The latest operating system for Mac Devices is macOS 15 Sequoia, unveiled by Apple at its 2024 Worldwide Developer Conference. Significant new features and requirements for the new operating system are covered in this cheat sheet.
Sequoia has some interesting quality-of-life changes for work, like how sliding a window to the edge of the screen will instantly insert it into a stone that is side-folded so you can see the entire screen. With the ability to handle an phone from a Mac, including dealing with apps, continuity, a feature that allows sharing between devices, is becoming even more seamless.
The biggest shift is that mac 15 may include Apple Intelligence, which enables conceptual AI like email summarization across tentpole Mac software like Mail and Pages.
What is macOS 15 Sequoia?
mac 15 Sequoia is the latest operating program for Macs, announced on June 10, 2024 at WWDC. The title Sequoia continues Apple’s pattern of naming its OS after regions in California, with earlier variants named Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey and Big Sur. In the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Sequoia is a regional area.
It is the first Mac operating system to help Apple Intelligence, the company’s software artificial intelligence system. Artificial features include intelligent replies in Mail, smart notes in Notes, and a more brilliant Siri that can understand organic language prompts.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of technology architecture, said in a media release:” The all- celebrity combination of the power of Apple silicon and the famous ease of use of macOS have made the Mac more ready than ever. Today, we’re excited to take macOS to new heights with macOS Sequoia, a big release that elevates productivity and intelligence.
” MacOS Sequoia ushers in Apple Intelligence, unlocking incredible new features that will transform the way we work on Mac. We believe Mac users will enjoy it because of more ways to make users do things quickly, new Continuity features like iPhone mirroring, significant changes to Safari, and a number of new games.
What are the main features of macOS 15 Sequoia?
Apple Intelligence features
Writing Tools
When you right-click a section of text to open a list of AI Writing Tools, you will be presented with the following:
- Proofread will review the text and make corrections for grammar and spelling.
- Rewrite will format the entire text in a friendly, professional, or succinct manner.
- To get the main takeaways from the text, you can also click on Summary or Key Points.
Writing Tools will be available everywhere you can write, including Mail, Notes, Pages and third- party apps. Instead of a summary of the subject line or first sentence, AI-generated summaries will appear in emails in the Inbox in Mail as previews. When you type a reply, macOS Sequoia will return a number of Smart Reply options created from the content of the original email.
Notes
Apple Intelligence and audio transcription are now included in Notes. This enables the app to turn on the Mac microphone while holding a meeting and produce a transcript and summary of the discussion’s conversation in real time. Any calculations entered into notes will also be automatically solved.
Image Playground
An AI image-generating tool is included with macOS 15 as Image Playground. It is a distinct app that is integrated into native apps like Messages and Pages to allow the creation and use of AI images within those apps. You can enter your own prompts in the open app’s context, or MacOS will suggest prompts based on the open app’s context.
Siri
Siri has been augmented with Apple Intelligence. New capabilities include on- screen awareness, in- app actions, text commands and a better understanding of natural language commands. Additionally, it has a fresh appearance, appearing as a glowing light bar that pulsates around the screen to indicate it is listening.
You can read about the AI features in more detail in TechRepublic’s Siri cheat sheet.
ChatGPT and Private Cloud Compute
While Apple Intelligence runs on hardware built into the Mac, for some functions, the level of compute it provides will not be sufficient, therefore, macOS 15 offers the ability to connect to ChatGPT without leaving an app. ChatGPT can be used to generate more powerful text and images and gain real-time information that cannot be accessed on the device.
SEE: ChatGPT Cheat Sheet: A Complete Guide for 2024
However, ChatGPT is not the only way for Mac users to access additional computational resources. More intensive requests can be routed through Private Cloud Compute, Apple’s new cloud intelligence system, which sends it to external Apple servers. Privacy is maintained by the data that is transferred during this process by Apple.
Other features
iPhone Mirroring
Users can fully access and interact with their iPhone using their Mac using the iPhone Mirroring feature. The phone’s wallpaper and icons appear as a window on the PC screen, so users can view notifications, open apps and perform tasks on it using the Mac’s controls. While iPhone Mirroring is occurring to keep it private, the iPhone is still locked.
Safari
As part of the macOS 15 update, Apple has made a number of improvements to Safari. A button in the address bar will now show page Highlights when clicked, such as a summary of the page’s content, directions via Maps or links for further information.
A more organized view of the content being read was given a makeover to the Reader tool. The table of contents and summary are now available in a sidebar for longer articles, along with new customization options for colors and fonts.
When a user switches the window, Safari expands and brings a video to the front or puts it in a smaller pop-up.
Window Tiling
When a user drags one of the desktop’s multiple windows to the edge of the screen, macOS Sequoia will automatically resize and move them in a simple tiled manner to maximize visibility.
Video conferencing
When a presenter shares their screen with another person using video conferencing apps like Zoom or FaceTime, macOS Sequoia will show the presenter an image of what will actually be visible to them when they actually share it. They can also use custom backgrounds or built-in backgrounds when making a video call.
Passwords app
Replacing Keychain, Passwords is a new app for the Mac that securely stores all the user’s credentials. Its contents sync between Windows devices using the iCloud for Windows app and Apple devices using end-to-end encryption.
SEE: Best Password Managers for Mac
Calculator and Calendar
A history of previous calculations will now be stored in the Calculator app on MacOS Sequoia, and unit conversions will now be performed. Complete expressions, including parentheses, trigonometry and other operations, can be viewed before hitting equals.
Events and tasks that were saved in Reminders are displayed in the calendar in macOS 15 and have been updated to make it easier to read Month View.
Which devices support macOS 15 Sequoia?
MacOS Sequoia works with the following types of devices:
- iMac – 2019 and later.
- Mac Studio – 2022.
- Mac mini – 2018 and later.
- Mac Pro– 2019 and later.
- iMac Pro – 2017 and later.
- MacBook Air – 2020 and later.
- MacBook Pro – 2018 and later.
Apple Intelligence and its related features are only available on devices that have an M-series chip inside, so M1 or later. Any Mac older than 2020 using an Intel chip will not have this capability.
SEE: New M3 Chip Family, MacBook Pro Line &, iMacs
Therefore, Apple Intelligence will run on the following devices:
- MacBook Pro – 2021 or later, and 2020 13- inch M1 version.
- MacBook Air – 2022 or later, and 2020 M1 version.
- iMac – 2021 or later.
- Mac mini – 2020 or later.
- Mac Studio– 2022 or later.
- Mac Pro – 2023.
When is the release date for macOS 15 Sequoia?
Developers can download a beta version of macOS Sequoia through the Apple Developer Program starting today, and the public will be able to access it through the Apple Beta Software Program starting in July.
In the fall of 2024, the final version will be made available as a free software update to all Mac owners. Apple Intelligence will be included with the release on M-series devices.
How to download and install macOS 15 Sequoia
Only registered developers can download the beta of macOS 15 Sequoia through the Apple Developer Program at this time.
Members of the Developer Program can download the operating system by following these instructions:
- On a compatible Mac, go to System Settings and log into an Apple ID that has been approved for the Developer Program.
- Navigate to General, and then Software Update.
- Make sure Beta Updates is On; if it is Off, click the i icon and select the MacOS Sequoia Developer Beta from the dropdown menu.
- A banner for macOS 15 Beta should now appear in the Software Updates section. To download and install, click Upgrade Now.
You might encounter bugs and issues that you can report to Apple because this is the beta version of the software. Remember to backup your Mac before updating to make sure you can restore your system if necessary.
Not ready to make the transition to Sequoia, yet? Explore TechRepublic’s cheat sheets for macOS 14 Sonoma and macOS 13 Ventura.
