The recently released macOS Monterey promises to help users connect in new ways as well as work more efficiently, and seamlessly across their Apple devices. So what has changed?
In order to create a smoother workflow, changes to Safari including a compact tab bar option and Tab Groups are new in Monterey. Tab Groups helps you to organise your tabs in a way that works for you and syncs them across all your Apple devices meaning you can continue your current project from anywhere, as well as easily share tabs with others. The compact tab bar option not only takes up less space, giving you more room to browse, but also takes on the colour of the site you’re on helping you to really focus on what you need to on the page.
Notes has long been a go-to app to capture quick thoughts and information and Monterey’s introduction of Quick Note is sure to make it even more so. With Quick Notes you can make a note while in any app by scrolling your mouse cursor to the bottom right corner of your screen and clicking the black pop out square. Thoughts and ideas can be jotted down at any moment and you can add links from other apps making it even easier to quickly note down a location from Maps or save a website you’re interested in from Safari. You can now tag notes giving you a faster way to categorize them and making them easy to find later with the new Tag Browser.
For those of us who can be easily distracted, Focus can really help you keep your attention where it needs to be. With Focus you can choose to allow only the notifications you want to disturb you meaning you can get your work done or perhaps spend quality time with others without unnecessary interruptions. Focus mode also syncs between your devices so you really can keep your focus on what’s important.
Connecting from home whether for work or on a personal level has become a very real necessity for all of us in recent times and the Monterey upgrades to Facetime & Messages will make this a better experience than ever before.
FaceTime calls now sound more natural and lifelike with the introduction of spatial audio and there are two new microphone modes giving users greater control over the sound of their voice. The introduction of Voice Isolation means background noise is no longer such an issue as it can be minimised making just your voice be heard loud and clear. On the occasions you do want everyone to hear everything Wide Spectrum allows all noise to come in.
The brand new SharePlay feature in FaceTime enables you to have a conversation while still listening to music or watching a movie or TV show. It also gives you the ability to share your screen so you can all watch or listen together syncing playback and controls so everyone’s reactions to the same thing can be seen at the same time.
The addition of the Shared with You section in the Photos, Safari, Apple News, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV apps means you can easily find shared content, see who actually shared it with you and respond directly from the app you’re in without having to go back into Messages.
What else is new with macOS Monterey?
- Universal control means you are able to use a single keyboard, mouse, or trackpad seamlessly between your Mac and your iPad and with no setup required.
- Airplay comes to Mac so you can share, play or present content from another Apple device directly to the screen of your Mac.
- Live Text means you can interact with the text in any image. So, if you need to pull contact details from a photo, just click on them and you can call, message or save any number, go directly to an address in Maps and copy and paste just like you would with any other text.
- Greater detail has been added to Maps making it a much more immersive experience with incredible detail for roads, neighborhoods, trees, buildings, and more.
- Added Mail Privacy Protection hides your IP address meaning senders can’t see your location or any of your other online activity. It also prevents senders from seeing if you’ve opened their email.
- iCloud now offers a premium service with a new subscription storage plan iCloud+.
Monterey is a great evolution of the macOS. However we always suggest that clients delay upgrading to the newest operating system initially so that Apple can iron out any teething problems.
If you do decide to upgrade to macOS Monterey, make sure to capture a Time Machine backup immediately before the upgrade, and never do a major OS upgrade like this if you have impending deadlines or other time-sensitive needs of your Mac.
macOS Monterey is available now as a free software update on Macs with Apple M1 processors as well as compatible Intel-based Macs, but before you go ahead and install, we recommend you contact one of the team at Mac Aid to ensure macOS Monterey is right for you and your Mac.
