macOS Monterey announced at WWDC 2021: New features, supported devices and more
Apple at its WWDC 2021 event announced the launch of the macOS Monterey, which is a successor to last year’s macOS Big Sur. Alongside the new macOS version, the company also unveiled the iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8 and more. Here’s everything you need to know about the all-new macOS Monterey.
macOS Monterey Supported Devices
- 2015 and later MacBook
- Early 2015 and later MacBook Air
- Early 2015 and later MacBook Pro
- Late 2014 and later Mac mini
- Late 2015 and later iMac
- 2017 and later iMac Pro
- Late 2013 and later Mac Pro
New Features
SharePlay and FaceTime
SharePlay is a new feature that has been added in FaceTime. It allows users to share experiences together, and Shared with You makes it easy to discover and enjoy content shared through Messages right in Photos, Safari, Apple Podcasts, Apple News, and the Apple TV app.
Safari gets better
One of the major updates seen on macOS is the new Safari update. The Safari browser now features a streamlined tab bar and tab organisation with Tab Groups. Tab Groups offer a new way to easily save and manage tabs, which is great for planning trips, shopping, or storing the tabs users visit daily. Tab Groups also sync across Mac, iPhone, and iPad, so users can continue their project from anywhere and easily share tabs with friends and family.
Shortcuts on macOS
Shortcuts, the beloved iOS app, has now arrived on macOS helping users to automate their everyday tasks. Just like on iPhone and iPad, Shortcuts on Mac lets users quickly accomplish tasks with the apps they use the most. With a rich gallery of pre-built actions, users can instantly share files, make animated GIFs, and more.
Power users looking to take things further can use the Shortcuts Editor on Mac to customise shortcuts to match their workflows. Shortcuts is integrated throughout macOS, including the menu bar, Finder, Spotlight, and even hands-free with Siri, making it easy to run shortcuts no matter which app the user is in.
Quick Notes
macOS Monterey brings new features to the Notes app in order to help users stay organised, collaborate, and create notes from anywhere. Quick Note is a new way for users to jot down notes on any app or website systemwide, making it easy to capture thoughts and ideas wherever inspiration strikes. Users can also add links from an app to their Quick Note to create context, even on a website in Safari or an address in Maps.
As users work through projects in Notes with friends or colleagues, they can add mentions, see everyone’s edits in the new Activity View, and categorise their Notes with tags to quickly and easily find them in the new Tag Browser and in tag-based Smart Folders.
Universal Control
With the new Universal Control feature, macOS users will be able to let users work with a single mouse and keyboard and move between Mac and iPad for a seamless experience, with no setup required. Users can even drag and drop content back and forth between devices, which could prove useful for sketching a drawing with Apple Pencil on iPad and placing it into a Keynote slide on the Mac.
