Key Takeaways
- macOS 15 Sequoia has been unveiled at Apple’s WWDC 2024 conference.
- iPhone mirroring, window tiling, and Apple Intelligence are among the most exciting new features being introduced.
- A developer preview build is on its way, with a stable public release expected to arrive this fall.
At its annual WWDC event for 2024, Apple introduced the world to macOS 15 — the latest update in the long and treasured lineage of the macOS operating system.
Staying true to tradition, the tech giant elected to name this year’s macOS release after a Californian landmark — this year, Sequoia National Park takes center stage.
Here are 5 exciting new features that are slated for release as part of the macOS 15 software update later this fall.
ChatGPT will be baked into iPhone and Macs for free later this year
Apple is partnering with OpenAI so that iPhone and Mac users can leverage GPT-4o directly on their devices.
1 iPhone Mirroring
Bringing your phone screen to your Mac desktop
Apple
Arguably, the marquee feature of macOS 15, the ability to mirror the screen of your iPhone directly onto your Mac, is a potential workflow game changer. Your entire phone’s interface is overlaid onto your macOS desktop, and it’s fully interactive using existing trackpad gestures.
Apple is unquestionably flexing its ecosystem muscle with this feature, pinning it as an extension to its already robust cross-device suite of continuity features. The real magic appears to lie in the experience’s seamlessness, though we’ll need to test it out in person before coming to any determination about how well it works.
In any case, the ability to drag-and-drop files between your Mac apps and your mirrored iPhone screen, all while the iPhone in question remains locked and with its screen off, certainly sounds like an impressive addition.
2 Window Tiling
macOS finally concedes that Windows 7 did things right
Apple
Apple is finally, mercifully, bringing a proper window tiling experience to the Mac desktop with macOS 15. The feature works exactly as you’d expect, and exactly as it did when Microsoft introduced the concept to us all the way back in Windows 7.
With window tiling, it will now hopefully be much easier to manage an abundance of app windows on screen at once, snapping each one into its respective half or quadrant of the screen for more productive multitasking.
3 Apple Intelligence
AI finally lands on the Mac
Apple/Pocket-lint
Thankfully, Apple’s new foray into artifical intelligence (AI) isn’t limited to just the iPhone or iPad. The company categorizes its suite of AI tools under the umbrella term of Apple Intelligence, and with it comes a number of generative tools for the Mac.
Macs running an M series chip or newer will benefit from the same AI features landing on the iPhone 15 Pro, including generative text summaries, a new Image Playground for photo generation, an improved Siri with access to Open AI’s technology, and more.
4 A new Passwords app
We’re finally getting a dedicated app interface for this long-standing feature
Apple
Alongside the iPhone and iPad, Apple is bringing its new Passwords app to the Mac. This app provides a dedicated interface for saving and referencing your passwords, without having to dig around in the System Settings app in hopes of finding the option.
A dedicated application for any and all saved passwords is a welcome one. It’ll undoubtedly help to simplify the sometimes frustrating experience of juggling around the countless account passwords we use on a regular basis.
5 Improvements to Safari
Apple really wants you to switch off of Google Chrome
Apple
Safari continues to be the default and built-in browser experience across Apple’s lineup of devices. It wouldn’t be a proper macOS update without some additional tweaks within Safari, and this year, we’re being treated with a few such features.
Improvements to reading mode, a streamlined video interface, as well as a Highlights feature are top billing this year. Apple describes Highlights as “an even easier way to discover information on the web, such as directions, summaries, or quick links to learn more about people, music, movies, and TV shows.”
Apple isn’t shy about describing Safari as “the world’s fastest browser,” though its market share continues to lag behind that of the omnipresent Google Chrome. The new tweaks to Apple’s flagship web browser are appreciated, but it’s difficult to imagine any of them being compelling enough to convince consumers to make the switch from their current browser of choice.
Apple is launching its own password manager app, and it’s about time
At WWDC 2024, Apple revealed a Passwords app is coming. It’s standalone, fully featured, and I can’t wait to try it.
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