macOS 15 has a name — Sequoia! Announced at WWDC 2024, the next major software update will be powering all of the best Macs, with Apple clearly positioning Sequoia around productivity.
Yes, Apple Intelligence is also coming to your iPhone, iPad, and Mac later this year for U.S. English users, but there’s a lot more to like in Sequoia that you may be unaware of.
From iPhone Mirroring to new ways of summarizing web pages in Safari, there’s going to be a lot to help your productivity in macOS Sequoia. With this in mind, we’ve listed below the top features we think you’re going to use non-stop, once the update arrives later this year.
Apple Intelligence
Only compatible with Macs with Apple silicon, Apple Intelligence comes to macOS Sequoia for U.S. English users to start with, later this year.
Siri finally gets supercharged with a whole new look that can look into the apps you use every day, as well as give you detailed results that can make you aware of what you do on your Mac daily.
You can also craft custom emojis called Genmoji with Apple Intelligence. Prompt the service at any time in Messages or Mail, and a unique emoji will appear.
Writing Tools are also available with Apple Intelligence. If you want to reword a reply to an email with a more casual tone, tapping an icon to the left of the text will allow you to do just that.
Apple also confirmed it’s partnering with OpenAI for ChatGPT 4.0 functionality.
You’ll be made aware when data needs to be sent off your device at any time. ChatGPT will also be able to process images you share with it, too, letting you ask questions about documents, files, and more. Like Apple Intelligence, you’ll also be able to have ChatGPT write out a brief for you.
Continuity — iPhone Mirroring
Developers have been able to do this for years when creating apps — mirroring an iPhone to their Mac can help them check how their apps work directly in macOS.
For Sequoia, this comes to the general user in a new way. Imagine having docked your iPhone beside your Mac while it charges, and you want to check Snapchat or Instagram quickly. Using this new Continuity feature, your iPhone will appear on your Mac, and you can use your keyboard and trackpad to navigate through your device.
You can also drag and drop files as you wish — saving you the headache of having to use AirDrop or the Files app.
Windows snapping
Do you have multiple windows open when using your Mac? Thanks to Sequoia, you’ll finally be able to snap them automatically.
This is a similar feature to one Windows users have had for years. You’ll be able to tile multiple windows automatically so you can see all your active apps at once.
New backgrounds
A brief mention, but a useful feature all the same. In Sequoia, you’ll be able to change your background in almost any video-conferencing app.
Passwords app
Available on iOS 18, iPadOS 18 as well as macOS Sequoia, Apple’s new Passwords app will let you view every account you’ve ever created and used without having to go to the Settings app.
From Passkeys to WiFi passwords, you’ll be able to find all of these in this new app.
Safari
Safari has a huge new feature called Highlight. This uses machine learning to detect relevant information on any web page, such as music, movies, and more. Highlight can also summarize a webpage into an easy-to-read paragraph.
Reader has been redesigned for macOS Sequoia. Now, it can show a Table of Contents as well as a Summary on web pages.
Gaming
Gaming on the Mac goes up to another level in Sequoia with Game Porting Toolkit 2. Available for iPad and iPhone this time too, it comes with improved support for Windows games, such as ray-tracing.
macOS is also getting some big new titles including Prince of Persia, Frostpunk 2, World of Warcraft: The War Within, and Control. As announced before WWDC 2024, Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 7 are also coming to Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
Everything from iOS 18
Let’s not forget — most of what you can do in iOS 18 is also available in macOS Sequoia. From improved features in Messages such as formatting and better tapbacks, to on-device categorization in Mail that can sort your emails into different categories, there’s a lot you’ll be able to do later this year.
But wait, there’s more! An updated Calculator app lets users see previous calculations with history, giving them the ability to see their expressions as they type. Calendar shows events and tasks from Reminders, making it easy to see, edit, or complete tasks throughout the day. An updated Month View also makes it easier to see events and reminders for an entire month at a glance.
The Notes app is getting smarter, allowing you to take detailed and well-written notes. New audio transcription and summarisation features with Apple Intelligence enable a Mac to take notes for the user, letting them stay present in a situation where they need to capture details about what’s happening. If they need to quickly crunch a number, they can just type in an equation to have it solved automatically within the note.
Release date
macOS Sequoia is available to download as a developer beta now, but will be released to the public in the fall.
Compatibility
macOS Sequoia works with with every Apple silicon device, as well as the 2017 iMac Pro, the 2019 iMac, the 2018 Mac mini, the 2019 Mac Pro, and the 2018 MacBook Pro, all running Intel.
