Apple has launched the latest version of its macOS operating system, which introduces Stage Manager to the company’s desktop computers, among other features.
The following Macs are supported by Ventura:
- MacBook models from 2017 or later
- MacBook Air models from 2018 or later
- MacBook Pro models from 2017 or later
- Mac mini models from 2018 or later
- iMac models from 2017 or later
- iMac Pro (all models)
- Mac Pro models from 2019 or later
- Mac Studio (all models)
Among the major updates are as follows:
Stage Manager organises apps and windows so users can see everything at a glance, offering a dashboard view of working windows.
When enabled, the current window users are working in is displayed prominently in the center, while other windows appear on the left so they can seamlessly switch between tasks. Users can create groups of windows or apps when working on specific tasks or projects.
The new Continuity Camera feature allows the iPhone camera to unleash a groundbreaking webcam experience.
When iPhone is nearby, Mac can automatically recognise and use the camera. Desk View taps into the Ultra Wide camera on iPhone to simultaneously show the user’s face and an overhead view of their desk, while bringing in iPhone features such as Center Stage, Portrait mode, and Studio Light.
Spotlight now provides a more consistent experience across Mac, iPhone, and iPad, searching images in their photo library, on the web, and across the system in apps like Messages and Notes. Extra search functions allow searching by location, people, scenes, or objects, and Live Text lets them search by text inside images.
Spotlight also includes “rich results for categories for artists, movies, actors, TV shows, businesses, and sports.”
There is also a new ‘Passkeys‘ sign in feature for Safari, ushering in “a passwordless future”, according to Apple. A unique digital key is created that stays on device and is never stored on a web server.
Shared Tab Groups allow users to share websites with family, friends, and colleagues, and see what tabs others are looking at live. Mail gives users the ability to schedule messages, cancel delivery of a message before it reaches a recipient’s inbox, and can also detect if items such as an attachment or cc’d recipient is missing and remind the sender to add them.
Users can also quickly join SharePlay sessions from their Mac in Messages, so they can chat while participating in shared experiences like watching a show or listening to a song together. Similarly, iCloud Shared Photo Library enables users to create and share a separate photo library among up to six family members.
Finally, for gamers, macOS Ventura brings new technologies like Metal 3 that take full advantage of the new M2 hardware in Macs.