Today at WWDC, Apple unveiled macOS Ventura which will be coming to its Mac computers in the fall. As per recent macOS announcements, Ventura is a subtle update that mostly keeps the visual style intact.
The biggest new feature is Stage Manager. This is a revamp of Mission Control, which you enable from the Command Center (and can disable if you wish). While Mission Control displayed all running apps on the screen, Stage Manager keeps the focus on your currently open app and groups other apps by category on the side.
You can essentially “live” in this view and continue working on your current application without interruption. Clicking an app sideways highlights it so you can quickly switch back and forth.
Continuity Camera lets you use your iPhone as a webcam. The Mac automatically recognizes the iPhone and uses its cameras by default, instead of the built-in FaceTime camera. Continuity Camera taps into the iPhone’s Ultra Wide Camera to enable Desktop View, which simultaneously shows a person’s face, as well as an overhead view of the desktop. Center Stage, Portrait mode and Studio Light are also available.
Belkin will manufacture special mounting accessories that will go on sale later this year.
With FaceTime Handoff, you can start a call on your phone and seamlessly handoff it to your Mac once you get near it.
Spotlight has been revamped and smarter. It has a quick preview to preview the files. You can search for images in your photo library by location, people, scenes, or objects. Live Text allows Spotlight to search for text in a photo.
Speaking of Photos, like iOS 16, macOS Ventura gets iCloud Shared Photo Library, which allows up to six users to create and collaborate within a separate Photo Library.
Security keys are a new password replacement feature in Safari. These are unique digital keys that are stored on the device and allow you to log in securely via Touch ID or Face ID. Passkeys will sync between Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV via iCloud Keychain and will work across apps and websites.
Apple announced Metal 3 with MetalFX Upscaling, allowing developers to render difficult scenes at lower resolution and then apply resolution upscaling with temporal anti-aliasing. Games like EA’s GRID Legends and Capcom’s Resident Evil Village are among those that support it.
Members of Apple’s Developer Program can get the macOS Ventura developer beta now, while the public beta will be available for Mac users next month. The final software will arrive in the fall.
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