During the WWDC 2022 opening conference, Apple also presented many of the new features of macOS 13 Ventura, the next Mac system, which seems to be getting closer to iPadOS.
An Apple Developer Conference opening keynote would be an orphan if a new version of the operating system for Macs wasn’t presented there. WWDC 2022 was no exception as Apple presented macOS 13 there, the successor to the current macOS 12 Monterey. And therefore starting by revealing its name, since macOS is the only operating system of the entire range to be designated by a surname in addition to a number. In line with previous versions all bearing names of remarkable places in the American state of California, macOS 13 will therefore be called Ventura, named after a city located about a hundred kilometers northwest of Los Angeles. A city ultimately not so remarkable as that. But this is obviously not the only, or even the main, novelty of the system. We tell you about them below.
What’s new in macOS 13 Ventura?
Even if, as its name suggests, macOS is obviously intended for Macs, one of the common threads in the evolution of this system is its constant rapprochement towards iPadOS, as surprising as that may seem. The number of common functions and applications continues to increase over the years. And this is again the case with macOS 13 Ventura in which arrive, at the same time as in iPadOS 16, a Weather application, a Clock application or the Stage Manager function (see below).
No more System Preferences, here are System Settings
One of the great symbols of macOS since its beginnings, when it was still called Mac System with a number behind it, disappears in macOS 13 Ventura. The System Preferences panel changes name and appearance to be called System Settings. In other words, it adopts a name very close to that of iOS and iPadOS, since in these two systems, to access almost all the configuration options, you go to the Settings. And the look of the Mac’s new System Settings is also completely revamped to be closer to, you guessed it, the iPad. There are two large main areas: a left column for navigating through main categories, and a large right area displaying all the options for each section.
Stage Manager: a new way to manage your windows
Unlike the iPad up to iPadOS 16, the Mac never lacked window management features. This does not prevent macOS 13 Ventura from adopting the brand new Stage Manager function which allows you to create groups of different application windows or not, depending on your needs. You can then switch from one group to another very easily by clicking on the miniature perspective view that appears on the left edge of the screen. Note that this new function does not replace the so-called Spaces virtual screens that have existed in macOS for many years, but rather in addition. This is probably why, on Mac, Stage Manager is not enabled by default. To do this, you have to open the Mac control center with a click at the top right in the menu bar, then activate the new stage manager button which has therefore appeared in macOS 13.
Once activated, Stage Manager looks like a kind of new Dock, like the one that displays the icons of the most frequently used applications that we most often have at the bottom of our Mac screen. And like the Dock, thumbnail representations of application groups can be automatically hidden if chosen. It will then suffice to bring the mouse to the left edge of the screen to bring up Stage Manager, then select the group of windows that you want to see displayed again.
FaceTime: switch from one device to another without cutting the conversation
Apple extends the capacity of its Continuity functions which allows for example to start writing an email on the iPhone to finish it on your Mac. This will also be possible with an ongoing FaceTime call that you will have started on your iPhone on the way home and which you can automatically transfer to your Mac once you get home. Technically, it’s quite strong, but we think that the story told around this function could quickly change if ever, as rumors predict, a new HomePod will soon arrive which would be equipped with a screen and a camera and which would be the ideal tool for making family videos.
Use your iPhone as a webcam
It’s been many years since the camera(s) of the various generations of iPhones have been much better than the webcams built into the Mac, even the latest generation ones. This is why there have also been applications for several years that allow you to transform your iPhone into a webcam relatively simply. Examples include Camo Studio or EpocCam from Elgato. The publishers of this type of application have probably just taken a big hit on the head, since Apple has simply announced that Macs equipped with macOS 13 Venturra will automatically be able to use an iPhone equipped with iOS 16 as a webcam. In the jargon, we call it being “Sherlocked”. This term refers to the old Sherlock application, integrated into the Mac many years ago, which made it possible to launch searches for files much like Spotlight today. But, precisely, little by little the Sherlock application was enriched with new functions, gradually killing the applications which were thus replaced by a free function integrated into the system.
As usual, Apple makes using an iPhone as a webcam very simple. All you have to do is approach your iPhone, even when switched off, to your Mac so that the latter detects it and offers to use it as a webcam. Apple will even offer, on its online store, magnetic supports to easily hang your iPhone on top of your Mac screen.
But Apple goes even further by offering an amazing, even incredible function. If you are using an iPhone with a very wide-angle lens, such as the iPhone 13 Pro Max, you can simulate a shot “from above”, as if you had added a camera hanging from the ceiling! The iPhone remains however hung in front of you, but the Mac will be able to correct the distortions of the perspective to display the top of the table, allowing you for example to show something with your hand. And all while continuing to film you from the front with the classic wide-angle lens. Bluffing!
And when you don’t need that top view, the Mac will be able to take advantage of the super-wide-angle lens to give you the Centered Frame feature that automatically crops the image based on the number of people. in front of the lens so that no one goes out of frame. And all this, taking advantage of the exceptional quality of the cameras of the iPhone, which we know.
Compatibility with a future without passwords
Apple, together with Microsoft and Google, has joined the Fido alliance, which is preparing a new way to connect to online services without the need for passwords. The idea is to replace these, the multiplication of which complicates our lives, with alerts arriving directly on our iPhone or Mac. In the latter case, it will suffice to validate the connection with the TouchID fingerprint sensor integrated into the keyboard. It is the Passkeys system (oddly translated by access codes in French) which promises to be both practical and secure. May it work!
Delayed Send or Undo Send in Mail
The Mail application of macOS 13 Ventura receives the same improvements as its companions of iOS and iPadOS 16. It will therefore allow you to program the sending of a message delayed compared to its writing, by a few hours or a few days, You choose. If you notice an error in an email, such as forgetting the attachment that you mention in the text, you will have a few seconds to cancel the sending and thus recover and modify your message before your correspondent does. read. Mail on Mac will also have a search function revamped and, hopefully, more efficient than the one that currently equips our machines.
The right to make mistakes in the Messages application
Other improvements shared with iPadOS and iOS 16, it will be possible to edit a message after sending it! Very practical for catching up afterwards on a message sent with a spelling error or an automatic correction transforming a harmless message into an embarrassing missive, which we all have to admit. There, it will suffice to right-click on the message to be able to edit it. More radically, you can even decide to cancel the sending, in other words to delete the message from the conversation thread, both at home and at your correspondent(s). Even if it has not been explicitly said, it is a safe bet that these two new functions only concern iMessages, that is to say the messages that are sent in blue bubbles to other Apple device users. But not for simple SMS sent in green bubbles. And your correspondent(s) will also need to be equipped with the latest versions of the OS.
Another practical detail, it will (finally!) be possible to mark a conversation as unread, as we have been able to do for so long in any email application. A very practical function so that you don’t forget to reply to a message that you have read.
Spotlight, an improved search
In the field of search tools, Apple also announced that the Spotlight function of macOS 13, which can be accessed for example by clicking on the magnifying glass at the top right in the menu bar of its Mac, was also improved. The idea is to facilitate not only the discovery of files on your Mac, but also of results or photos on the Internet directly displayed inside the Spotlight window. It’s not that new, but let’s hope that, here too, the results live up to our hopes.
When will macOS 13 Ventura be available?
Apple has given no specific date of availability of the new version of the system for Macs. Immediately after the official presentation during the June 6, 2022 keynote, developers registered with Apple were able to download and install a very first preview version on their test devices. And we very quickly saw the first videos of getting started, from the most prominent bloggers. A first public beta version, available to everyone therefore, will be available during the month of July. Let’s say it right away, be as careful as possible if you want to install it as soon as it is offered and prefer to use a Mac that you will not miss if it crashes or does not work well. Because you never know what can happen with a preview of a system. Throughout the summer, several pre-versions of the systems will be offered, fixing bugs each time, perhaps adding some new functions, until arriving in the fall at the availability for all of the first so-called final version of macOS 13.0.
Which Macs will be compatible with macOS 13?
As always, the arrival of a new, more muscular version of an operating system means that some older models will no longer be able to receive them. But this time, macOS 13 Ventura seems to be doing a lot of cleaning because you will need a Mac dating at most from 2017 to be able to install it! We feel that with the transition to its own processors, Apple no longer really wants to work for Intel processors. Fortunately, on the other hand, we can reasonably expect that all Mac models equipped with an M1 or M2 chip will be able to benefit from system updates for well over five years. Here is the complete list of Macs compatible with macOS 13 Ventura.
- iMac (from 2017)
- iMac Pro
- MacBook Air (from 2018)
- MacBook Pro (from 2017)
- Mac Pro (from 2019)
- Mac mini (from 2018)
- MacBook (from 2017)