Apple’s WWDC program has officially begun and the firm has announced all major updates to its major operating systems. These include iOS 16, watchOS 9 and, of course, macOS Ventura. Also known as macOS 13, Ventura includes all sorts of new features for Mac users, such as Stage Manager, Continuity Camera and more.
Release date and availability of macOS Ventura
As is often the case after the presentation of WWDC, developers can start testing the first views of software updates immediately. As long as you are a registered developer, you can get the first preview of the developer right now. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until the public beta begins, which will be available in July.
If you’re not ready to be a beta tester, the answer is that macOS 13 Ventura will arrive this fall. Apple typically releases its new iOS and watchOS updates the week after the iPhone launch in September. However, macOS usually arrives a little later, so you can temporarily assume that it will be released in October. It will be a free update for compatible Macs.
Supported Macs include:
iMac 2017 and later iMac Pro 2017 MacBook Air 2018 and later MacBook Pro 2017 and later Mac Pro 2019 and later Mac Mini 2018 and later MacBook 2017 and later
Since all compatible Macs are due to be manufactured in 2017 or later, there are a good number of PCs that are no longer supported. With macOS Monterey, support went back to 2015.
What’s new in macOS Ventura
Stage director
Stage Manager is another way to organize the applications you have open. It will take all your open applications and place them in groups next to the screen. So now they will stay on your desktop and you can easily use them to switch between applications.
Continuity Camera and FaceTime Handoff
macOS Ventura lets you switch between iOS, iPadOS, and macOS in FaceTime calls. So now, if you’re talking to someone on your Mac and you want to get up and show them something in the other room, you can transfer the call to your iPhone. I think we all wanted to deliver a FaceTime call at one time or another.
That’s not all, because there’s a new feature called Continuity Camera, which will actually allow you to use your iPhone as a webcam. That is correct; You can connect an iPhone to your Mac and use the camera for anything you do, giving you a significant increase in video quality, at least with most Macs.
This also means that Center Stage, which allows the camera to move the field of view to focus on you, will be available for all Macs, using the phone you probably already have. In fact, it’s not just about the quality of the camera. It also adds portrait mode and studio light, and there’s a desktop view feature that works like an aerial camera.
Freeform is a new whiteboard application
Freeform is a new collaboration application being developed by Apple, which aims to bring a new vision to the whiteboard. You can add text, files, links, photos, and more. And, of course, you can collaborate on this in real time.
Mail enhancements
As usual, Mail is getting a lot of new features. There is better search functionality, which gives you better results and will give you suggestions as you type. You can now also cancel the sending of an email, schedule the sending of messages, and receive reminders to return to a draft. It will also be noticed when you forget to include an attachment. Many of these features seem to be inspired by Gmail.
Outstanding improvements
Spotlight is getting a lot of improvements. If you search for images, you’ll find images from Photos, Messages, Notes, the web, and more, and you can use Live Text to search for text within the image.
You will also find new quick actions in the spotlight. You can quickly search and start a timer, set an alarm, find the name of a song in Shazam, and more.
Safari enhancements
As usual, Safari is getting some improvements. Password keys are a feature that allows you to sign in to services and are end-to-end encrypted, making them much more secure. In addition, Apple says they work on non-Apple devices.
You can share tab groups from Safari and even start a FaceTime call to collaborate on something. People you work with will also be able to add their own tabs to the group.
Message enhancements
It’s official; IMessages receive an edit button before Twitter. Yes, you will be able to change a message after sending it, although of course this does not apply to these green SMS messages. You can also mark a message as unread, in case you don’t have time to reply at this time, and you don’t want the sender to be read.
Apple also brings SharePlay to Messaging. This will allow you to chat about things while watching something with your friends. In fact, it looks like Apple is preparing Messages as the place where you can send text messages to your friends while you continue to do things together. In addition to the Freeform app and previous Safari features, there is a wider range of collaboration features you can use. If you have a shared project, there will be a button to chat in Messages or start a FaceTime call.
Photo enhancements
Apple has announced the iCloud Shared Photo Library, which is self-explanatory. You can share photos with up to five people at once, and while sharing photos isn’t new, the ability to edit them is. It’s about sharing the right style of collaboration, rather than sending an album to someone and letting them down. Obviously, edits are synced instantly.
You can choose what’s in the album you’re sharing based on things like the people in the photos, so you can intelligently find out who is in the picture. And when you tell Photos what you want in the album, you’ll see more on the For Your Shared Library tab.
As mentioned above, the first developer preview is available now, so we’ll learn more about what’s in the coming months.