The new macOS includes updated apps and some multitasking enhancements.
Spotlight also gets some handy quality-of-life updates, adding the ability to Quick Look search results directly from the Spotlight window, and the ability to run Shortcuts from within Spotlight. Safari picks up the ability to share groups of tabs with other users, letting all users add and remove tabs. The browser is also adding a FIDO-compliant security technology called PassKeys, which aim to replace passwords with cryptographically generated keys that sync between devices using iCloud Keychain. Sites that support PassKeys can be opened using TouchID or FaceID.
Apple’s cross-device Continuity features were also updated. FaceTime calls can be handed off seamlessly between different Macs and iDevices, while Continuity Camera allows you to use an iPhone as a webcam (your iPhone’s LED can even be used as a makeshift ring light). Continuity Camera supports Center Stage and Portrait Mode effects, too, though presumably they will require newer iPhones with hardware that supports those features.
Other features include a redesigned System Preferences app, now called Settings, that brings it more in line with the Settings app in iOS and iPadOS. The Messages app also picks up new features Apple added to iOS 16, including the ability to edit and unsend recently sent messages, and a mark-as-unread feature for message threads.
macOS 13 Ventura will launch later this year. The first beta should be available to developers today, and a public beta will follow in the next few weeks.
