macOS Sonoma: The Complete Feature Overview

Apple has unveiled macOS Sonoma (macOS 14) at WWDC 2023, bringing a host of new features and improvements to the Mac experience. In this comprehensive overview, we'll explore all the significant changes and enhancements that this latest version offers.

Desktop Widgets and Enhanced Interface

Perhaps the most immediately noticeable change in macOS Sonoma is the introduction of desktop widgets. Taking inspiration from iOS and iPadOS, these widgets can now be placed directly on your desktop, providing at-a-glance information without the need to open apps or the Notification Center.

The widgets intelligently fade into the background when you're using applications, ensuring they don't distract from your work. When you return to the desktop, they become prominent again. You can arrange these widgets in groups and customize their appearance to match your desktop aesthetic.

Video Conferencing Enhancements

In an era where remote work and video calls have become essential, macOS Sonoma introduces several features to improve the video conferencing experience:

Presenter Overlay

When sharing your screen during a video call, you can now choose to have your camera feed appear as an overlay on your presentation. This overlay can be positioned anywhere on the screen and resized according to your preference.

Screen Sharing Reactions

Express yourself more effectively during presentations with new screen sharing reactions. These animated effects—like hearts, balloons, confetti, and thumbs up—can be triggered with simple gestures and appear around your video feed.

Enhanced Camera Effects

Building on previous features like Center Stage and Studio Light, macOS Sonoma introduces more sophisticated camera effects to ensure you look your best during video calls, even in challenging lighting conditions.

Safari Improvements

Apple's web browser receives significant updates in macOS Sonoma:

Web Apps

Safari now allows you to save websites as web apps that appear in your Dock, providing quick access to your favorite web services. These web apps open in their own window without the typical browser interface, creating a more app-like experience.

Profiles

Similar to Chrome's profiles feature, Safari now supports multiple browsing profiles. This allows you to separate your work and personal browsing, each with its own history, cookies, extensions, and favorites.

Enhanced Private Browsing

Private browsing mode has been strengthened with better tracking prevention and removal of tracking elements from URLs. Additionally, windows are locked when not in use to prevent unauthorized viewing.

Game Mode

Gaming on Mac gets a boost with the new Game Mode in macOS Sonoma. This feature prioritizes CPU and GPU resources for games, ensuring smoother gameplay and higher, more consistent frame rates. It also:

• Reduces audio latency with AirPods
• Minimizes background task interference
• Improves responsiveness in wireless gaming by reducing Bluetooth controller sampling latency

This feature works with both native Mac games and those running through Apple's Game Porting Toolkit, which helps developers bring Windows games to macOS.

Accessibility Features

Apple continues its commitment to accessibility with several new features:

Personal Voice

Users at risk of speech loss can create a synthetic voice that sounds like them by reading text prompts for about 15 minutes. This voice can then be used with the Live Speech feature across apps for phone calls, FaceTime conversations, and in-person interactions.

Expanded Voice Control

Voice Control now supports phonetic suggestions for text editing and correction, making it easier to edit documents using just your voice.

Password Management

macOS Sonoma enhances security with improved password management:

• Passwords and passkeys now sync across all Apple devices via iCloud Keychain
• Support for sharing passwords and passkeys with trusted contacts
• Enhanced credential management in Safari settings

Messages App Updates

The Messages app receives several enhancements, including:

• Search filters to help you find specific content in conversations
• Live stickers created from your own photos
• Audio message transcription
• Catch-up arrow to quickly jump to the first unread message in a conversation

System Requirements

macOS Sonoma is compatible with the following Mac models:

• iMac: 2019 and later
• iMac Pro: 2017
• MacBook Air: 2018 and later
• MacBook Pro: 2018 and later
• Mac Pro: 2019 and later
• Mac Studio: 2022 and later
• Mac mini: 2018 and later

Conclusion

macOS Sonoma represents a significant step forward in the evolution of Apple's desktop operating system. With its focus on enhanced productivity, improved video conferencing, better gaming performance, and stronger security features, it offers compelling reasons for Mac users to upgrade.

The developer beta is available now, with a public beta expected in July and the full release likely in fall 2023. As always, we recommend waiting for the stable release before upgrading production machines.

Stay tuned to MacNews for more detailed analyses of individual features as we spend more time with the beta versions of macOS Sonoma.