The most recent working system for Mac PCs is macOS 15 Sequoia, unveiled by Apple at its 2024 Worldwide Developer Convention. This cheat sheet explores necessary new capabilities in addition to necessities for the brand new working system.
Sequoia has neat quality-of-life modifications for work, comparable to the way in which dragging a window to the sting of the display will robotically put it in a tile folded to the facet so you possibly can see the entire window. Continuity, a characteristic that allows sharing between units, is getting much more seamless with the power to manage an iPhone from a Mac, together with interacting with apps.
The largest change is that macOS 15 will include Apple Intelligence, which brings generative AI capabilities comparable to e mail summarisation all through tentpole Mac purposes like Mail and Pages.
What’s macOS 15 Sequoia?
macOS 15 Sequoia is the newest working system for Macs, introduced on June 10, 2024 at WWDC. The title Sequoia continues Apple’s development of naming its OS after areas in California, with earlier iterations named Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey and Massive Sur. Sequoia is a nationwide park within the Sierra Nevada mountain vary.
It’s the first Mac working system to assist Apple Intelligence, the corporate’s proprietary synthetic intelligence platform. AI options embody audio transcription in Notes, Good Reply in Mail and a extra clever Siri that may perceive pure language prompts.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vp of software program engineering, stated in a press launch: “The all-star mixture of the facility of Apple silicon and the legendary ease of use of macOS have made the Mac extra succesful than ever. Right this moment, we’re excited to take macOS to new heights with macOS Sequoia, a giant launch that elevates productiveness and intelligence.
“macOS Sequoia ushers in Apple Intelligence, unlocking incredible new features that will be a game changer for working on Mac. And with more ways to help users effortlessly get things done, new Continuity features like iPhone Mirroring, major updates to Safari, and a host of new games, we think Mac users are going to love it.”
What are the principle options of macOS 15 Sequoia?
Apple Intelligence options
Writing Instruments
Whenever you spotlight a bit of textual content on Sequoia and proper click on, you may be introduced with numerous AI Writing Instruments:
- Proofread will undergo the textual content and make strategies on grammar and spelling.
- Rewrite will rewrite the complete part in both a pleasant, skilled or concise fashion.
- It’s also possible to click on Abstract or Key Factors to extract the principle takeaways of the textual content.
Writing Instruments will probably be obtainable in all places you possibly can write, together with Mail, Notes, Pages and third-party apps. In Mail, emails within the Inbox could have AI-generated summaries as previews slightly than a abstract of the topic line or first sentence. When typing a reply, macOS Sequoia will provide you with quite a few Good Reply choices generated utilizing the unique e mail’s content material.
Notes
Notes now comes with audio transcription and summarisation utilizing Apple Intelligence. This implies the app can activate the Mac microphone throughout a gathering, and it’ll generate a transcription and abstract of the dialogue in actual time. Notes will even robotically resolve any calculations typed right into a Observe.
Picture Playground
Picture Playground is an AI picture producing device included on macOS 15. It’s a devoted app and constructed into native apps like Messages and Pages so AI photos could be created and used inside them. macOS will counsel prompts primarily based on the context of the open app, or you possibly can enter your personal.
Siri
Siri has been augmented with Apple Intelligence. New capabilities embody on-screen consciousness, in-app actions, textual content instructions and a greater understanding of pure language instructions. It additionally has a brand new look, showing as a glowing gentle bar that wraps across the sides of the display and pulsates to point it’s listening.
You may learn in regards to the AI options in additional element in TechRepublic’s Siri cheat sheet.
ChatGPT and Non-public Cloud Compute
Whereas Apple Intelligence runs on {hardware} constructed into the Mac, for some features, the extent of compute it supplies won’t be ample; due to this fact, macOS 15 gives the power to connect with ChatGPT with out leaving an app. ChatGPT can be utilized to realize real-time info that can not be accessed on the gadget in addition to for extra highly effective textual content and picture era.
SEE: ChatGPT Cheat Sheet: A Full Information for 2024
However ChatGPT shouldn’t be the one possibility for Mac customers to entry extra computational sources. Extra intensive requests could be routed via Non-public Cloud Compute, Apple’s new cloud intelligence system, which sends it to exterior Apple servers. The info transferred throughout this course of shouldn’t be saved or made accessible to Apple, making certain privateness.
Different options
iPhone Mirroring
iPhone Mirroring is a characteristic that permits customers to completely entry and work together with their iPhone from their Mac. The cellphone’s wallpaper and icons seem as a window on the PC display, so customers can view notifications, open apps and carry out duties on it utilizing the Mac’s controls. The iPhone stays locked, whereas iPhone Mirroring is going down to maintain it non-public.
Safari
Apple has made numerous upgrades to Safari as a part of the macOS 15 replace. A button within the handle bar will now present web page Highlights when clicked, comparable to a abstract of the web page’s content material, instructions through Maps or hyperlinks for additional info.
The Reader device bought a makeover, providing a extra streamlined view of the content material being learn. There are new customisation choices for colors and fonts, and desk of contents and abstract seem in a sidebar for longer articles.
If a video seems on an online web page, Safari enlarges it and brings it front-and-centre, or places it right into a smaller pop up when the consumer modifications the window.
Window Tiling
If a consumer has a number of home windows open on the desktop and drags one in every of them to the sting of the display, macOS Sequoia will robotically transfer and resize them so they’re in an intuitive tiled association that maximises visibility.
Video conferencing
When utilizing video conferencing apps like Zoom or FaceTime, macOS Sequoia will present the presenter a picture of what precisely will probably be seen to different assembly attendees after they share their display earlier than really sharing it. They’ll additionally use built-in or customized backgrounds throughout a video name.
Passwords app
Changing Keychain, Passwords is a brand new app for the Mac that securely shops all of the consumer’s credentials. Its contents syncs between Apple units utilizing iCloud with end-to-end encryption, and Home windows units with the iCloud for Home windows app.
SEE: Greatest Password Managers for Mac
Calculator and Calendar
The Calculator app on macOS Sequoia will now retailer a historical past of earlier calculations and might carry out unit conversions. Full expressions, together with parentheses, trigonometry and different operations, could be seen earlier than hitting equals.
Calendar in macOS 15 reveals occasions and duties put into Reminders and has an up to date, extra easy-to-read Month View.
Which units assist macOS 15 Sequoia?
macOS Sequoia is suitable with the next units:
- iMac – 2019 and later.
- Mac Studio – 2022.
- Mac mini – 2018 and later.
- Mac Professional – 2019 and later.
- iMac Professional – 2017 and later.
- MacBook Air – 2020 and later.
- MacBook Professional – 2018 and later.
Apple Intelligence and its related options will solely perform on units with an Apple M-series chip inside, so M1 or newer. Any Mac older than 2020 utilizing an Intel chip won’t have this functionality.
SEE: New M3 Chip Household, MacBook Professional Line & iMacs
Subsequently, Apple Intelligence will run on the next units:
- MacBook Professional – 2021 or later, and 2020 13-inch M1 model.
- MacBook Air – 2022 or later, and 2020 M1 model.
- iMac – 2021 or later.
- Mac mini – 2020 or later.
- Mac Studio – 2022 or later.
- Mac Professional – 2023.
When is the discharge date for macOS 15 Sequoia?
A beta model of macOS Sequoia could be downloaded by builders via the Apple Developer Program at this time, and it is going to be made obtainable to the general public via the Apple Beta Software program Program in July.
The ultimate model will probably be launched as a free software program replace to all homeowners of suitable Macs in autumn 2024. Apple Intelligence will probably be included with the discharge on units with an M-Sequence chip.
Easy methods to obtain and set up macOS 15 Sequoia
For now, solely registered builders can obtain the beta of macOS 15 Sequoia via the Apple Developer Program.
Members of the Developer Program can obtain the working system by following these steps:
- Open System Settings on a suitable Mac and signal into an Apple ID that’s registered for the Developer Program.
- Navigate to Common, after which Software program Replace.
- Guarantee Beta Updates is about to On; whether it is Off, click on the i and choose macOS Sequoia Developer Beta within the Beta Updates dropdown menu.
- A macOS 15 Beta banner ought to now seem within the Software program Replace tab. Click on Improve Now to obtain and set up.
As it is a beta model of the software program, you might encounter bugs and points that you could report back to Apple. Keep in mind to again up your Mac earlier than updating to make sure you can restore your system if vital.
Not able to make the transition to Sequoia, but? Discover TechRepublic’s cheat sheets for macOS 14 Sonoma and macOS 13 Ventura.