Apple spent about 18 minutes at the WWDC conference talking about the latest developments in macOS 13 Ventura, and there was a lot going on in this short segment. But many things were also left out. This means that there are several new features that have not been mentioned but will be very useful to you. Here are some unnamed features that stand out.
USB-C accessory security
Apple is always looking for new ways to lock your Mac’s security, so macOS Ventura has added an extra layer of security to your Mac’s USB-C port. When a USB or Thunderbolt accessory is connected to a port, an alert will appear asking if you want to allow the accessory to connect. Users will then be able to choose Ignore or Allow device.
This warning is optional. You’ll find the settings for this in System Settings> Privacy & Security> Security, and you can set it to prompt each time, request new accessories, automatically allow the accessory when the Mac is unlocked, or always allow accessories. According to Ventura’s release notes, approved accessories will remain approved for three days and connected accessories during an operating system upgrade will be automatically enabled.
(By the way, there are no settings to stop the “Disk not ejected properly” pop-up window if you disconnect a flash drive without first unmounting it from the Finder.)
Background sounds
Some users like to play “white noise” in the background to help maintain attention and use Apple Music, YouTube, or some other method of playing audio. With Ventura, there are now settings in System Settings> Accessibility> Audio to play one of six different background sounds:
- Balanced noise: White noise similar to low static
- Bright noise: static with a lighter amount of bass
- Dark noise: static with heavier bass
- Ocean: Sounds that are heard as you walk along a beach
- Rain: Moderate to heavy rain
- Stream: a babbling stream (which usually makes me want to go to the bathroom)
Background sounds continue to play if you play other media, such as Apple Music or YouTube. Apple has added an Audition menu bar icon and an Audition module for the Control Center so you can quickly turn off background sounds without diving into system settings.
Clock and time applications
The iPhone and iPad have always had a clock app, and now the Mac has one too. The Mac version is basically the same as the iPad with a time map that appears in the World Clock section. The clock can be set to track different time zones and has alarms, a stopwatch and a timer.
The iPad Clock app (above) has been ported to the Mac.
Foundry
The Mac also has a Weather app and is basically the Weather app for the iPhone, but redesigned to take advantage of the screen size, like the iPad 16. You can see the current temperature, weather conditions and a forecast of 10 days. It also has information modules on air quality, rainfall, UV index and more.
Improved note application
The Notes app finally gets some much-needed sorting features. Smart folders are now available, which use rules that you can set to automatically organize your notes, and you can filter by any or all criteria in a smart folder, as well as the tag browser. Notes also has chronological categories so you can see the grouped notes for when they were last modified.
Notes now offers the option to lock notes with the login password, instead of creating a new one each time. And now you can create a link for a note that you can pass on to other people who will give access to that person.
Best reminders
Reminders has several new features to better support lists. Lists can now be fixed and you can save templates if you have favorite designs for certain lists. Notifications can be set to alert people when a shared list is modified, and it’s now much easier to see your completed lists using the full smart list.
Other features of the ecosystem
There are several new features not mentioned that are not only new to macOS Ventura, but also include iOS 16 and iPadOS 16. They include:
- Recently locked hidden and deleted folders in Photos that require a Touch ID login
- Hide my email availability in third-party applications
- More Memoji features
- Live subtitles on audio content (previously viewed in May)