I was preparing to write an intro calling macOS Sonoma—version 14.0 of Apple's desktop operating system, for those of you who can't keep the ever-lengthening list of California codenames straight—a "low-key" or "small" release. Because it definitely feels that way, and it's tempting to think that Apple is taking it easy on new features for older OSes because it's devoting so much internal time to VisionOS and the Vision Pro.
But looking back, I've said something along those lines for each of the last few macOS releases (and several others before that). Honestly, these days, what macOS update hasn't been "low-key"? Every one since Big Sur (11.0) overhauled the UI and added Apple Silicon support has been content to add a few pieces on top of the foundation, fiddle a bit with under-the-hood enhancements and new security measures, maintain feature parity with iOS for the built-in apps, and call it a day. That's what Sonoma does, too.
So macOS Sonoma is a perfectly typical macOS release, a sort of "Ventura-plus" that probably has one or two additions that any given person will find useful but which otherwise just keeps your Mac secure and avoids weird iCloud compatibility problems with whatever software is running on your phone. You probably don't need to run out and install it, but there's no real reason to avoid it if you're not aware of some specific bug or compatibility problem that affects the software you use. It's business as usual for Mac owners. Let's dive in.
Table of Contents
- System requirements and compatibility
- Other system requirements, or “the Apple Silicon-only club”
- “Coming later this year”
- What should I do with my unsupported Mac?
- Branding and installation
- Free space: Not quite 2GB larger than Ventura
- Widgets: This year’s headliner
- New-to-Sonoma widgets
- How iPhone widgets work, and what they can and can’t do
- Setting up widgets
- I didn’t need these, but I don’t mind having them
- A new lock screen and other elementary stuff
- System Settings revisions
- Fancy new screen savers
- macOS uses purgeable storage to “prevent” screen savers from eating up disk space
- Can you roll your own?
- Apps: Safari 17
- Web apps
- From Tab Groups to Profiles
- Private Browsing gets private-er
- JPEG XL and HEIC image support
- Miscellany
- Safari 17 on Ventura and Monterey
- Other apps
- Messages
- Photos
- Notes
- Reminders
- Weather
- Home
- FaceTime and video effects
- Presenter Overlay and window sharing
- High-performance screen sharing
- Dynamic disappointments
- Other Screen Sharing things
- Gaming features: Game Mode
- Game Porting Toolkit
- Security: Password management
- More data access restrictions
- USB device access settings
- Accessibility: Personal Voice and Live Speech
- Grab bag
- Less-annoying autocorrect and other typing things
- Caps lock indicator
- More backdrop options for system account icons
- Easier DFU mode restores for soft-bricked Macs
- Pronouns in the Contacts app
- Faster video encoding for M1 Ultra and M2 Ultra?
- Why can't I set multiple timers?
- Freeform share widget
- Pausing GIFs
- No more legacy Mail plug-ins
- Conclusions: Business as usual
- The good
- The bad
- The ugly
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