Hands-On With macOS Ventura

[Captain Trips]

Can you do better?

I know, right?

Anyone who has been reading the forums for any amount of time should recall at least one of the following memes or even come up with one of these on their own:

• There are too many new features - why can't Apple focus on fixing bugs and providing a stable, quality OS?
• There are too few new features - allowing Apple employees to work from home is leading to terrible productivity.
• This macOS release is another example of turning the Mac into a big iPhone.
• Timmy Apple is killing the Mac, and ultimately will kill Apple.
• This wouldn't happen if Steve Jobs was still alive.

 

[Cats01]

Apple on Monday introduced macOS Ventura, the newest version of the operating system that runs on the Mac. Set to come out this fall, macOS Ventura is currently available to developers, so we thought we'd take a deep dive to show MacRumors readers all of the new features that are in the update.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.​

Our latest YouTube video highlights Stage Manager, FaceTime Handoff, Continuity Camera, and more, with a full list of what's covered in the video available below.

• Mail - Mail offers up smart search suggestions that are more relevant to what you're looking for, and there are options to unsend an email message, schedule an email message, get a reminder to reply to an email, and follow up on a message that you send that doesn't get a response. Mail supports rich links, and it can let you know if you forget to add an attachment.
  
• Spotlight - Spotlight now supports previewing files with Quick Look (just press the space bar), and it includes rich results for contacts, actors, musicians, movies, TV shows, sports, and more. You can also use Spotlight to search for text in images and to look for images by location, scenes, and image content. Spotlight can also perform tasks like setting an alarm, activating a Focus, or running a Shortcut.
  
• Passkeys - Apple is aiming to replace passwords with Passkeys, a next-generation authentication technology. Passkeys use a two-key system, with one key stored on device and authenticated through Face ID and Touch ID. You'll have one passkey per login, and passkeys will sync across all of your devices and will be accessible on non-Apple devices, too. Passkeys are almost impossible to be phished or stolen, preventing unwanted access to online accounts.
  
• Shared Tab Groups - Safari Tab Groups can now be shared with friends or family members, so you can bookmark sites collaboratively for planning trips, working on projects, and more. Everyone has access to the tabs that are added, and Tab Groups update instantly for all participants.
  
• Stage Manager - Stage Manager is a new multitasking feature that organizes your apps and windows into a single view so you can stay focused on your main app while quickly swapping between apps as needed.
  
• FaceTime Handoff - Handoff supports FaceTime, so you can start a FaceTime call on iPhone and transfer it to the Mac, and vice versa.
  
• Continuity Camera - With Continuity Camera, an iPhone can be used as a webcam for a Mac. It works seamlessly, and it offers neat features like special lighting and a Desk View so you can show off what you're doing on your desktop. It also supports Center Stage for keeping you in the frame as you move around the room.
  
• Redesigned System Settings - System Preferences is now System Settings, and the design is more similar to the iOS Settings app. There's a sidebar that lists all of the available settings so it's easier to get to what you need without swapping between preferences.
  
• Clock and Weather apps - Apple brought the iOS Clock and Weather apps to the Mac for the first time. The apps are identical to what's available on the iPhone and the iPad.

macOS Ventura is limited to developers at the current time, but Apple plans to provide a public beta in July. The operating system will see a public launch this fall.

Article Link: Hands-On With macOS Ventura

Won't run on my late 2015 iMac which still works ok. Not sure if I want to get a new computer just to satisfy Apple.

 

[votdfak]

Battery life is taking a hit on my M1, but that's expected. Some apps not working, like Magnet for example.

 

[hans1972]

Seriously ??
1 whole year to add stage manager, continuity Camera and Apple mail upgrades?

These could have all been added to Monterey as point feature upgrades.

A whole year to complete this? I'm glad Intel Macs are included . SOME?

Continuity Camera already existed thru a third party APP. APPLE just copied it.

Stage Manager could have been a 3rd party app too

It's really scary to see what features if any come to next years APPLE SILICON ONLY MacOS.

It's the productivity you get from working from home.

 

[nottorp]

Mail offers up smart search suggestions that are more relevant to what you're looking for

Mail has always been abysmal at search in my experience - to the point of not finding mails i was typing the subject verbatim for. Will they make it more useless now, google search style?

 

[sdz]

It's the productivity you get from working from home.

In lala dreamland maybe. This clearly is a business decision. MacOS can't progress faster than iPadOS. The Merge is on.

 

[nebojsak]

In lala dreamland maybe. This clearly is a business decision. MacOS can't progress faster than iPadOS. The Merge is on.

Unfortunately that's true. In the near future, there will be one big shiny glossy walled garden OS for lifestyle gadgets, with tons of new emojis and exciting-new-features™.

 

[Victor Mortimer]

Is this a joke? There has always been a calculator app installed by default.

Not always. It was a Desk Accessory before it was an app. That way you could open it while an app was running.

 

[Tagbert]

In this day and age, I thing a proper calculator with tabs to toggle back and forth from conversion, scientific and business. My goodness, my 10 plus year old phone has the capability as a built in app.....

This is the free, built-in calculator that really hasn’t changed in year. No need for Apple to build out a full featured calculator. There are lots of more advanced third-party apps available in the App Store. I use Pcalc and like it a lot.

 

[Tagbert]

I know, right?

Anyone who has been reading the forums for any amount of time should recall at least one of the following memes or even come up with one of these on their own:

• There are too many new features - why can't Apple focus on fixing bugs and providing a stable, quality OS?
• There are too few new features - allowing Apple employees to work from home is leading to terrible productivity.
• This macOS release is another example of turning the Mac into a big iPhone.
• Timmy Apple is killing the Mac, and ultimately will kill Apple.
• This wouldn't happen if Steve Jobs was still alive.

Followed by… why are there no new big features? Apple is not trying hard enough.

 

[Padaung]

For me, this is looking like a positive update to MacOS. I like the look of Stage Manager and I'm keen to try it out, Spotlight improvements are always welcome (I use it frequently), and Mail's 'Remind me' and schedule send are going to be invaluable.

I like the look of the new System Preferences UI too, although it also reminds me a lot of the Windows 10 Settings UI (which I also like) 🤣

I don't have an iPhone, so all the new stuff relating to integration with them isn't of use for me but I can see how they would be for many others.

Nice work Apple (imo).

 

[Morky]

Shared tab groups would be good if there were Safari for Windows for non-Apple friends. Let's bring it back! ...but do it right this time. Safari could have been what Chrome became if the Windows version had been truly native and not the kludgy superimposed Mac app on a PC that it was.

 

[zoidq]

Try this in Terminal
open -n "/System/Applications/Calculator.app"

Works for many apps to open new instances

Brilliant, thank you

 

[TPALTony]

Regarding Stage Manager... If you go way Way WAY WAAAAY back to one of the earliest demos of OS X by Steve Jobs, there was a "purple button" up in the top right of the window (same level as the traffic light buttons but the opposite corner.) If you clicked that, then only one app's windows was ever displayed at a time. If you clicked on a different icon on the dock then it's window popped out and the other open windows went into their dock icons... It was called... "Single Window Mode"

It never made it to even the very first version released to the public, but it was a very very early version of "something to help with all those windows"...

 

[Karma*Police]

After 20 years, you’d think Apple would think big and overhaul the OS… stage manager, virtual desktops, expose, dock, the clumsy split window views… there’s too much crud and not one great solution. It needs a rethink... every element… streamline the whole thing, top to bottom.

 

[Joniz]

Maybe someone else has already pointed this out, but I’m too lazy to read through all the posts…

Stage Manager: MacOS with a significant portion of your display desktop being used by something you’re not using.

 

[Playfoot]

This is the free, built-in calculator that really hasn’t changed in year. No need for Apple to build out a full featured calculator. There are lots of more advanced third-party apps available in the App Store. I use Pcalc and like it a lot.

Yes, that may be true, but my point was, that my old phone has a built in calculator that is efficient, advanced and multifunctional. In point of fact that app has always been part of the phone as the brand realised a calculator is necessary....

 

[Playfoot]

In lala dreamland maybe. This clearly is a business decision. MacOS can't progress faster than iPadOS. The Merge is on.

I agree. The same people that seem to be in charge of the latest terrible decisions for the MacBook Pro, seem to be driving the merge and believe there is little difference between a phone and a computer.

 

[maxoakland]

The design of System Settings is an embarrassment

 

[maxoakland]

I'm not sure how Stage Manager adds much to what can already be done with the existing dock. The new system settings looks like something designed for a mobile phone -- or, worse, looks similar to a Window registry. I guess I am not that impressed by it or maybe I just don't get it yet. 🤔 🤔

You get it. This is where Apple is at right now and it’s bad

 

[nebojsak]

Maybe someone else has already pointed this out, but I’m too lazy to read through all the posts…

Stage Manager: MacOS with a significant portion of your display desktop being used by something you’re not using.

So you have to buy a bigger laptop/display. And there is Mission Control already.

 

[Shirasaki]

I know, right?

Anyone who has been reading the forums for any amount of time should recall at least one of the following memes or even come up with one of these on their own:

• There are too many new features - why can't Apple focus on fixing bugs and providing a stable, quality OS?
• There are too few new features - allowing Apple employees to work from home is leading to terrible productivity.
• This macOS release is another example of turning the Mac into a big iPhone.
• Timmy Apple is killing the Mac, and ultimately will kill Apple.
• This wouldn't happen if Steve Jobs was still alive.

If anything, this is why Apple can justify ignoring feedback AMD just force the world to do whatever they like.

 

[jav6454]

The design of System Settings is an embarrassment

It's a reskin of them into an iPhone OS feel.

 

[Shirasaki]

Redesigned System Settings - System Preferences is now System Settings, and the design is more similar to the iOS Settings app. There's a sidebar that lists all of the available settings so it's easier to get to what you need without swapping between preferences.

I have to wonder what feature Apple has removed here in the name of the reskin. Microsoft did the same for their settings App instead of control panel. I believe Apple did the same.

 

[Mimiron]

Shared Tab Groups? Seriously? I remember when macOS updates and features were relevant and exciting not abysmal and disappointing. The new macOS could have been a .1 update.