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macOS Sonoma Features You Should Check Out First

The thing is, when Apple comes up with a feature-laden Update, we ask for a Snowy «Under the hood» Update. When they do exactly that and offer a few cosmetic new things, we complain about «All of these features are §$%&/(».
What the beta promised is kept by the full release: Sonoma feels much more responsive, Apps open quicker, the whole system feels streamlined and faster. Plus, so far on three machines (Macbook Pros and StudioUltra) an upgrade almost without hiccups (except the usual access-rights-orgy after every upgrade), even the usual suspects (looking at you, LaCie) seem to work this time. Very nice work.
 
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mv24 said:
Sonoma OS... As a practical change, I can see one positive sign - OS memory operation became more efficient. From a usability standpoint, what exactly are we looking at? Is the rehashed Widgets feature is indeed Apple's stab at keeping itself at the Technological Progress table? Is making interaction between Apple ecosystem objects always will be so difficult? For instance, no [easy] way to manage your iPad Books between devices. And how about application management on your iPhone? All this folder app grouping? One still has to do it through the clamzy fat-finger small phone screen trick?
Here is a guess. Those multiple Apple teams, they do whatever they are doing during the development cycle, separated by walls, egos, agendas, and their own pressures. And on a D-day, some VP claps his hands, and everybody brings whatever they come up with to some huge table and in a hurry, they try to fit everything together. There are some sparks of brilliant ideas, but coherency and completeness are evaporating.
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I agree that even more seamless interaction between devices and systems will be one of the many things Apple can do to improve the user experience. Especially when it comes to small organizing stuff, as you said, like arranging the iPhone-icons, managing your AppleBooks-Library, getting to read books on Apple Watch and so on and so on. What sets Apple apart is the ecosystem approach, the idea that every item you buy adds to the experience. An Apple Watch per se is... a bit of a pointless device. But along with an iPhone and AP+ it's fun. Add services and apps, a few Macs and an iPad and all of a sudden the integration is an important quality of life factor. So building on and extending that approach will be great. So much small stuff to do: Installing (and managing) your own OTF-Fonts, an AI-driven calendar that neatly integrates Reminders but also Fitness+, iBooks, clock, Focus and other Apps (a shadow of that can be felt in the new planer of Fitness+) to turn into a system that helps manage your day (kind of like motion.app plus magic Apple functionality). And so on... but year by year we inch slowly closer to the potential of these devices.
 
I just wish Apple would focus on making their OS's faster and adding features people actually want. Not a single thing in Sonoma is even remotely interesting to me while it lacks proper window snapping, has slow input-blocking animations (which still block input even when the animations are disabled), no linear mouse option for those who use one, etc...

It's stark how much faster Windows is from an external drive on my 2020 5K iMac than macOS internally.
 
Was excited for:
  • Web Apps
  • Screensavers/desktops
Was pleasantly surprised by:
  • Desktop widgets (saves me a click)
  • Desktop click-to-view (very surprised this wasn't advertised)
  • Web apps are as nice as I'd hoped for and don't have to live in dock to stay as apps
Still not sure about:
  • Using Safari as both work and personal browser (works, but even with a separate Favorites bar per profile, managing favorites in Safari is a chore)
Wore out fast:
  • Screensavers/desktops after the first day
(edit) Still infuriating:
  • AirPods randomly disconnect from Mac to connect to nearby iPhone
 
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There are definite improvements in this release. One thing I noticed is when you clear history in Safari it clears right away like it used to, no need to quit to have the history actually erased.
However, one thing is bugging the heck out of me and I can't figure out how to fix it, if it can be fixed.
The cursor is blinking blue and it is driving me crazy, does anyone know if there is a way to make it black again?
 
Would be cool if someone could make a new widget as a container for old dashboard widgets so they can be put on the desktop too. A lot of them probably wouldn't work anymore but might still be cool.
 
bizzwriter said:
Bummer -- my 27-inch 2017 4.2 GHz quad-core i7 didn't make the cut.

It's not THAT old...
Click to expand...

Six years is, by Apple standards, just breaking in. By other manufacturer standards, it's e-waste.

This is the thing about Apple laptops! They last and last and last.

My personal history with Apple portables:
  • Started with white iBook in early 2000s. Can't recall how long I used it for.
  • Replaced it with a white MacBook Core2Duo – used for 2.8 years. Would've used it longer but it was a refurb from Apple, and the Core2Duo chip whined, plus there was a eyelash hair caught under the display glass... 🤮
  • Replaced that with MBP 13in used for 5.3 years. Hacked this for things like AirDrop when they were introduced. Swapped out the DVD-ROM drive for an SSD etc.
  • Replaced that with MBP 15in use for 7.2 years. Didn't really need to get rid of this, to be honest, but felt like I should. It's now a music workstation attached to a cheap MIDI keyboard, both of which are doing a very excellent job at collecting dust 😔
  • Currently one year into using a MBP M1 Max 16in. I honestly expect this to last just as long, and deliberately chose it because of the faster memory bandwidth to eke out every possible ounce of performance in the future.
 
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Menneisyys2 said:
Does it have the same 80% charge limiter as iOS17 on iPhone 15's?

I'm really sick of how dumb the automatic limiter is. Practically, the notebook needs to be on AC all the time, even when it's suspended (and not running anything heavy - I close all tasks) when I leave home. Otherwise, it often recharges for 100%, only to almost immediately switch bak to 80%. It's REALLY bad.

Edit: grammar
Click to expand...
Al Dente.
 
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H_D said:
I agree that even more seamless interaction between devices and systems will be one of the many things Apple can do to improve the user experience. Especially when it comes to small organizing stuff, as you said, like arranging the iPhone-icons, managing your AppleBooks-Library, getting to read books on Apple Watch and so on and so on. What sets Apple apart is the ecosystem approach, the idea that every item you buy adds to the experience. An Apple Watch per se is... a bit of a pointless device. But along with an iPhone and AP+ it's fun. Add services and apps, a few Macs and an iPad and all of a sudden the integration is an important quality of life factor. So building on and extending that approach will be great. So much small stuff to do: Installing (and managing) your own OTF-Fonts, an AI-driven calendar that neatly integrates Reminders but also Fitness+, iBooks, clock, Focus and other Apps (a shadow of that can be felt in the new planer of Fitness+) to turn into a system that helps manage your day (kind of like motion.app plus magic Apple functionality). And so on... but year by year we inch slowly closer to the potential of these devices.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reflection. Also, since probably all of us here have Apple devices as windows to our private Universe, I would like to see efforts toward making this window more focused and optimized for my needs. We are all different, with different reasons to open our laptops in the morning. Would gaming be one of those reasons? or Widget-watching-activity? Not to me. I have full respect for users who want to embrace the novelty of every new feature brought to us, but how about those who need a non-invasive tool in their lives? Why not have one Big switch to bring bare-bone MacBook Pro OS up? Simple. Clean. Down to essence. No gimmicks, no extra hyped wires to my already invasively-abused by modern stressed existence brain. I dream of MacOS Zen. No unwanted services, no unwanted flashy apps - just open the door into your virtual world and feel productive from start to finish. No distraction. No memory swap. No beachball. Something you can trust and be at peace with. And yes, Focused mode - is a good step in the right direction.
 
kironin said:
All of this is just - Meh. Wake me up in 6 months to a year. Sticking with a mature Ventura. Also the Safari update doesn't require Sonoma. You can update Safari by itself and use the features that were described in this video on Ventura. lol.
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MacOS Sonoma has been running really well for me on an Intel Max Mini. Mac OS updates are by far much more reliable than the iOS updates
 
I've been using 'Sleeve' as my desktop Music widget for a couple of years; I still find it better, and more customizable, than the Sonoma one.

Sleeve

The ultimate music accessory for your Mac.
replay.software

Also, use this for when I miss OSX Dashboard.

Music Widget for macOS

A mini player remote for Apple Music. A take on the classic iTunes widget.
marioaguzman.github.io
 
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