Apple’s macOS updates have been so boring recently, probably the most attention-grabbing a part of final 12 months’s macOS Sonoma ended up being widgets. Widgets! Fortunately, macOS Sequoia has much more occurring — or no less than it would, as soon as Apple Intelligence rolls out over the subsequent few months. For now, although, Sequoia delivers a number of useful options like iPhone Mirroring, a full-fledged Passwords app and computerized transcription within the Notes app. On the very least, it is acquired much more occurring than widgets.
iPhone mirroring modifications all the things for Macs
Heading into WWDC earlier this 12 months, I hoped that Apple would let Imaginative and prescient Professional customers mirror their iPhones simply as simply as they’ll mirror their Macs. Effectively, we did not get that, however iPhone Mirroring on macOS Sequoia is near what I would need on the Imaginative and prescient Professional. As soon as you’ve got acquired a Mac (with an Apple Silicon chip, or one of many final Intel fashions with a T2 safety chip) working the brand new OS, in addition to an iPhone working iOS 18, you may simply pair the 2 utilizing the iPhone Mirroring app.
As soon as that connection is made, you may see a whole replication of your cellphone inside the app. It took me a couple of minutes to get used to navigating iOS with a trackpad and keyboard (there are a number of new hotkeys value studying), however as soon as I did, I had no bother opening my normal iPhone apps and video games. When you’re spoiled by the 120Hz ProMotion display screen from an iPhone Professional, you may discover that the mirrored connection would not look practically as clean, however from my testing it held a gradual 60fps all through video games and movies. I did not discover any annoying audio or video lag both.
Whereas it is good to have the ability to launch my iPhone from my Mac, I used to be shocked at what ended up being probably the most helpful facet of this characteristic: Notifications. As soon as you’ve got related your cellphone, its alerts pop up in your Mac’s Notification Heart, and it takes only one click on to launch the app it is tied to. That is helpful for alerts from Instagram, DoorDash and different well-liked apps that don’t have any actual Mac choices, apart from launching their web sites in a browser.
iPhone Mirroring can also be a sneaky method to get in a number of rounds of Vampire Survivors throughout interminably lengthy conferences or lessons. (Not that I might ever do such a factor.) Whereas many cellular video games have made their manner over to the Mac App Retailer, there are nonetheless hundreds that have not, so it is good to have a method to entry them on a bigger display screen. Not each sport works nicely on Macs — it is simply powerful to duplicate a handheld touchscreen expertise with a big trackpad — however mirroring is an honest possibility for slower-paced titles. I did not encounter any unusual framerate or lagging points, and sound carried over flawlessly as nicely.
I sometimes all the time have my cellphone inside attain, even after I’m working at a desk. However selecting it up would inevitably disrupt my workflow — it is simply far too simple to get a notification and end up scrolling TikTok or Instagram, with no reminiscence of how you bought there. With iPhone Mirroring, I can simply carry on engaged on my Mac with out lacking any updates from my cellphone. It is also been helpful when my iPhone is related to a wi-fi charger and I desperately want extra energy earlier than I run out the home.
When you’re the kind of one that leaves your cellphone round your own home, I would wager mirroring would even be useful. The characteristic requires having each Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on, and the connection vary is round 50 toes, or what I would count on from Bluetooth. Thick partitions and different obstructions can even scale back that vary considerably. In my testing, I might go away my iPhone in my yard and nonetheless be capable of mirror it in my front room 40 toes away. Naturally, the additional you get, the choppier the expertise.
Certain, Apple is not the primary firm to convey smartphone mirroring to PCs. Samsung and different Android cellphone makers have been providing it for years, and Microsoft additionally has the “Phone Link” app (previously Your Telephone) for mirroring and file syncing. However these implementations differ dramatically relying on the smartphone you are utilizing, they do not seamlessly combine notifications and easily put, they might usually fail to attach. When you arrange iPhone Mirroring, moving into your cellphone takes only a few seconds. It simply works. And after testing the characteristic for weeks, I have never run into any main connection points.
Higher window tiling, lastly!
It is 2024 and Apple has lastly made it simpler to place Mac home windows round your monitor. Now you may drag apps to the perimeters or corners of your display screen, and so they’ll routinely alter themselves. It is allowed me to rapidly place a browser I am utilizing for analysis alongside an Evernote window or Google Doc. Much like Stage Supervisor in macOS Ventura, the tiling shortcuts are a big shift for Mac window administration.
And, after all, they’re additionally clearly much like Home windows 10 and 11’s snapping characteristic. Provided that a lot of Apple’s UI focus is on iOS, iPadOS and VisionOS lately, it is simple to really feel just like the Mac has been left behind a bit. I do not blame Apple for cribbing Microsoft’s UI improvements, particularly when it makes life simpler for Mac customers.
Slick video conferencing background alternative
Apple has provided lighting changes and portrait background blurring in video chats for years, and now it is utilizing that very same machine studying expertise to utterly exchange your backgrounds. Admittedly, this is not a really new or thrilling characteristic. But it surely’s value highlighting as a result of it really works throughout each video chat app in your Mac, and because it’s counting on Apple’s Neural Engine, it seems to be a lot better than software-based background replacements.
Apple’s expertise does a greater job of holding your hair and garments inside focus, however nonetheless separated from synthetic backgrounds. And better of all, it would not appear to be an affordable inexperienced display screen impact. You’ll be able to select from a number of colour gradients, photographs of Apple Park or your individual footage or movies.
Different highlights of macOS Sequoia
Listed below are a number of different upgrades I appreciated:
-
The Passwords app does an honest job of amassing your saved passwords, nevertheless it’s clearly only a first try. It is not practically as good about plugging in my passwords into browser fields as apps like 1Password and LastPass.
-
The Notes app now permits you to document voice notes and routinely transcribes them. You can too proceed to jot down textual content throughout a voice recording, making it a helpful method to hold monitor of interviews and lectures. I am hoping future updates add options like multi-speaker detection.
-
Having the ability to jot down math equations in Notes is cool, nevertheless it’s not one thing I depend on each day. I am positive it’s going to be very helpful to highschool and school youngsters taking superior math programs, although.
-
Messages lastly will get wealthy textual content formatting and a ship later possibility. Huzzah!
Lastly, a macOS replace value getting enthusiastic about
You’d be forgiven for utterly ignoring the final batch of macOS updates, particularly when you haven’t been enthusiastic about Stage Supervisor or, sigh, widgets. However when you’re a Mac and iPhone proprietor, Sequoia is value an instantaneous improve. Having the ability to mirror your iPhone and its notifications is genuinely helpful, and it’s full of different useful options. And naturally, if you wish to get some Apple Intelligence motion subsequent month, you’ll don’t have any alternative however to improve. (We’ll have additional impressions on all of Apple’s AI options as they launch.)
Certain, it’s a bit ironic that Apple’s getting old desktop OS is getting a shot of life by way of its cellular platform, however truthfully, one of the best current Mac options have been immediately lifted from iOS and iPadOS. It’s clear that Apple is prioritizing the gadgets that get up to date much more often than laptops and desktops. I can’t blame the corporate for being sensible – for now, I’m simply glad it’s thoughtfully making an attempt to make its gadgets play good collectively. (And significantly, simply convey iPhone mirroring to the Imaginative and prescient Professional already.)