apple’s operating system.

Other notable novelties include AirPlay to Mac (where the Mac can also act as a speaker), Live Text (copy text from photos), the Assignments app to automate multiple actions, not to mention iCloud+. You could read more about this in this previous article.

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